Smyth Busters: Do You Need To Clean Your Brass?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.พ. 2023
- To clean or not to clean? Some folks say cleaning the brass before reloading is unnecessary, a waste of time and money. Others expend a lot of effort to make their brass spotless every time they reload. Who's right? Let's get to the bottom of this by asking Caleb and Steve: Do you really need to clean the brass before you reload? Like so many questions in life, the answer starts with "That depends....." The world's nitpickiest shooters, benchrest target shooters, sometimes reload cartridges at the shooting bench, and they don't clean the case every time. (For maximum consistency, nothing beats using the same case for every round you fire in a string!) If those guys don't see a need to clean the brass, is cleaning just a waste of time? Not necessarily.
Clean brass is easier to work with and easier on your reloading dies. Tiny bits of dirt and grit on the cases are abrasive and will accelerate die wear. Especially if you shoot at an outdoor range and your cases hit the ground, you'll want to clean them before cranking them through your press. Cleaning doesn't have to be extensive. Steve just runs his cases through a tumbler with some dry corn cob or walnut media.
Should you de-cap the spent primers before you clean the brass? Steve doesn't, Caleb does. Both have good reasons. One benefit of de-capping AFTER cleaning is you'll be sure there's no tumbler media stuck in the flash holes of any cases. Caleb takes care of that by zapping each case with a burst compressed air as he sorts and inspects them.
What about running the brass through an ultrasonic cleaner? If you want it looking factory new, ultrasonic cleaning is the way to go. Neither Caleb nor Steve does it. And chucking each case in an electric drill or rotary tool and polishing it with Scotch-Brite is WAY too much work for both guys. They DO recommend a rotary or vibratory case tumbler as the fastest, easiest way to clean up brass.
So the myth is half busted, half not. There are situations where you don’t need to clean brass. But as a rule, the Smyth Busters highly recommend it. - กีฬา
The beauty of reloading is that as long as you stay within the safety rules of reloading, there is no wrong answer or wrong way to do things. I enjoy learning from others about reloading. As for me: I wet tumble and I am OCD for cleanliness :)
With 50+ years experience, I am a staunch convert to wet tumbling. There is minimally more work involved (drying) and the results leave no doubt about the cleanliness of your brass. The end result is a superior product, sure dirty brass still shoots okay, but for just a little more work, they are pretty !!!!!
@@mostpopularpresidentever sure is by a mile
For me, it's not work in laying them out on a towel overnight to dry. 🙂
@@mostpopularpresidentever You get in trouble for using the cookie sheet, too!?
@@mostpopularpresidentever Why not use the microwave? It will make some really pretty sparks. It's a joke people. Relax.
Pride of craftsmanship!
I personally use wet tumbling. Just pour water, citric acid and some soap in a rotating barrel. The acid eats the carbon build up even in the primer pocket but does not consume any significant metal. Then you only need to dry them. You can literally do pounds of brass at once.
but do you decap first?
@@bbhrdzaz I do - much easier to dry out brass when caps are gone...
I've loaded a couple thousand at once into an old pillow case and ran them through my clothes washer. I tried it several times. It's hell on your pillow case which may or may not survive, but surprisingly it does a really good job. Didn't damage my washer at all, but I ruined several old pillow cases. Decided to get a wet tumbler after that. I like dawn dishsoap and lemi-shine and a touch of car wash and wax.
Same, but I wash first to remove dirt, dust and debris so I don't damage my dies or get stuck cases. Resize, de-prime and wash again to remove lube and to clean the primer pocket. Then, reload.
My exact routine except I don't decap first. I rinse after cleaning, spin the cleaned cartridges then just let them dry in the sun. I have lots of that. When I look at how dirty the water is and the settled crap on the bottom of the bucket it tells me I am saving wear on my equipment. But, to each his own.
I wet tumble with stainless steel pins. Loading is a hobby for me (retired) and I enjoy trying to achieve perfection. I only shoot about a hundred rounds a week so it’s not really an issue. I enjoy the channel.
