Do you decap before you tumble?

[kellylicon]

any issues with tumbling brass with old but unfired primers? i have about 1000rds of 1976 winchester 30-30. the boxes got nasty and some of it didnt fire so im going to pull the bullets, put in new primers and reload it all.

 

[GunTech]

ArchAngelCD +1

Dirty brass wear dies out faster. Unless you have a seperate deprimer, clean first.

 

[scrat]

tumble first. i hate cleaning the primer pockets of media.

 

[WayneConrad]

I decap first with a separate decapping die, then tumble with walnut, then resize. That way, primer pockets get cleaned during tumbling.

Some of the old timers here will tell you that primer pockets don't need cleaning. I suspect they're right, and that decapping after tumbling and not cleaning primer pockets can be just as good--and more expeditious--a way to do things than either decapping first or decapping during resizing and then cleaning primer pockets with one of those tools.

Walnut rarely seldom gets stuck in the primer pocket; more often it gets stuck in the flash hole. Both get cleared just fine by the depriming pin in the resizing die. By the way, experiments done by smart guys show that media in the flash hole most likely does not matter for accuracy or good functioning. I wish I remembered where I read that.

 

[sublimaze41]

Is dirt harmful to carbide dies?

 

[Quickdraw McGraw]

I'm just finicky about my ammo

I deprime before I tumble, using a decapping die. Any media that gets stuck is popped out by the decapping pin when I resize the nice clean brass.

Same as JoeHatley and WayneConrad

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Is dirt harmful to carbide dies?

Not as harmful as to Steel Dies. Dirt can score Steel Dies but usually won't score Carbide Dies but even Carbide dies wear out and dirt will speed up that process.

 

[jhansman]

Deprime (neck size rifle, full size handgun), vinegar soak, tumble. Clean as a whistle, and I clean out the primer hole while listening to music and thinking about my next range session.

 

[tasco 74]

i too tumble my brass before i size or deprime it.. i do clean out the primer residue in the pocket with a real small craftsman screwdriver.. just a couple of twists and it's done!

 

[alsaqr]

If the brass is really cruddy, i tumble first, de-prime, and tumble again.

 

[Geno]

Can't get anything stuck in the primer pocket or flashhole because I true these with each reload. In addition,, I want the brass to be as-clean-as possible with each new load in order to assure that the primer seats and secures as well as it can. It may not be needed, but it's how I do it.

 

[SSN Vet]

I guess I'm just lazy....

and not really striving for match grade competition ammo.

but mainly, I can't abide "batch reloading"

What I start, I want to finnish

I reload on a Lee turret, and for rifle brass that's "new to me" it goes like this...

1. tumble
2. seperate media

now I set up my area and go to town....

3. inspect case (check for stuck media), smudge case and swipe rim w/ Imperial
4. onto the press...size/deprime
5. off press and onto zip trim to trim & debur.
6. off zip trim...clean primer pocket/wipe with cotton rag/inspect
7. back onto the press for powder, bullet and crimp.
8. off press, final inspect and into box.

after a box of twenty I see how I feel, and decide whether to go for another one or not.

If I'm done for the night, but haven't loaded all the boxes I wanted to, I put a bag over the press, close up all the containers, put my scale and calipers in their drawer and punch out.

I ALWAYS put a piece of tin foil labeled with the powder under the cover of the Auto-disk reservoir
&
I only use two primers.....WSP & WLR.
&
I log every session.

so jumping right back into things for the next session is a breeze.

 

[spencerhut]

Depends . . ..

Rifle rounds get deprimed on the single stage with an RCBS HD Decapping Die (MIL Crimp) or Lee (No Crimp) decapping die before they get tumbled.

Pistol rounds go from the range bag right into the tumbler.

 

[Dallas Jack]

If the brass is just stained I size/decap first then tumble. If the brass is dirty it gets tumbled first.
Dallas Jack

 

[12Bravo20]

I deprime everything with a universal decapper before tumbling. I usually don't have to use a primer pocket tool that way and any media gets knocked out when I resize.

 

[RustyFN]

I tumble first. It seems like a lot of extra time to run the brass through a decaping die and then have to run them through a resizing die also. I tumble them while I'm watching TV or on the computer then when I'm ready to load some up they are ready to go. Here is a little over 8,000 cases of 9mm ready to go.

I also have about 3,000 cases in 223 and 1,500 in 45 auto ready to go. Now I just need smoething to shoot the 45 in.
Rusty

 

[bl4ckd0g]

and I though I was nuts for having a 5-gal bucket filled with .45 ACP brass and I won't even have my 45 pistol for another week or two.

 

[SilentArmy]

Tumble first as the grit on dirty shells is bad on your dies. Not as bad as the red Polish in Some walnut media but bad just the same. If I am loading Rifle calibers, the case lube tends to make the cases a little dingy again so AFTER I finish loading a batch up to 500 pcs (223 especially) I tumble the finished ammo for a short time to clean! Flame on guys! ( I know you will) but I learned this from a Dillon dealer and ammo remanufacturer! and it works fine! No Booms or rounds that wont fire after, just good clean ammo!

 

[RustyFN]

and I though I was nuts for having a 5-gal bucket filled with .45 ACP brass and I won't even have my 45 pistol for another week or two.

You are. Welcome to the club.
Rusty

 

[Bacchus]

Everything that I've picked up from the range (which isn't much lately) gets thrown into the tumbler with my brass first, then deprimed as part of my "usual" routine.

 

[brasskeeper]

I tumble first. Seems like my media last longer. Plus dirty rifle cases make a lube pad dirty. Then there is the rumor of dirty cases damaging your sizing die.

 

[qajaq59]

Tumble first with a little polish. It seems to makes them easier to run thru the dies. Especially for the K31.

 

[RidgwayCO]

Yes, using an RCBS universal decapping die (which doesn't touch the case walls or neck, it just punches the primer out). Then I clean/polish the cases, clean the primer pockets (using a Sinclair primer pocket uniformer), prime the cases (using an RCBS hand-held primer), and finally run them through the Lee Classic turret press (resize with no depriming rod, charge with the pro autodisk, seat a bullet, and finally crimp with a Lee factory crimp die).

A few extra steps I know, but the resulting ammo looks great and goes bang every time.

 

[dodgestdshift]

Deprime first in the RCBS Universal Resizing Die, then tumble for handgun. For rifle, I deprime first, tumble clean, lube, resize, and tumble again to get off all the lube. Yeah it takes longer but my resizing die never touches dirty cases.

 

[aakoksal]

I guess both is fine for Pistol

Decapping will break and push out any media particle stucked in flash hole and/or primer pocket.

For rifles though, I decap first, clean it and than clean primer pocket...