This is the process I use for Sharps .50 - 2.5'' brass w/BP: Colt .45 - 40 brass is similar.
Take a plastic container, w/sealable lid, to the range. Water w/spoon o' bakin' soda high enuff to cover the spent brass, standing upright, in the soda-water, in the container.
Place the brass in the soda-water asap after firing. This neutralizes the acids that aggresively attack brass.
Upon returning home, I rinse the brass in a cullender, knock the primers out manually, w/plastic mallet & punch, brush 'em inside w/test tube brush, under water, and blow 'em dry w/compressed air.
Then scrape the primer pocket bottoms w/ a suitable instrument, 'n' blow 'em out.
I don't clean 'em any further. And here's my reasoning: the brownish luster that gradually developes on the brass, whatever it's chemistry, becomes a protective coating. It combined w/the brass metal to form the coating. If it's removed, it simply forms again, using up more brass metal, gradually thinning the case even more than sizing & trimming does already. I just leave it on there, & let it do it's job...protecting the brass from further oxidation.
And ya also gotta anneal the brass now 'n' then, if ya wanna keep usin' it fer a long time. This is the best way I've found to do that:
Use a four-fingered mechanics "claw" that works like a syringe. Use the "claw" to hold the rim/head, primer end, of the cartridge case. Adjust the case, in the claw, so it spins true, when ya rotate the shaft o' the tool, w/yer fingers.
Brass quenches the opposite of carbon steel. When ya quench brass, in water, it gets softer. Runnin' the brass thru sizing/expanding dies work-hardens it. Eventually it cracks, unless it's periodically annealed.
So, ya got yer case trued up in the claw. Yer spinnin' it w/yer fingers. And yer movin' just the lip o' the mouth o' the case over the tip of a very low intensity propane torch flame. And yer doin' this in a low light location. And ya already made sure the spent primer was removed from it's pocket. This is important, for allowing the water to flow up into the case, when ya quench it, so that the case isn't "air-locked", and cools too slowly.
OK, so the brass doesn't need to turn red like quenchin' steel. And this is why ya do this in subdued light, so ya can see when the brass is just beginnin' to show the faintest beginnin's of turnin' red. And ya wanna keep the heat at the mouth end of the case. If ya get the whole case hot, you'll ruin it. The head will become too soft, & the primer pocket will enlarge, & become loose, after the next reloaded firing of the case.
So keep the heat from goin' more'n 1/2 way down the case toward the head. And this doesn't mean turnin' it faint red 1/2 way down the case. This means turnin' just the lip of the mouth faint red, & enuff heat will migrate back toward the head to do the job.
OK, the whole reason fer the "claw", 'n' spinnin' the case, is to get the heat evenly applied to the lip o' the case, and then, very quickly, plunge the case, in the vertical position, hot end strate down, into a tall column of water, like a quart or 1/2 gallon juice container. Quickly is the key element here, in this process, before the whole case gets hot.
It's time consuming to explain it all, but the process moves along rapidly, & ya can anneal 50 or 100 cases in less time than ya mite think. Once ya get a rythm goin'.
The problem w/standing the cases up in a pan o' water, heatin' 'em, & tippin' 'em over is: uneven heat & uneven quenchin' = uneven hardness/softness in the brass.
Kindest Regards,
Doak
