Tumbling brass - save it up or right away?

[Wedge]

Played a little more hooky...Fridays are like that...and it is easy to do when you aren't getting paid

Shot about 100 rounds, came home and promptly dumped all the empty brass into the tumbler. An hour later the brass is all ready to get reloaded on Sunday.

So who saves up brass to clean and who cleans it immediately?

 

[Unisaw]

I tend to throw mine in the vibratory cleaner right away. I like it to be ready when I am ready to begin the actual reloading steps.

 

[oscar]

I find that the sooner you tumble it, the easier it is to clean.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Load it, shoot it, clean it, load it, shoot it, etc, etc. What else do I have to do living here in this tin box among all of these old foggies. I have my horses and my guns. Not to mention work. We clean it the same day that we return from a days shooting.

 

[armoredman]

I grab from the range, and stash it, until I can afford a cheap tumbler....

 

[Tony Mig]

I've found the longer it sits, the more tarnished it gets, the harder it is to clean.
I almost always dump my brass right into the tumbler, and start the cleaning proccess while I'm cleaning the guns.
I once had an issue with the motor on one of my tumblers seizing up, and it got quite hot before I discovered it. Being a professional fire fighter, I'm not one inclined to leave electric devices run unattended, but I have walked away from my tumblers for short periods of time while doing other things. Had this thing caught fire with all the powder, primers, and loaded ammo in my garage, I would have been paying for hotel rooms for a few neighbors......
So the only time I don't tumble my brass right away, is when I'm not going to at least be close by to check up on things.

 

[happy old sailor]

i chunk mine in the tumbler when it is convenient. i do decap and resize mine before cleaning. clean to handle and gives me a peek in the flash hole to see if a piece of media is stuck in there. that could cause the dud that i dont want. i dont think it makes any difference, as long as you have plenty of ready to go hulls. i have at least 1 K of every caliber i shoot. i reload about 200 (4/50's) and reload them again. when i notice a split lip from flaring and crimping the hull, i toss it in the trash brass can and run in a replacement. when you factor in the numbers of times you can reload brass and the price of even new stuff, it is very inexpensive and not worth sweating over. so, i dont. however, if it works for you, it will be ok, go for it. for my first 20 years of reloading, i did not have a vibrating tumbler. i picked up the brass and gave them a quick puff to dislodge spiders and grass. i sometimes wonder about having no carbide dies (lubed 'em), no polisher, and a single action press, other missing amenities, how come stuff shot as good then as now. i think things are not better, just simpler and more expedient. one pull of the handle results in a loaded round. damn right i like it.

 

[happy old sailor]

oh, everyone pay attention to Tony Mig

 

[rick_reno]

I let mine sit around until I've got enough to fill my tumbler.

I did have a tumbler almost start a fire - it was one I'd gotten from Midway. I left it running in my barn on a wooden bench (1 inch pine top) and when I came back after an hour I had a room full of smoke and the bench under the tumbler looked like charcoal. I returned it and told them I didn't want another one - got a Dillon. I believe they later recalled them for starting fires.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

Mine sits in sealed plastic bags until I've got about 1000 or so, then I tumble them. Then they go into another plastic bag until ready to reload. RCBS green machine. Right price at the right time.

 

[theCZ]

If I'm shooting rifle where I only shoot a few rounds at a time, I save it up. Since I have a huge stash of dirty 9mm that was picked up at the range, each time I come back from shooting, I put a handful of my 9 brass and a handful of the range pickup in. That way I come out a little bit ahead each time.

 

[Dave R]

I drop mine in the tubler as soon as I get back from the range. While I'm unloading the car, I drop the empties in the tumber.