Reloading question

[jrdudas]

I am brand new to reloading and I have just acquired my equipment.  I had been saving my brass for some time and found that I have enough so that I will not have to buy any for a while. 

Here's my question;

With regard to cleaning the brass;  do you recommend cleaning the brass before removing the old primer or after removal.  I would think that the primer should be removed first in order to also clean the primer pocket.  However, won't that expose your die set to a bunch of grime that could damage it.  Or is it more correct to clean the brass before removing the primer and then cleaning it again after removal.

Also, please comment on my planned cleaning method.  I do not have a tumbler as yet so I intend to soak the brass in a bucket using 409 as the cleaner.  Then agitate by hand for short while; then rinse off the brass and allow it to air dry.

Thanks for your comments,

JR
   

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

You really need to get a tumbler. Now having said that, there is nothing wrong with just rinsing your brass and letting it dry. The real purpose of cleaning your brass is to remove any grit that it may have picked up. Particularly brass that has been ejected from a rifle and fell to the ground. Grit is fine particles of sand that is often present in any soil. Grit is extremely hard, and if it gets run through your dies it will probably scratch the dies. It may even imbed itself in a die. Once your dies are scratched, they will in turn scratch all the brass you run through them. So making sure to clean the grit off your brass is very important. Frankly, I would not bother with 409, I would just rinse my brass in some water with a squirt of dish soap in it. I do this for my Black Powder brass before tumbling it, but that is because I have to rinse away the corrosive BP powder fouling before it sits too long. You could do the same with Smokeless brass, rinsing away the grit while you are at it. However you rinse your brass, be sure to rinse it out with plenty of clear water to remove any soap or whatnot before drying.

Now shiny brass, is a completely different story. If you rinse your brass without tumbling it, you will probably not remove any powder stains. The fact is, shiny brass does not shoot any better than stained brass. Shiny brass is easier to find in the grass, and it looks real nice, but it does not shoot any better than brass which has simply been rinsed. Tumbling in a medium like crushed walnut shells is a very mildly abrasive activity, and it is the mild abrasive that shines up the brass. Tumbling will also remove grit, so it is good for your brass and your dies.

So either way, rinse it, or tumble it, so long as you remove the grit.

Personally, I never bother to clean primer pockets. Particularly with ammo that has only been loaded with Smokeless powder. If I was producing super precision rifle ammo for long distance accuracy, then I would probably decap and clean the pockets. Bit I would probably only be loading 50 or 100 rounds at a time on a single stage press. When mass procucing pisol ammo, I never bother to clean out primer pockets. There just is not all that much gunk down there. I simply dump the brass in my tumbler, tumble for a few hours, then spin the brass to remove the walnut shells and start loading. No cleaning of primer pockets.

[Fingers McGee]

Howdy

You really need to get a tumbler. Now having said that, there is nothing wrong with just rinsing your brass and letting it dry. The real purpose of cleaning your brass is to remove any grit that it may have picked up. Particularly brass that has been ejected from a rifle and fell to the ground. Grit is fine particles of sand that is often present in any soil. Grit is extremely hard, and if it gets run through your dies it will probably scratch the dies. It may even imbed itself in a die. Once your dies are scratched, they will in turn scratch all the brass you run through them. So making sure to clean the grit off your brass is very important. Frankly, I would not bother with 409, I would just rinse my brass in some water with a squirt of dish soap in it. I do this for my Black Powder brass before tumbling it, but that is because I have to rinse away the corrosive BP powder fouling before it sits too long. You could do the same with Smokeless brass, rinsing away the grit while you are at it. However you rinse your brass, be sure to rinse it out with plenty of clear water to remove any soap or whatnot before drying.

Now shiny brass, is a completely different story. If you rinse your brass without tumbling it, you will probably not remove any powder stains. The fact is, shiny brass does not shoot any better than stained brass. Shiny brass is easier to find in the grass, and it looks real nice, but it does not shoot any better than brass which has simply been rinsed. Tumbling in a medium like crushed walnut shells is a very mildly abrasive activity, and it is the mild abrasive that shines up the brass. Tumbling will also remove grit, so it is good for your brass and your dies.

So either way, rinse it, or tumble it, so long as you remove the grit.