I have been reloading for over 40 years. I prefer to dry tumble brass before reloading. I think it is easier to resize without the debris on the case from firing. I do not de-cap before tumbling as I prefer not to get media in the flash hole. When I have to trim the brass I also clean the primer pockets as well. If the brass becomes very dull, I do occasionally polish the cases with dry media and a polishing compound. It makes them look "factory". Keep the videos coming! I enjoy them a lot.
I truly enjoy these Smith Busters vids. You two are such an awesome team!
OK.. so.. I look at cleaning as just a step in the brass prep process. I have come to believe that brass prep is the most important and overlooked step in the reloading process (especially for bottleneck rifle cartridges). The real key here is "process". Its important to have a process and do it the same way each time. For every batch of what ever its decap and size, wet clean with steel pins, dry, inspect and trim.. then load. How sparkly they are doesn't matter, but uniformity in sizing, length, primer seating, charging and OAL makes for very consistent results when the unloading process occurs. Thanks for these videos you guys do. I dig them.
54+ years reloading. Clean all brass before loading. I used to use a dry media case tumbler. I now use a Frankfort Arsenal steel pin and water tumbler. This system makes brass as clean as new. Water, steel pins, Dawn and Lemi-Shine.
Exactly what I do. Easy and spotless every time.
Great video, thank you. Learned a lot from all the very helpful comments.
I decap then wet tumble in my harbor freight double tumbler. Takes twenty minutes to do and makes working on a brass for reloading much nicer since there's zero dirt and carbon and no dry media powders.
EDIT : I also use stainless steel pins, they last for years. I drain the tumbler through one of those reusable coffee filters to catch the pins. Bought five pounds of pins almost five years ago and am still using the original amount needed for each tumbler with the rest stored away in the closet. Will be years before I need to get another five pound bag.
A bottle of dawn or even generic dawn and a pack of citrus cleaner lasts a long time and can be used to do dishes if needed, cheaper than corn cob media and you don't have to worry about lead dust in the air which most don't think about when dry tumbling.
That's my personal preference, to each their own in how or if they clean brass.
I do exactly the same thing and the Harbor Freight tumbler is great. I have forced hot air in my home and in the winter I put them on top of the vents, don't laugh works great !! I do notice though to always check no pins left in cases.
Dang! that is a great idea with the coffee filters. I use the same HGT tumbler, but with the stainless steel chips. Those things are a real bugger to keep corralled, thanks for the tip.
I switched over to pin tumbling with a harbor freight rock tumbler. $35 for double tumbler and about 15 bucks for pins. Brass comes out better than new after 4 hours.. Inside and out. Same with primer pockets. I just use a teaspoon of dish washing liquid and a tablespoon of lemishine. I’ve loaded and ladder tested without cleaning over the decades. Just like it clean when I load up hunting ammo that could sit for a decade or more before I use it all. If not it gets oxidized and super tarnished from already being dirty.
Great Video!! I always tumble in walnut media just to clean any junk off the brass. I ruined a 9mm die running a dirty brass into it. Every brass after that came out scratched - time for a new carbide die! I have found that I got too frustrated having to punch the media out of the flash hole so I tumble before I deprime. Been playing with this for over 40 years and I think I am finally getting the hang of it!!
Thanks Steve and Caleb, good video, good points made. I reloaded pistol and rifle calibers for around 20 years, to supply/support match participation. I prepped brass using all the steps discussed and got the best results from a vibratory tumbler with a capful of liquid brass cleaner, from Dillon. For smoothest extraction of a fired round, I found that the cleaned, polished case worked best. Particularly out of an auto loading action. Maybe not
such a concern if using a revolver, lever action or bolt action rifle. Best regards, from Glenpool, Ok.
I got back into reloading in 2020 after ammo disappeared after a 10 year hiatus. Thankfully, I had most of the equipment and components that I needed already on hand. Maybe it's the dies that I bought, but I found that I had to lube all my cases (even pistol cases in carbide dies) to get them to resize smoothly. Getting that case lube off of the brass was a must since it attracts all sorts of gunk if you don't. I learned about wet tumbling with stainless steel media and it works really well. I found that if I don't decap before tumbling that the stainless media gets caught in the flash hole of the case sometimes. I'm a bit nervous about trying to press it out of there with my decapping pin and I don't really want to inspect and wash out each case individually so decapping first is what I do. If the cases would resize smoothly without lube then I probably wouldn't bother with tumbling though.
