Decapping dirty brass

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Bosn Ski

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I had the opportunity to shoot at a friends backyard range. Some of my brass and previous shooters brass was quite dirty with dirt and junk inside. I wet tumbled it before decapping but I’m wondering...

Could/should I have used a universal decapping die and save a bit of time?
 
I am not in a rush to use brass right away. The range I shoot at has nasty 60 grit dirt so I always do a quick (say 1/2 hour) pass thru the wet tumbler before I decap it.

You could use a universal die and not clean it first, but for me at least the small amount of extra time is not an issue.
I do like to use a universal on .223/5.56 brass even though I clean it first.
 
I had the opportunity to shoot at a friends backyard range. Some of my brass and previous shooters brass was quite dirty with dirt and junk inside. I wet tumbled it before decapping but I’m wondering...

Could/should I have used a universal decapping die and save a bit of time?

Guess I don't understand how you would have saved time. Did you still tumble the brass after you decapped? Do you resize and decap at the same time? Do you use a SS or a progressive? For me, the last thing I worry about is how clean my primer pockets are. If that is a concern there is always the pocket cleaner. The reason I tumble dirty brass for the most part is to get the dirt off before resizing, anything more than that is just cosmetic.
 
Some of it might have to do with crimped in primers... having to swage or ream the primer pocket out before proceeding with the loading process.

I don't worry about it too much... I dry tumble all my brass as soon as I get back. Handgun brass gets loaded on the progressive... I don't worry about dirty primer pockets. Rifle brass gets resized on the single-stage... then tumbled again to get the lube off before moving on.
 
I've done it both ways, the universal decapping die works well for this. Sometimes the range brass is so dirty I I take an old tumble type media separator and fill it with water, a little dawn let is soak while tumbling it by hand once in a while, rinse and let dry before processing. Like Dudedog I'm not in too much of a hurry to process it.
SCD
 
You could have saved some time, up to you if it matters. The time between primed range brass and deprimed range brass is just one chunk of time in the whole process.

I use a universal, then tumble, then size - but that's because I want to clean the pockets and also not run dirty brass through my sizing die.
 
I decap before ultrasonic then size, I've run dirty brass through a sizing die, no need to repeat that experience.
 
Clean your range brass before depriming.
I was cleaning a lot of range brass and with in two years I ruined my new single stage Hornady Lock n Load press from the grit and stuff getting on the ram and it ate away at the aluminum houseing.
I could literly move the ram back & forth over a 1/8 of an inch.

That press is toast.

Now I put the brass in my Frankford wet tumbler with out pins for 1/2 an hour, the usual, warm water, a cap of ArmorAll Wash & Wax, 1/2 a teaspoon of lemi shine and a small squirt of Dawn.

I will let it dry then deprime.
 
No. If you need shiny primer pockets then yes, deprime prior to wet tumbling
 
If I plan on wet tumbling the first thing I do is dry tumble for 15-20 minutes. I then deprime using a universal deprimer. I would never wet tumble without decaping first.
 
I wet tumbled it before decapping but I’m wondering...

Could/should I have used a universal decapping die and save a bit of time?

I tumble brass with primers in it all the time. Once clean I put them in a progressive and out the other side, a ready to fire round falls into a bin. Decapping them beforehand would have doubled the time and effort, on a manual machine.
 
I don't want dirty filthy brass run through my press. I have a wide mouth plastic jug with a screw on lid that I put the brass in along with some Dawn dish soap and let it sit. I'll give it a shake whenever I think about it. Then I'll rinse it, dry it and then deprime it. I never need it so quick that I can't wait for it to dry and I don't want that grit on my press ram. I giving some thoughts to purchasing a cheaper press just to deprime with.
 
When I get dirty, nasty range pickup brass full of dirt, first thing I do is dump it in a bucket of hot water with a little dawn dish soap and let it sit 15-30 minutes. Stir occasionally and then dump into a colander and rinse well. If I still see anything in a case I use the Lee decapper and base to deprime. If they look good they go to the single stage with a universal deprimer and get deprimed. After that they get wet tumbled then processed as usual.
 
I am still pretty new to reloading but I decap my brass using one of those universal decapping dies and then tumble clean. My thought is to try and clean out the primer pockets during the tumbling process.

That is just how I do it.
 
If the brass is really grungy I'll hose the dirt off, let it dry, then run it though my vibratory tumblers.

After that it gets dumped into the case collator and loaded.
 
I clean the real dirty stuff before I decap. Meaning stuff with dirt or sand mixed in with it. Don't want that stuff to fall off into the press even with a universal decapper. I don't clean it a lot. Just enough to the crap off it. Then I decap and clean like normal.
 
first stop on all used brass is the tumbler for me. just how it is. I guess decapping first might save a bit of time, but - it is personal preference. I don't reload or shoot enough to care. If I shot way more, and time mattered, I'd maybe just blow the cases off with compressed air quick and then decap them with the universal die.
 
I suppose if I had brass which was covered in mud or something I would rinse it off before tumbling it. That's never come up for me, though, and I hope the situation never becomes that desperate.

Beyond that, I honestly can't think of any reason why primer pockets would need to be shiny clean.

I dry tumble and then load in the usual way. I have a universal decapping die, and I know there was some esoteric reason for the purchase, but I can't actually recall it at the moment.
 
I reload several cartridges in batches as big as I can get - 1k at a wack for 9mm and .223. I use universal de-cap dies and then clean and process to a point where I only need primers and flaring. I like getting the drudge work out of the way.
 
I just picked up 500 pounds of mixed range brass. After ruining a bought new Hornady single stage Lock n Load press in two years I wet tumble first with no pins.
I seperated fifty pounds last night and today I wet tumbled around 4,000 pieces of 9mm and around 1,500 pices of 223/5.56.
Once I get more seperated I will wet tumble other calibers.

I had some 9mm that I dry tumbeled, i put it through the wet tumbler and did the crud come off that dry tumbled brass.

This is the stuff that came off the dry tumbled brass.
20201030_164838.jpg
.

Here is stuff left in the bucket after I dumped most of the water out.
20201031_113225.jpg

That is some nasty stuff.
 

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