Personally, I never bother to clean primer pockets. Particularly with ammo that has only been loaded with Smokeless powder. If I was producing super precision rifle ammo for long distance accuracy, then I would probably decap and clean the pockets. Bit I would probably only be loading 50 or 100 rounds at a time on a single stage press. When mass procucing pisol ammo, I never bother to clean out primer pockets. There just is not all that much gunk down there. I simply dump the brass in my tumbler, tumble for a few hours, then spin the brass to remove the walnut shells and start loading. No cleaning of primer pockets.

What DJ said.

FM

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[Delmonico]

If you decap before tumbling be sure to look in every primer flash hole after, for media, for the pockets I do clean for long range stuff and hunting loads I tumble and clean each pocket by hand after I decap.  Don't take long and how many of that type load do most folks load?

[Jefro]

What DJ said.

FM

What Fingers said. You can get a tumbler kit with media, polish, and a sifter from Cabelas for $59.00. Good Luck.
Cabelas

Jefro

[buck]

I have a RCBS universal decapping die that works on a large variety of calibers.  It doesnt resize...just decaps.  So it works on dirty brass.  After you clean the brass your resizing die will push any media out of the primer pocket with the depriming pin it has.

[cpt dan blodgett]

When reloading pistols using carbide dies (dont require lube) I tumble, (grit removal) size and deprime and do not clean primer pockets.

For Bottlenecked cases (only for rifles with me as I dont do 32/20 44/40 handgun / rifle) I tumble, lube, size&deprime, trim, tumble again to take of lube, prime, charge, seat bullet.  I have cleaned primer pockets and have not cleaned primer pockets for shooting high power matches.  Never noticed difference.  Always cleaned and removed crimp if reloading military rounds for the first time.  I did have to check for media in the primer hole prior to priming.  Kept a lee 308 decapping tool on bench, a paper clip would have worked as well to get media out.  The lee tool was strong enough to deprime GI crimped in primer cases.

I purchased a primer uniformer tool a few years ago, but have never used it.  May bust it out and see if it helps getting that magic sub minute load for 45/70 BP

[Papa Irish]

I have been reloading for almost 50 years.  Two reasons to clean first then decap: 1-cleaning media will not get wedged in the flash hole. 2-dirty cases wear out dies and can get stuck in the resize die.  Use a tumbler.  You can get a cheap tumbler or a vibratory cleaner from Harbor Freight. 

[rickk]

I tumble them before I deprime them. It beats fighting with the stuff that gets stuck in the flash hole.

My Lyman power trimmer has a primer pocket cleaning brush attachment. I believe RCBS and Lyman both make a fairly inexpensive manual pocket cleaning brush kit as well.

I remember cleaning without a tumbler way back when.  You can sorta do it, but once you get a tumbler you won't ever do it any other way.

Don't let the lack of a tumbler stop you however. You won't have the prettiest cases in the world but it will still work.

Reloading equipment is funny... no matter how much stuff you get, you will always want one more thing that will make your life that much easier. 

[Trailrider]

Howdy, Pards,
The main reason I clean cases is to remove lube after sizing (mostly .44-40, .30-06, etc., where carbide dies aren't an option).  I do tumble them. However, before I acquired a tumbler, I would use a 50/50 mix of water/vinegar on a soft cloth, followed by wiping with a dry cloth.

YES, I do tumble AFTER resizing, AND clean the primer pockets, with particular attention to the inside corner of the pocket. I use an old dental tool I acquired years ago. I do check the flash holes for primer media stuck therein, holding the case up to the light so I can see light through the hole.  I clean the primer pockets on each case (I load on a single stage press) for the simple reason that the crud in the bottom of the pocket can cause high primers!

[Steel Horse Bailey]

I've done it like all the different posters here.  I didn't used to worry about clean primer pockets UNTIL I started having problems with proper primer seating after about 12-15 reloads.  Now, I clean the primer pockets (I also now shoot MUCH more Black Powder) after 2 or 3 loads - but by cleaning, I mean I de-cap, then tumble 'em with either walnut or ceramic media.

Cleaning primer pockets is not overly important for (A) shooting smokeyless powder, and/or (B) every reload with BP.  But eeventually it can/will make a difference.  For precision loading (as in long range or Bullseye shooting) needs clean primer pockets for uniformity.

I would recommend that you get at LEAST a vibratory cleaner ASAP.  But if you get off the grit like Mako and others mentioned, you can load a loooooong time without problems without cleaning primer pockets and/or tumbling.

[cpt dan blodgett]

Take my not routinely cleaning primer pockets with a grain of salt.  If the pocket are obviously in need of work or seating primers gets to be problematic - do what you know you need to do.