Hello from Oklahoma! Good Video! I get something from each of your videos. If I'm loading ammo for long term storage, I clean it real good. If it's range brass, I wash it tumble it, maybe 20 min. and clean the primer pocket. By range brass I mean brass I use at the range. Thanks for all U do! Go Bless!
Ive tried most all ways if cleaning brass, wet,ultrasonic,tumble, ect… i found for my needs dry walnut or corn cob media for best results, and always decap after cleaning!
Love the primer comment. Flash hole. Y’all covered it all. Thanks.
Sometimes I watch these just for the banter lol I don't reload but this was a very entertaining episode between the two of you!
Great tip… you guys rock… thanks for the heads up ..
Beautiful design and presentation ! My motivation - you said it - clean brass is easier to load. And TANSTAAFL: I use THAT rotary tumbler with steel pins [Thumler Tumbler with the double speed motor]. Woolite is better than Dawn - I've had black residue on the brass from Dawn - Woolite took care of that. When done tumbling (oh, and it is NOISY - have put out back or in the garage) when dumping the tumbler contents, there are visible brass particles. This means necessarily, the cleaning process wears on the brass. Perhaps the effect is far less than the flex and eventual metal fatigue of repeated firings. With tempering, perhaps the brass would last long enough for the tumbling wear to have an appreciable effect. I think I'm old enough, and have enough brass on hand, that I will not be able to reload my brass enough to matter. As they say, "Too late smart; too soon old."
Love the new website. Looking forward to being able to log in again, too. ;-)
If you don't decap before you clean, your cleaning media will get full of the residue left in the primer. I use the ultrasonic, so no problem getting anything stuck in the charge hole. The Ultrasonic works okay, but not as well as the Pins or Cobbs. Thanks for another great video!
I have always cleaned my brass and for years used a dry tumbler with walnut hulls with a bit of Flitz brass case polish. About a year ago I switched to wet tumbling with Dawn detergent and Levi Shine. And then dry tumble with corn cob media and Flitz additive. These makes it smoother to resize the case.
Thanks for the video!!!
My first step... decap.. second...anneal... third... two 30 minute cycles through the sonic cleaner... then 1 hr in the tumbler..corn cob media... then FL resize... trim... debur.... another 30 minute cycle in the sonic cleaner... then at least an hour in the tumbler with polish!!!!
I’m somewhat new to reloading so I jumped right into wet-pin tumbling and love it. For me it’s not about clean or dirty-both will fire if done right, but I find it much easier to inspect cases if clean. I’m in no hurry also, so letting them air dry was ok but have recently purchased a Frankford Arsenal “dehydrator”. An hour tumbling and an hour drying make some nice looking cases to work with..
Same, but at times I have loaded my wet brass onto and metal pizza pan with tiny holes all over the thing and run them in the oven @ ~200 degrees +/- until dry. If I'm in a hurry or if it's winter and I want to be sure they are dry.
good episode! i've been being way too OCD with reloading my practice ammo, i should reload more faster and practice more. i'll continue super attention to cleaning my long range loads though
Just switched to wet case cleaning last year. It does a great job. Some of my brass is picked off of the ground/gravel and really does need to be cleaned. I use ss pins with decapped brass.
I began reloading as a lad under the supervision of my great uncle in 1958. Tumblers were unheard of then. (Yeah, I know rock tumblers were around) We loaded BP in 45 Colt. The cases were washed in a jar of soapy water and rinsed to kill the corrosive effect. But I personally didn't get a tumbler until 1980. I do tumble cases now, but not to the point of being rediciouliously over polished. Just cleaned enough still works for me.😁
I used to dry tumble with corncob media. I started wet tumbling a couple years ago. Now the dry tumbler is used to remove the case lube after loading. I got some really cruddy range brass that was starting to turn green and just for the heck of it I wet tumbled with SS pins, Dawn soap and Lemi Shine. I could not believe how clean the brass came out, like new. Wet tumbling is more of a process but for me, it's worth it. I do not remove the primers before tumbling. I also use a dehydrator to dry the brass. One word of caution. When wet tumbling a small bullet case, such as .223, make sure the pins are totally removed as they can get stuck in the case. After drying a tap on the case mouth will remove any stuck pin. I have a Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler and the large Dillion dry tumbler.
