Not cleaning brass
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CoalCrackerAl
Member
Back when i started to load. I just wiped the cases off like Rocirish. Now i always tumble my brass.
CoalCrackerAl
Member
To add. As the crud builds in the primer pockets you should clean it out too. This will aide in proper primer seating.
SnowBlaZeR2
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Our club has a sandy ground. I'm not running that crap through my dies or my barrels without cleaning it. That's especially true for rifle cases that get lubed.
merlynski
Member
Before carbide dies were available every cartridge had to be rolled on a 'lube pad' covered with a sticky lube before resizing / depriming. I just wiped them off because the lube pad got really grimy If I did not. Then it was necessary to wipe the lube off or it would collect dirt and crud. Back then the only real sources of info were Reloading Manuals or your LGS. The two biggest things I remember suggested by my Manual was 'cleaning primer pockets' and 'trim to length' as the first steps above the most basic reloading steps. The primer pocket cleaner was cheap, but the Forster case trimmer was not. Then, of course, an inside and outside chamfering tool was necessary . . . and so it began.
Nowadays we have been trained by salesmanship to believe our brass should be as clean and shiny as new brass before we dare to start reloading it.
It shore is purdy tho . . .
Nowadays we have been trained by salesmanship to believe our brass should be as clean and shiny as new brass before we dare to start reloading it.
It shore is purdy tho . . .
I rinse with hot water to get any crud off. Let dry for a day and you're good to go. I have brass that's been loaded 20+ times using that method and it works just fine.
I have reloaded .38 Special brass without any cleaning before and it works. I feel OK doing this with revolver brass as it doesn't hit the ground and get dirt, dust or sand stuck to the case that might harm a die.
I have reloaded .38 Special brass without any cleaning before and it works. I feel OK doing this with revolver brass as it doesn't hit the ground and get dirt, dust or sand stuck to the case that might harm a die.
Bazoo
Member
Occasionally ill reload without tumbling. Just wipe them off. Sometimes with revolver brass I don't even wipe them off. Most of the time I tumble them though. Then there is that dust in the case. Eventually it will build and need to be wet tumbled. I'm in process of building a wet tumbler so I can clean really dirty brass.
FROGO207
Member
Just wiping off the brass will do. Cleaning until it shines sure makes it easier to find when it hits the ground. Years ago I would mistake sticks for brass when it was tarnished so badly.
AgPilot
Member
I start clean. Shoot them then reload. Tumble after the second shot to make sure no crud is stuck in the primer pockets. If I cleaned after every shooting. The tumbler would be running 24/7
PWC
Member
Run it thru vib cleaner; walnut/corncob, dolop of NuFinish, small splash of mineral spirits/paint thinner, used dryer sheet cut into 4ths to catch dust. Much shineyer. Wipe off each case with old Tee shirt and inspect for damage, before setting in blocks.
Run cases thru deprime. Any media in the primer hole will be pushed out by deprime pin. Turn a small screwdriver thru primer pocket to clear crud put in another 'semiprepped and inspected' block.
I only run single stage press; 100-300 rounds at a sitting (2 to 6 blocks) and don't shoot prodigious quantities of ammo. Reloading is relaxing, deadlines are in my rearview mirror. No need rushing to get 1K ready for next weekend.
Run cases thru deprime. Any media in the primer hole will be pushed out by deprime pin. Turn a small screwdriver thru primer pocket to clear crud put in another 'semiprepped and inspected' block.
I only run single stage press; 100-300 rounds at a sitting (2 to 6 blocks) and don't shoot prodigious quantities of ammo. Reloading is relaxing, deadlines are in my rearview mirror. No need rushing to get 1K ready for next weekend.
Blue68f100
Member
You have to do some cleaning to protect your dies from getting scratched. The minimum is just wiping them off prior to sizing. I did this for decades. Once I started shooting higher volume I moved to a cleaning system to speed things up.
Charlie98
Member
See, I'm the opposite... I like my brass shiny and clean... but I rarely clean my weapons.
Back Home, Years Ago, I never cleaned my brass... just loaded it up and went shooting, but as my reloading process has evolved, I appreciate clean brass. I'm so goofy, I'll retumble brass that's already been tumbled and has sat for a while.
Back Home, Years Ago, I never cleaned my brass... just loaded it up and went shooting, but as my reloading process has evolved, I appreciate clean brass. I'm so goofy, I'll retumble brass that's already been tumbled and has sat for a while.
.38 Special
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I didn't clean when I first started handloading, and so my first sets of dies will scratch up brass pretty badly. Beyond that, I'm not part of the "squeaky clean" crowd, and their gyrations with wet tumbling leave me scratching my head. Each to his own, of course, but die preservation is one of the few objective reasons for cleaning cases, imo.
Col. Harrumph
Member
Shotshells I just reuse as is. Everything else I knock the primers out with the Lee universal die and then ultrasonic them with the Hornady case cleaner.
Skeptic13
Member
I think that I would more inclined not to clean my brass if it were brass I shot myself and probably had already reloaded. Also more inclined not to clean brass shot through bolt action as compared to brass shot through AR. Range brass I want to always clean to make sure I get all of the gunkies off.
I started off just wiping the cases clean to protect the dies, but soon got a used tumbler. I like having some polish on the cases to help protect them from tarnishing.
That said, I don't always run it long enough to get off all of the magic marker stuff from test rounds, or get real shiny, just enough to clean them up and use them again, or worry if there is still enough polish in the corn cob.
That said, for ammo I am going to make a big run of that will last me awhile? I like to tumble it real shiny with a good coat of polish on them.
That said, I don't always run it long enough to get off all of the magic marker stuff from test rounds, or get real shiny, just enough to clean them up and use them again, or worry if there is still enough polish in the corn cob.
That said, for ammo I am going to make a big run of that will last me awhile? I like to tumble it real shiny with a good coat of polish on them.
I probably should have prefaced my original post by saying that it is my reloaded brass and it is being shot through a bolt action. I always tumble brass that I pick up or get from any other source besides myself.
JFrank
Member
I suppose one day I'll get a tumbler, I know its a better way I just haven't ear marked the moolay yet.
In the late 1970's/early 1980's, I didn't have the money for a cleaner/tumbler. I simply wiped any dirt off the cases and reloaded them.
I - and my 21 year old son - recently shot 120 of those rounds. No problems. No misfires.
I still have 180 rounds from 1982 and have no qualms about shooting them alongside cases from 2013 or 2015.
Clean brass is pretty. Clean brass can help you visually inspect brass. It is, in no way necessary if you are otherwise inspecting your brass as described in any reloading manual.
I - and my 21 year old son - recently shot 120 of those rounds. No problems. No misfires.
I still have 180 rounds from 1982 and have no qualms about shooting them alongside cases from 2013 or 2015.
Clean brass is pretty. Clean brass can help you visually inspect brass. It is, in no way necessary if you are otherwise inspecting your brass as described in any reloading manual.
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