What order??

[rvenneman]

I read a lot on the internet about which order to process brass. Some say "tumble then deprime." Some say "deprime first then tumble."
Which way do you prefer?

 

[berettaprofessor]

Sorry error

 

[JO JO]

I think it depends are you talking wet or dry tumbling

 

[badkarmamib]

I use range pickups, so I tumble first. Then, I lube. Then, size and deprime. Then, tumble again, to remove the lube. Just my way, one of many that all work.

 

[dbmjr1]

I find that tumbling after depriming leaves media in the flash holes that can be difficult to remove.
If I were wet tumbling with stainless pins it might be different.

 

[AFK]

I load for pistol only and I use a progressive press. I tumble first in corn con media with a little polish added. Brass comes out clean enough for me and I don't have to worry about media caught in the flash hole.

 

[ants]

General purpose range ammo, I tumble thousands and keep them until I need to reload. Deprime and resize in the same operation. No big deal.

But for hunting, competition, etc., I deprime first to make sure I clean, inspect, trim if needed, and correct any problems (or discard) before I lube for the other operations.

 

[snakeye]

I always deprime then tumble...I have never had issues with walnut media clogging primers holes

 

[cfullgraf]

I generally tumble cases after depriming and resizing.

If the cases are grungy, I might tumble them before resizing then resize/deprime the cases and tumble them again.

 

[FROGO207]

First I deprime with a universal deprimer. I tumble/shake first by hand in a 5 gallon pail and water if the cases are full of dirt/grit for a prerinse. If not they go into the tumbler with SS pins and Lemi Shine/dawn. After drying they are processed as needed then loaded. I do this to assure that the primer pockets are cleaned. At the end I tumble loaded ammo in corn cob with Nu Finish polish for 20 or so minutes if storing for any length of time. Just my way of doing it.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I will not run dirty brass through my dies so I always tumble before I deprime.

BUT

There is no wrong answer here, it's a matter of preference. If you really want the primer pockets empty first you could use a universal depriming die and then tumble.

Like said, if you wet tumble you will want the primers out of the pockets first.

 

[someguy2800]

I am to lazy too deprime all my brass first so I tumble them with the primers in and then reload them as is. I have tried depriming first and my dry tumbler did little to nothing to clean out the primer pockets anyway so I figured whats the point.

 

[armoredman]

I actually have had media stick in .223 flash holes. Was unfun to pick out. Normally I will tumble then store for deprime/resize/reprime day, after which they get stored away again for loading day.

 

[AZAndy]

I load for pistol only and I use a progressive press. I tumble first in corn con media with a little polish added. Brass comes out clean enough for me and I don't have to worry about media caught in the flash hole.

Same here, though I switched to walnut lately, for those rare times when I'm tumbling cases with no primer (like disassembled reject cartridges). Corncob loves to get stuck in the pocket.

 

[bersaguy]

Primarily reloading 45acp my process is:

Sort- by headstamp
Deprime- with universal deprime die
Tumble- dry tumble w/walnut media
Prime- off press with hand primer
Resize- on turret press
Charge- on turret press
Seat- on turret press
Crimp- on turret press
I like this procedure because it allows me to have a stockpile of primed brass ready to go when I'm ready to start reloading. I haven't had much issue with walnut in the flash holes. If I do have a piece stuck in the flash hole it's easy to pop it out with a bent paper clip. I lube every 10th case or so, using carbide dies so it's not all together necessary, but makes the operation smoother. Plus that's when I also spot check charge weight. But the order is really up to you, this works for me, but it requires a separate single stage press and hand primer. Once you start running some rounds through, you will find whats most logical and efficient for you. Be safe, have fun

 

[VAReloader]

Pistol - deprime, wet clean, reload.
Rifle - Lube, deprime/size, wet clean, trim/chamfer/debur, reload.

 

[Rodentman]

I want to have clean, resized brass ready to go. So I resize/deprime, wet tumble, dry, and store. When ready to reload the brass, I flare/expand, prime, charge, seat, and crimp. I do all this on a single stage. I don't do, or shoot as many rounds as many other folks, but my process is time consuming but rewarding. So I avoid tumbling twice which some people do in their method.

 

[RandyP]

I also prefer that 'clean' cases are run through my sizing/depriming die so all brass gets dry tumbled in 50/50 corn cob walnut media as the first step. Pistol or rifle.

 

[deerswamp]

Deprime, wash, dry, resize, trim if needed, prep, and then polish.

 

[fotheringill]

I find that tumbling after depriming leaves media in the flash holes that can be difficult to remove.
If I were wet tumbling with stainless pins it might be different.

It very well might. Depending on how many cases you do at one time (I do about 100) or so, I just take the smallest Allen key I have and push it into the pocket to dislodge whatever is clogging it up. Ten minutes of time.

 

[Varminterror]

I use the following process:

1) Universal decapper to deprime
2) Ultrasonic cleaning
3) Lube
4) Resize
5) Tumble (If using Hornady One shot, I don't tumble here)
6) Prime, charge, seat, crimp, and rock & roll...

 

[Dudedog]

I shoot at a dirty sandy range, so
I do a quick wash in a bucket of water, then into the wet tumbler for 1/2 hour.
Then I deprime and run them thru the wet tumbler again.
That way I get nice clean primer pockets. They probably don't need to be that clean but the nice clean brass makes me happy even if it might make no difference on target.

 

[kcofohio]

I read a lot on the internet about which order to process brass. Some say "tumble then deprime." Some say "deprime first then tumble."
Which way do you prefer?

I prefer to just (dry) tumble. Deprime in the reloading process.

I think it depends are you talking wet or dry tumbling

I can see where you would want to (pre) deprime with wet tumble, to ensure dry pockets.

 

[kcofohio]

I read a lot on the internet about which order to process brass. Some say "tumble then deprime." Some say "deprime first then tumble."
Which way do you prefer?

I prefer to just (dry) tumble. Deprime in the reloading process.

I think it depends are you talking wet or dry tumbling

I can see where you would want to deprime with wet tumble, to ensure dry pockets.

 

[Reloadron]

I read a lot on the internet about which order to process brass. Some say "tumble then deprime." Some say "deprime first then tumble."
Which way do you prefer?

Really it depends. The brass I leave the range with was the same brass I arrived with so I never see really cruddy or stained brass. I start with resizing including removing primers, then I trim as required and then I run the brass through a vibratory tumbler. This works for me. Then I may load it or label and store it.

Ron