Depends on what I am reloading. 5.56, etc. are wet tumbled (Frankford Arsenal 7 liter), dried (Frankford Arsenal Brass Dryer) followed by application of case lube then size and remove old primer. Next is dry tumble in “corn cob” blast media (bought in bulk, 40lbs, 20/40 grit) to remove case lube. Then I trim case length, bevel case mouth, and swage primer pocket if needed (Dillon 600).
Handgun is a bit different, depending on calibers. 9mm, .38 spl, .357 are usually wet tumbled, dried, then reloaded (resized with tungsten steel dies so case lube is not used). Other larger calibers are case lubed and resized and primers removed between wet tumbling/drying, and dry tumbling. Length trimming is done on as needed basis.
Good info...I myself don't deprime until after like Steve. And I like using dry as well. To me it works and is a little more affordable. If your not careful you can make reloading unaffordable real quick.
Seems like you need to deprime first IF you are using a wet tumbler or ultrasonic cleaner. Lets water out more easily.
I usually use dry media and deprime after.
I used to clean primer pockets until I got a Dillon 550. Stops the whole cadence of a semi progressive. Found out I didn't need a clean pocket whether auto pistol, revolver or centerfire rifle. If I have a small batch to work up an accuracy load I'll clean the pocket.
Caleb ever heard of a primer pocket cleaner? Its a whole tool they use to get the pockets clean AFTER cleaning/decapping. All in fun, you guys rock. 🤙
Something to consider: If you de-cap and re-size before tumbling, you are running all of that range grit through your de-cap die. After I tumble with walnut shells, I dump the brass in a plastic colander, and rinse all of the dust, etc off of them, towel dry, and then air dry thoroughly. It doesn't really take that much extra time to do.
When I first got into reloading I found that revolver cartridges (.44 Magnum to be precise) really did not
like coming out of the revolver after being shot when they weren't cleaned before hand. After cleaning them
they pop out much easier. For auto loaders I'm with Caleb on this. I'm OCD about making sure that brass is
sparkling before I start reloading it. Be well each of you!
I have one of those vibrating cleaners...I use it, I like my brass kind of shiny. But then I don't shoot so much that it's a huge effort to examine all my deprimed brass for flash hole blockages, or to use a primer hole cleaning gadget [usually while watching TV]. A good Brownell's video might be a long-form piece on reloading best practices. Nobody ever taught me how to reload...I just read instructions and did what felt right. I never thought about whether brass needed to be cleaned at all, how much or why.
I dry tumble after de-priming, poke out the flash holes and inspect for damage, case neck splitting etc at the same time. It doesn't take long and not only does it make the rounds look new, it gives me confidence in the safety, reliability and accuracy.
For the sake of keeping your dies clean and ease of reloading, I always clean. I couldn’t imagine lubing up a dirty 223 and running it through a resizing die.
When I was introduced to reloading I was taught clean the brass, and I too leave the primer in while cleaning. I also use walnut dry medium. The guy that introduced me to reloading has been doing it 25 years. Myself, maybe two, three years. I bought 15 acres in the woods last year, so all my fun stuff has been put on hold. To busy doing property fun stuff.
I shoot blackpowder 45-70 cartridges and it does tend to build up burnt residue but very minimal. I can see as an example that if you shoot that same brass over and over without cleaning you may be changing your pressure of that cartridge due to the buildup.
I've been reloading for about 15 years. I always tumble in corncob or walnut shell before decapping.
I also add a drizzle of Nu Finish car polish to it. I've found it keeps the dust down, and the cases are nice and shiny.
I dry tumble before putting the cases through the sizing die. I use fine corn cob.
