Decapping before or after tumbling?

[deepskyridge]

Decapping

I use a dillon unversal decapping die to decap all brass. Then wet tumble with ss pins. I only see pins in the flash holes on mabye 1 in 250 cases. I then store it in plastic tubs until I need to load.

Gary

 

[cfullgraf]

I process cases shortly after shooting. Small batches go quickly.

I sometimes tumble before doing anything else to clean off range grime.

Then I resize and expand the mouth (handgun) then tumble again.

The prepared cases then get stored for a future loading session.

 

[Punkinhead]

When I tried decapping before tumbling I found that media became stuck in the primer hole of some of the casings. Since then I have always decapped after tumbling.

I switched from corn cob to walnut shell media for this reason. Maybe there are corn cob suppliers that grind it fine enough not to plug a primer hole?

 

[carbine85]

I soak mine in Simple Green 1st, re-size, soak again, then tumble for about 1 hour after I reload them.

 

[Potatohead]

Before

 

[txwingnut]

I use a LEE Universal to deprime then tumble. Pistol I then resize etc. Rifle I have been then lubing and resizing, case prep, tumble to remove lube then proceed as usual. I have an old universal decapping pin mounted in handle I turned to punch out any media I find later before priming. I have a single stage and really enjoy the time spent out in the hot garage lol.

 

[Louca]

I always de-cap as my first step.

For AR rifle:
De-cap
SS wet tumble 1 hr
Replace media liquid (which is always very dirty)
SS wet tumble 2 hrs
FL resize
Trim length
Chamfer/debur
Wet tumble wash (no SS pins)

For .45ACP:
De-cap
SS wet tumble 1 hr
Replace media liquid (which is always very dirty)
SS wet tumble 2 hrs
FL resize

I know, more info than you asked for.

Lou

 

[FROGO207]

Lots of options here as well. Like RC I do both but with a different twist for reasoning when I do. I dry tumble in walnut to remove grunge first then size/decap. Next I wet tumble using SS pins to clean and shine my brass as well as clean the primer pockets. Then I tumble in corn cob and Nu-Finish a while before reloading/storing to keep it from tarnishing. I like my brass to look like factory new with no marks from the resizing process on them. That's just my OCD however as dirty tarnished brass will shoot just as well. YMMV

 

[USSR]

Decapping before or after tumbling?

Do you prefer to deprime before or after cleaning and why?

You don't say if you are talking about rifle or handgun brass - I process them differently. I will only say, unless you are talking about depriming using a Universal Decapping die, ALWAYS clean your brass prior to running them thru your sizing die.

Don

 

[SuedePflow]

I do both.

A short tumble to knock the grunge off before sizing & depriming.

Then a longer tumble to get the case lube off and a final polish on.

^^^ This is exactly how/why I do it as well.

 

[THe Dove]

I have done it both ways. Both ways will work. Depends on the mood I'm in at the time I guess.....

The Dove

 

[joustin]

I decap first, when I was using a vibratory tumbler the media in the primer pockets didn't bother me, now that I use stainless steel I may get media stuck in a flash hole 1 or 2 times per load. Once it is cleaned I resize and prep as needed, before the vibe tumbler died I would dry the brass in it with a little Nu-Finish added to help shine them up even more. I switched to ArmorAll Wash & Wax instead of Dawn and they come out shiney and don't change color like they did before.

 

[Otto]

Flossing...before or after brushing?

 

[RussellC]

I avoid decapping unsized ammo, unless there's a really good reason. A tumbled and decapped piece of brass looks a lot like a tumbled, sized, and decapped piece of brass. I am afraid one will end up with a powder charge, primer, and a bullet in it, but no neck tension.

There is enough going on with reloading. I try to keep it simple.

Before. Not with me, no confusion at all, if I size, I also prime. I store brass cleaned, sized, and primed. If its clean with no primer, it needs sized. If there is a primer in it, its ready to load.

Russellc

 

[gunnels]

I use a vibratory cleaner so I clean first and then decap during the first step of reloading.

 

[GLOOB]

Before. Not with me, no confusion at all, if I size, I also prime. I store brass cleaned, sized, and primed. If its clean with no primer, it needs sized. If there is a primer in it, its ready to load.

Well, I also prime my pistol brass same step as sizing. But I also decap in that same step. I'd rather decap just once.
With rifle brass, I use Lee trimmers. So I need to trim before priming.

Sounds like your system is just fine for you, though. As long as you have a system.

I once had a click instead of a bang, and when I removed the 40SW round, the bullet was setback even with the case mouth. The case was unsized and the primer in it was already fired, thankfully.