Tumbler media in flash hole

[TStorm]

Does the small amount of walnut/corn cob media that gets into the flash hole during cleaning need to be cleared prior to reloading or will the depriming pin push this clear with the primer?

I'd estimate about 25% of the cases I've cleaned have a grain or two of media in the flash hole when they are done. I've tried to clear this with a 20ga (?) piece of copper wire, but this gets VERY tedious.

Still just prepping cases. LNL ordered and on backorder.

Thanks in advance!

 

[janobles14]

it will come out when resized. mine just falls into the primer catch tube.

 

[mgregg85]

Seems like you could just blow on the things out with your mouth or with compressed air, would be faster than the wire method.

 

[Walkalong]

Don't worry about it. Unless you are loading match ammo in a gun capable of producing match type results, you will never see the difference.

 

[cliffy]

Blocking a primer hole?

Don't, remove it. cliffy

 

[depoloni]

This is very simple, whether you use a universal decapper (Lee has one) or your resizing die itself to decap...

Tumble your brass with the primers in. Then deprime after they're cleaned, and clean the primer pockets out if you desire or as necessary. The decapping pin, of either die type, will clear the flash hole of any media stuck in the flash hole. Thus you'll never have to pluck anything out by hand.

Unless you're using a tumbler that's something special compared to mine (ceramic and wet cleaner comes to mind) walnut, or corn cob, will not do as nearly as nice a job cleaning your primer pockets anyways.

DO make sure none of that walnut/etc gets hung up on your case and shoved up into your die. The scratches this can cause will tick you off, when they score your cases and must be buffed out. Don't ask why I know.

Hope this helps.

 

[rcmodel]

Walnut media simply cannot scratch a hardened steel or carbide sizing die, or get stuck in it.

If you had to polish something out of a die, it was brass specks galled to the die by sizing without sufficient case lube.

As for removing media from the flash holes?
De-prime after tumbling and it will all be knocked out by the decapping pin.

But I am of the opinion it won't hurt anything even if it stays there.

A Speck of walnut hull would stand the same chance of surviving as a fart in a hurricane when the primer & powder lights off!

(I do inspect may cases and knock them out if I tumble after sizing though.)

rcmodel

 

[CatsEye]

I tumble before I deprime the brass. Take about 10 out of the tumbler and hold them in one hand. Cup the other hand over it and shake a few time like you might dice at the Craps table. It will clear media fromt the flash hole 90% of the time. If it doesn't I'm not that worrried about it.

 

[Strongbad]

When I tumble with the primers out (I often tumble before and after resizing) I just use a little pin that I have to punch the media out, or occasionally I'll run them through the decapping die.

 

[rondog]

I always use a decapping die, and deprime my cases first. I'm anal that way, I want the primer pockets to get scrubbed. Of course, walnut pieces get stuck. I typically will use a depriming pin from one of my sizing dies (cases already deprimed, so I remove the pins) and use that to poke the chunks out with. Works great.

But, I look at it like rcmodel....when the primer fires, that little chunk of walnut in the hole doesn't stand a chance.