How do you deprime your filthy brass?

TackticalZacktical said:

I have five gallons of 9mm range brass that is full of sand and absolutely filthy. Wet tumbling with pins is the only option to get the mud out of the inside of the cases. Should I:

1.) Wet tumble with pins then decap on my 750 during loading? (Potentially getting sand in my press from depriming)

2.) Rinse off the bulk of the sand and grit, then decap on a separate tool head, then wet tumble with pins, then load on the 750? (Separate tool head, but still potentially getting my press nasty)

3.) Decap on a separate single stage or handheld de-primer, wet tumble, then load on the 750? (Time consuming, but definitely the best option for keeping the 750 clean)

I have no concern with dirty flash holes affecting accuracy on my bulk 9mm, but I do not want to have a bunch of gritty dirt and crap from depriming gunking up my 750. What do you suggest?

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If it were me hot soapy water 5 gallon bucket rinse and repeat until it’s clean enough for you then wet tumble finally I’d get a separate setup to decap dirty range brass just me though ymmv

TackticalZacktical said:

Separate setup as in a dedicated tool head on the 750 or on a single stage/hand deprimer?

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A separate single stage no point in getting grit and junk in that new new 750

I clean them in a bucket of water till all of the abrasive stuff is removed. Then use a universal deprimer to deprime than clean with SS pins before loading them up.

Rinse then deprime with Lee APP then wet tumble

TackticalZacktical said:

I have five gallons of 9mm range brass. . . What do you suggest?

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I'm reaching for another bucket, and the dishsoap to start. Soap, soak, agitate, rinse, and repeat.

If that doesn't remove 90% of the sand, I'd be duck taping the shop vac hose to the press right where the residue lands upon decapping.

I just make sure they are all very dry. Then dry tumble using old media. That gets all the dirt and crud out of them. Separate and re-tumble with good media to get them cleaned up shiny. Reload as normal.

TackticalZacktical said:

You deprime on your progressive or on a separate press altogether?

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I use my LNL-AP( with brass feeder) with the RCBS spring loaded tip to deprime. I've replaced the weak factory spring with a cut down spring from a old AR spring cut to fit. Since the LNL-AP discards the spent primers down a tube into a bottle it's very clean. I remove the priming punch so any debree will just fall through on to the frame's base.

If you aren't absolutely sure your brass is clean before going about reloading then STOP. Go back and clean them again, and again if necessary, to get that gunk out of there. Why would you want brass in that bad of shape?

Simple. I don't deprime filthy brass. If I did, I'd use a universal Depriming die on a single stage press.

And yet another reason I suggest having a single stage, even if you have the Hornadillon 50,000 XFL.

I have a bunch of junk and mismatched dies that have come from bench buys over time. There’s a couple does I have used as a “universal deprimer”. 45-70 worked fine for a while but I was nervous about sticking something in it, but a really beat to hell steel .357 decapper got put under the chop saw to get rid of the boogered up threads and expose the rod. Now it’s just a couple threads to screw it in and will work for anything I have tried. No sense putting good dies into the junk pile to save range brass.

I'd dump that dry nasty brass out on a 1/4" screen, and screed it out to remove the bulk of the sand and dirt.

Then I'd deprime it on a single stage with a universal deprime tie.

Then I'd wash, dry, and tumble. Then sort and reload.

That's how I do it.

entropy said:

Simple. I don't deprime filthy brass. If I did, I'd use a universal Depriming die on a single stage press.

And yet another reason I suggest having a single stage

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+1.

TackticalZacktical said:

How do you deprime your filthy brass?

I have five gallons of 9mm range brass that is full of sand and absolutely filthy. Wet tumbling with pins is the only option to get the mud out of the inside of the cases.

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Same here as entropy, I simply do not deprime dirty brass regardless of press/die used (C-H, Dillon, Hornady, Lee, RCBS, etc.) and I am set up for dry and wet tumbling of brass.

When I shot at outdoor range and picked up dried mud filled 9mm brass, I would tap out the dirt/sand from inside of case (Hold the case while slapping hands together and wad of dirt goes flying out) and dry tumble in walnut media. I would check after 30 minutes and pull out clean brass and continue tumbling until remaining brass was clean enough for my liking (Brass just needs to be clean, not shiny, to reload for me). If I wanted mirror shine on brass, I would tumble clean brass in walnut or corn cob or 50/50 mix treated with NuFinish or Turtle Wax liquid polish for 1 to 2 hours.

Berry's 400 is the tumbler I use and it has a capacity of 1000 9mm cases and I usually load it with 600-800 cases to speed up the cleaning/polishing and most range brass can be cleaned enough for reloading in about 15-20 minutes. Even if you wet tumble, having a dry tumbler is great for applying liquid polish to lightly lube the case for easier resizing and preserving mirror shine on polished brass for months to years - https://www.sportsmans.com/shooting...-preparation/berrys-mfg-400-tumbler/p/1210877

If wet tumbling was your only option, I would tap out the dirt/sand and use Lee universal depriming die to remove the primer and wet tumble the brass.

TackticalZacktical said:

...full of sand and absolutely filthy.

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...will not get near my press 'til tumbled. After decapping I'd tumble again if concerned about lingering grit in primer area. My brass usually lands on a tarp so I go straight to decapping then tumble. But in your case, definitely tumble first.

I decap on a Redding T-7 and taped a collar around the shellholder mount so debris falls several millimeters away from the ram. Does it matter? Maybe. Does it minimize dirty, abrasive schmutz in the ram? Yes.

Mesh laundry bag and washing machine.

Otto said:

Mesh laundry bag and washing machine.

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If you are married, this may not be an option, nor is cleaning guns in the dishwasher.

I bought cheap used separate washer/dryer set for shop use and would recommend front loading washer for tumbling brass in mesh bag.

Yep, that's why I use my mother-in-laws machine.

Otto said:

Yep, that's why I use my mother-in-laws machine.

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That is not right ... but I haven't met your mother-in-law ...

If they are really dirty I'd use the old "NRA case cleaning formula" first;
1 Pint water
1 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon dish detergent
Adjust quantities to get a 5 gal bucket full, slosh around and soak for a while then rinse and dry. But I reloaded 12 years before I tumbled any brass, I just wiped the cases with a solvent dampened rag as I inspected them (first step). No scratched or ruined dies or chambers...

https://harveydeprimer.com/

Doesn't care if the brass is dirty and it never gets near your press.

And there's FA hand deprimer - https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Platinum-Deprimer-Reloading/dp/B00RPABDZO

9mm brass is so plentiful, if it's caked with mud, why even pick it up in the first place? I just chuck that into the tree line as if it were steel case or .380

This is what I'd do - and like you - no way I wouldn't use that case feeder I paid good $ for and do on a single stage! As others have suggested, 5 gal buckets of warm soapy water. Just keep going until you're getting clean water, probably an overnight or two soak session in between agitations & water changes. Then I'd set up a Lee universal decap die and run with it. Would employ child labor if an option

After that, tumble as you do any other brass & carry on loading.

Had an after thought...and no idea if this would work, but being lazy, I'd try it.....those steel stirrers you put on a 1/2" drill for mixing small batches of concrete - they look like the paint stirrer on steroids. Add that to the 5 gal (or larger) bucket of warm soapy water for agitation. That should be some pretty violent sloshing around, but shouldn't crush brass if not overly full.