I also tumble a second time after running the brass through the sizing die to remove all traces of sizing lubricant and it also cleans the prime pockets.
I'm with Steve on cleaning before depriming. Clean brass in my dies!
This is the way...
Grab a universal de capping die ( lee sells one) and you will be sorted
I have reloaded for over 40 years and have found that spent shells run through a dry tumbler before prep of cases is all that I need.
It isn’t a NEED unless it’s physically muddy or gummed up with carbon, but it just makes the process easier. I like to wet tumble with dawn and lemishine, then another cycle switching the dawn for ArmorAll wash and wax (prevents from tarnishing and prevents neck expander mandrel from galling)
Always knock out primers before tumbling to ensure primer pockets are clean and consistent. To each their own, there are many ways to do it 👍🏻
thanks for the Info I think I will just use the Lyman prep cleaning brush and scrub the inside with it and call it a day.
Used to dry tumble hated the media in the flash hole, now I wet and love it. I don't decap first. Never had an issue.
Always cleaned my brass (vibratory for ages). Started using a wet tumbler more recently (no pins, Brass Juice works insanely well without pins) and like how it comes out. Sometimes I've run the rounds through the vibratory after reloading, but not always. Really depends on the projectile I'm using. If plated/jacketed, then I don't.
IMO, it's easier to find your brass if it's cleaner than what's also on the ground.
so can you use a wet tumbler without pins? only a cleaning solution? like detergent and lemi shine? i would like to skip the step of shaking pins out of cases
I am from up North. NY When Winter comes my shooting cuts way back. Thats when I reload. That being said maybe I have a little OCO. The first thing I do is get all my fired brass together buy Cal.
and start wet tumbling them with just water and dawn dish soap. I then heat the brass up with a heat gun for a few minutes and let stand overnight. My next process is to resize and decap & bello case mouths. My next process is to wet retumble with water, stainless, dawn soap and lemonshine water softener. When I get done with this it would be hard to distinguish my used brass from new unfired brass. Being that I am retired makes a big difference. A few years back I put all my Progressive reloading presses on my back shelf and started using a single stage press. Reloading to me is almost another hobby and very relaxing. I have been doing this for over 55 years and yes all my reloads look like new factory loads. Its just all about self satisfaction.
I’ve always cleaned my brass…and primer pockets.
If only to help keep my dies as clean as possible.
Of course occasionally the dies might need a cleaning as well.
It takes little effort to turn on the tumbler.🤷♂️👍🥃
I always clean the brass. I also decap after tumbling. I just use a primer pocket cleaning tool to clean after.
Love the reloading topics.. I clean all my brass. Depending on what I'm using the loads for, is to the degree that I clean. The Sunday go to meeting brass, I decap, soak in Lemi Shine and dish soap, dry in a toaster oven @200, then run them through my dry tumbler overnight.
I run my dirty brass in a wet tumbler with Lemi-Shine or Dawn dish soap and stainless-steel media to clean it up for resize and decap. Once cleaned, I lubricate w/alcohol and Lanolin, run em' through the press (resize) and clean them once again when finished to remove sticky lube and to clean the primer pockets now that they've been de-primed with dish soap and Lemi-shine detergent booster which is a spot remover for dishes and it makes it bright and shinney. After all that I prime and load. It's probably a bit much but I like my ammo neat, clean and shinney brass.
After decades of vibrating and sonic cleaning I finally ended up with the Franklin Arsenal wet tumbling w/o the pins. I don't clean primer pockets for any pistol brass. I'm shooting holes in paper at 20 yards and there's no need to clean the primer pockets.
I have tried several ways of cleaning brass. I use Dawn dish soap and water to clean cases.
On range brass I inspect and clean out the worst of the crud. I then dump it all in a large pot of boiling hot cleaning solution. Stir vigorously, pour our into a stainless steel colander and catch the solution for another batch. Using straight hot water out of the faucet I rince the brass till water runs clear. I then pour out on a bath towel, fold in thirds the long way to eal the cases inside. I then hold the ends and roll the cases back and forth in the towel to get them some what dry. I then put the cases into my loading blocks, mouth down to drain.
I then lube and size and decap then repeat the cleaning to remove the lube. Once dry I might or might not use a primer pocket tol to scrap out primer residue. Then prime and load.
This may take a few days, I'm retired and don't shoot tons of ammo so it works well for me.
Bright shiny cases don't shoot any better than clean stained cases. The thing that needs to be done is make the cases fit the chamber.
I wet tumble, de cap then wet tumble which cleans the pocket without the worry of any media getting stuck like dry tumbling. It’s fast and in summer leave them in a rack sitting in the sun for a while or if it’s winter/overcast stick them in the oven at 110 Celsius for fifteen minutes.
I also anneal every once in a while as well which you didn’t mention as part of the process.
Cleaning them isn’t “necessary” but it does help keep the dies in good condition, they look better and importantly it lets you check for hairline cracks or issues with cases.
Rcbs wet tumbling cleaner is the best I've found. Has a tarnish inhibitor that keeps that shine for a while. Want to show off that showroom shine
I started off with a dry tumbler, changed to ultrasonics, then wet tumbling with steel media. I have gravitated back to mostly ultrasonic cleaning. It's relatively fast and you don't have to deal with separating out the brass and steel media which is a royal PITA. The secret ingredient is Brass Juice -- wonderful stuff -- and an ultrasonic cleaner with enough power to do the job. With straight walled cases I don't see much difference between ultrasonic and wet tumbling as far as cleanliness. The wet tumbled brass might be a tad bit shinier. With bottle necked cartridges, the edge goes to wet tumbling slightly. f
I have shot some of our 600 yard benchrest matches with both reloaded wet tumbled clean brass,and brass reloaded on the spot, just wiping off the exterior prior to resizing and the interior portion of the neck. I could't tell any difference in accuracy between the two.
I prefer to dry tumble all my brass. As stated before, I think it's easier on all of the dies & the weapons it's used in.
I think much of this is driven by volume. If you are reloading a thousand cases, automation is a big help. I don't reload that much at one sitting. I try to not put dirty cases trough a die and I just wipe them off. After sizing I wipe off the lube. Mostly to keep from getting anything on primers. The cases are clean ish.
I'm guilty of double cleaning. I clean my brass before resizing and then I clean the lube off the brass after
I'm new to reloading, but my kit came with a dry tumbler and it works fine for me. I do appreciate clean brass from the aspect of not having filthy hands when reloading, as well as keeping my dies clean. I may switch to wet, as I do appreciate the look, but until my tumbler breaks, I'm in no hurry to switch.
My OCD doesn’t take things as far as I used to go, but I dry tumble everything just to get dirt and anything that could scratch the die off of it, then I decap and clean the primer pocket using a primer pocket cleaner, then after it’s loaded I run it in a tumbler for a few minutes to get the case lube off of it. In the end I like it pretty shiny, not for show, but because it’s a lot easier to find in the grass or wherever it lands.
For anyone that’s thinks that’s OCD you should hear what I used to do. 😁
Myself, I use wet cleaning after decapping because our range tends to have lots of sand and some mud. It’s also more pleasurable for me during the case inspection not to have as much carbon and such built up too hide cracks or flaws.
"I do not need them to be super shiny. I just want them to be clean."
My practice exactly, including decapping after cleaning.
On decapping first: If you use the right media -- in my case, very, very fine walnut shell grindings enhanced with a bit of powdered ferric oxide -- you won't have to worry about clogged primer holes. Been doing it this way for, er, longer than I'm willing to admit to, and never yet had one clogged primer hole.
Ha I do both. Dry tumble, size deprime. Then wet tumble( removes sizing wax, cleans pockets) trim inspect then reload.
I reload 45ACP, 223/5.56, 38/357 magnum. I use an ultrasonic cleaner for all the brass, and yes, I decap before cleaning. I enjoyed this conversation!
I like to dry tumble before decapping to get the gunk off, then do any sizing, trimming, deburring, chamfering, flash hole uniforming, swageing, primer pocket uniforming, and primer pocket cleaning, then do one more dry tumble to clear any possible remaining brass shavings out, inspect the primer pockets, and check them all with a case guage one last time afterwards to make sure there are no surprises that will jam my gun up at the range in the middle of some kind of competition, or even a plinking session. Brass prep has a lot of steps when done correctly, but it makes a big difference in the reliability of the rounds you shoot, and can increase your overall accuracy a lot. Plus it has got to be embarrassing to be that guy that has a major jam every 5th round at a match! Trust me I'm definitely one of the guys snickering in the background because I know your lazy brass prep is likely why!
I never really considered just de-capping before tumbling (dry), but it might make sense. For my rifle brass, I usually end up cleaning before resizing, then I will run them through the tumbler a second time to clean off the sizing lube - yes, a PITA since I then have to check/clean out the flash holes. For the pistol brass where I have carbide dies, I just clean them before resizing and call it a day. In either case, I clean the brass to help keep from wearing out the dies, I'm not particularly worried about how pretty the brass is.
Cleaning primer pockets is my big hangup. I hate doing it. Sounds like I don't need to. Thanks!
For three decades I loaded .38 special. All I did was wipe it off and cleaned the primer pocket. I finally got two vibratory cleaners. I clean and polish and that is enough for me. I've seen the wet system and like the idea but I don't feel like it is a "must-do"... so, I'm a dry media guy. Good discussion of the topic.
I pretty much only reload pistol, and I set up a primer pocket brush in my drill press to clean up the residual gunk left in the primer pocket after I resize/deprime.
I usw wet tumbling with steel pins.
Half a teaspoon of citric acid and a squirt of dishwashing soap for ~2 pounds of brass.
I do decap all cases with a universal decapping die in a lee APP press before cleaning. (I don't like all the dirt from decapping in my reloading press, that is why i bought the APP)
I also anneal my rifle cases (except 223rem) before cleaning
I've cleaned before and after resizing/decapping, and found that I still have to hand clean the primer pocket still, so now I only tumble clean prior to resizing in order to protect resizing dies. You still have to remove resizing lubricants prior to loading for several reasons. Lubricants can deactivate primers and contaminate propellants.
I dry tumble every time & the primers stay put for the same reasons as Steve, only thing semi-OCDish for me is media separation step (give my rotary a few extra spins than probably necessary). Pro Tip: Get your walnut media at HF for about $1/lb, choice of two grits
I suppose, it depends. If reloading 9mm or 45 ACP in large amounts on a progerssive press or .44 and .38 brass even in a single stage press, I don't clean very often, depending on how dirty the brass looks. But I do tend to pull the case out after resizing and clean the primer pocket, but maye not all the time. If I have a rifle cartridge that I am just neck sizing I usually don't.
But I only had a wet tumbler that I used SS media with a liquid cleaner that does the job on really nasty brass. That was a bit of a process. I have gotten new vrbration cleaner so I may clean more. But either way 17 Remington is harder to clean. (the cob/walnut media can get into the case and can be hard to get out, or see.)
I've reloaded since 1975, haven't used a case cleaner until a couple years ago and it makes reloading much more pleasant.
BUT, I've always cleaned my primer pockets...
Depends. I have gotten once used military brass that I have wet cleaned. But once in my inventory might see the tumbler. I have loaded at the range shooting the case 5 plus times without cleaning. But if it hits the ground, it sees the tumbler. Dry on sale corn cob. Clean is better for reloading. But I am not an over shinny type.
For my handgun rounds, I throw the brass into a jug of hot water with Tide laundry detergent and a little bit of Dawn. I shake and swirl the brass around a bit, let it sit for 20 mins, shake and swirl again, then let sit for another 20 mins. Do a quick rinse with a colander then soak them in a 50/50 water/vinegar solution for an hour. Then I dump them into a colander and shake a bit, then sit overnight to dry. I'm a new reloader so I haven't done any rifle rounds yet. With those, I may exercise a little more care since there will be far fewer of them and they are more expensive.
It takes one hour and a half maximum to clean them if you slap it in an ultrasonic then put it in a brass dryer. It is so easy and doesn’t ruin your dies.
I ALWAYS de-prime *before* cleaning the cases. I've used dry media and wet cleaning and find wet cleaning WAY better. Cases come out looking like
brand new. Been reloading since 1981 and figure that if something is worth doing it's worth doing as best I can. Others can do as pleases them.
I vibratory tumble them in walnut media. As you guys said, best to work with clean stuff. Easier on the equipment and my fingers. Give the brass some love. It’s been good to you. PS. I don’t decap first either.
I have always wanted to reload...mostly because I think it would be therapeutic...a nice orderly, consistent process to turn out a uniform set of product. Must be satisfying as all get out.
It really is. It's sort of mindless, but at the end you get the satisfaction of a heavy box of cartridges. Not too mindless though-- You have to at least pay enough attention to make sure you aren't over or under-charging.
I've always had excellent results with taking collected brass and soak and clean in a simple bucket of water and detergent - agitating occasionally. Rinse and dry. Low effort and "clean enough". YMMV. No issues after many years with this technique.
Since we're on the topic of reloading, the next video should be the question of "Do you have to trim your cases?"
I bought a decapping dye and decap all my brass and then. I put it through a wet Tumbler with some stainless steel media for 2 hours, and the brass looks like new. The only problem is I have to let it dry overnight with a fan blowing on it. But it is worth the
Trouble the brass is beautiful when I am done, and the primer hole is very clean.
Wet tumble on the cheap. The most expensive item on my rig is the stainless media pins. Decap before as to reduce emulsified mercury fulminate exposure. The amount of sludge coming off makes me tumble a second time (10 minutes) with filtered water. But my whole process allows to set a timer and walk away, spending less than 15 minutes physically with the brass. Watch out for hard water and too much citric acid. Both will result in spotty brass and possible leeching of the softer metals.
Reloading for years. Wet trumble with dawn dish soap, lemi shine and stainless pins.
Hahahah😂 Its like looking at my cousin and I discuss about reloading.
Thanks for an other great vid guys!
For me I try to get them as clean as possible to keep it consistent. For someone chasing small groups consistency is everything.
an entire episode on wether to clean or not to clean primer pocket before putting in another primer
Always clean with steel pins. No problem with flash holes 😂.
I have done both when I started only reloading 357 sig I didnt have a way to clean them and worked fine till they didnt. I clean now because its just easier on dies and less stuck cases on the dies.
I ruined a couple sizing dies with "dirty" brass so all used brass gets the ground walnut tumbler. Spray lube then run through one of the Dillons. Then tumble in coarse corn cob to remove the lube. Thumler Tumbler has been working since 1977, cost more but its so quiet and designed to run for weeks non-stop tumbling rocks. Replaced one set of nylon bearings and about 10 drive belts.
Great video and great information… any ideas on where to purchase small pistol primers???
I am a cleaner, I shoot bullseye center fire with a S&W model 52 and I clean my brass after shooting and before reloading. I use a Lyman vibrator and it does a good job. I usually de cap the brass with a universal de capping die before hand to protect my sizing die. About 50% of the cases have media in the flash holes but it is no big deal to take care of.
I use a dry tumbler after decaping and cleaning primer pockets by hand.
My grandfather taught me to reload as a young boy 55 years ago we never tumbled any brass or even heard of it. However I got back into reloading after retiring about 5 years ago and I do dry tumble now but keep it real simple. Not sure if see any difference but the ammo looks much nicer.
sonic clean after I deprime and quickly clean primer pocket then when after they're still wet run a cloth soaked in hornady cleaner over the necks to remove any remaining spent powder.
they're not shiny but pretty clean for the 5th & 6th times of reloading.
for drying in the summer place them on my balcony flloor and west sun hits them hard and winter just put back in case holders indoor and wait a week min.
I've actually done both wet then dry on the same brass, because the dry tumbler, dries the brass alot faster and cheaper then with heat.
Must be clean, I have shot CAS for years and picked up my brass out of dirt gravel mud and Snow the all get cleaned before they go thru my dies, recently tried wet tumbling and pins for range brass that was nasty and i really like the result. I have since stopped using pins just water, dawn and a little bit of lemonshine fro drity stuff . Dry corncob for everything else.