Who doesn't tumble?

[rsrocket1]

I tumble all brass from autoloaders. I don't tumble 38/357, .308 or 7.62x54R. I just wipe any soot off with a rag before they go back into the press. No need to waste time tumbling those cases. They never hit the ground and for me clean is good, shiny is nice but not required.

 

[Newtosavage]

What about spinning my brass in some fine steel wool to clean it? I already have it chucked in my trimming die to use my Lee trimmer and mouth chamfer tool. I have been lightly polishing it using steel wool as the final step and it comes out nice and clean and shiny. Are there any problems with this?

 

[ny32182]

Since I don't like dirt in my dies, or cases, or chambers, I always tumble.

You dump them in the tumbler and hit a button, and then 3 hours later you come back and dump them out. Easy as pie.

I don't really care how shiny they are (after the first couple runs with the same media, they aren't). But all my brass hits the ground, and depending on how wet the ground is, it can be pretty dirty or sandy inside and out when I pick it up.

 

[rbernie]

I tumble my rifle brass and trim it and perform other sorts of brass maintenance tasks. I don't mind this routine because I only process 1K or so rounds per year for any given chambering, and I want it to be as mechanically accurate as possible.

My pistol brass, on the other hand, gets washed in a water/Simple Green/dishwashing detergent mix and is then dried and set aside for loading. I evolved this routine because I tend to reload many thousands of rounds per year, and I recognize that ultimate accuracy and prettiness isn't of much value for my pistol shooting needs. I prefer washing for bulk processing because it manages the issue of lead-laden dust better than tumbling.

 

[Reloadron]

New to Savage:

What about spinning my brass in some fine steel wool to clean it? I already have it chucked in my trimming die to use my Lee trimmer and mouth chamfer tool. I have been lightly polishing it using steel wool as the final step and it comes out nice and clean and shiny. Are there any problems with this?

We just had this thread on that subject including a brief video. Clean outside with 0000 Steel Wool and inside with a brush. Watch the video. No problem doing it at all.

Ron

 

[Tilos]

For those who wash their brass, could you explain that process a little better?

I put the brass (pistol) in a plastic container with a screw top, enough hot water to cover the brass, and some Dawn dish soap.

Shake/turn the container, change water(no soap), shake/turn again to rinse.

Drain, put the brass is a bath towel and do the back and forth to remove as much water as you can, spread it out on another towel to dry.

Done

 

[rbernie]

For those who wash their brass, could you explain that process a little better?

My drill:

• Fill the kitchen sink with hot water, add a squirt of Dawn and capful of Simple Green
• Dump in 2K cases or so and let them sit for 30 minutes or so while I fill Dillon primer tubes or play Star Wars:Battlefront on the PS/4
• After the cases have soaked for a while, I agitate them by hand for a bit and then drain and rinse
• Do a couple of plain water rinse cycles (fill, sit, drain, rinse) to make sure that I get all the detergent off
• Dry the brass by putting batches in a folded towel and sliding the pile back and forth.
• Dump it in an empty 5gal paint bucket in the garage to sit for loading.

 

[Newtosavage]

Thank you Reloadron!

For those who wash, do you have to stand them up on the open end to get the water out?

 

[Newtosavage]

Watched the video and yup, that's just about what I've been doing too. I figured, I already had the brass chucked up in my drill for the trimmer and chamfer tool, how easy is it to just spin it in the steel wool for a second? Pretty darn, that's how.

 

[Tilos]

Thank you Reloadron!

For those who wash, do you have to stand them up on the open end to get the water out?

Not me, but I live in the high desert, stuff dries quick.

 

[FROGO207]

The main reason I clean mine is that defects are easier to see when the brass is clean. I do continue to a high shine often, just because. Add to that sometimes I will shoot, wipe, and reload for the entire life of that particular lot of brass. I have seen no difference with how the brass performs either way though. When I first learned to reload (mostly bottleneck rifle) My grandfather would have me give the neck/shoulder a twist or two in 0000 steel wool before checking the necks for bad spots/splits. He never cleaned his brass throughout his entire life. Said it was to distinguish his good handloads from the factory junk.

 

[Dudedog]

I reloaded for a couple years with no tumbler.
I took a 5 gallon bucket but some dish washing soap in added water and cases.
Stirred it every now and then. Let is soak for a couple days then rinsed off the cases. Laid them out in the sun to dry.

I still wash cases coming from the outdoor range were I shoot. The soil there is pretty sandy/gritty.

 

[MikeInOr]

I usually wash cases in an ultrasonic cleaner before loading then tumble the loaded rounds in corn cob media after loading to clean off the case lube. It works well for me.

Does everyone else find walnut media very dusty? Or is my walnut media just too old?

 

[hdwhit]

Back in the 1980's, when I was too poor to afford luxuries like a tumbler or chronograph, I didn't tumble my brass. I just lubed them, sized them, manually rubbed off the lubricant with a dishrag and loaded them. I loaded 840 rounds of .223 Remington like that. Over the years the cases have tarnished to the point they as if they had been painted brown.

They weren't intended to be pretty. They were intended to put meat in the pantry and protect myself if needed. And on both counts, they went bang when I pulled the trigger.

 

[Walkalong]

I didn't when I first started, I just wiped the cases down good. I traded into a tumbler fairly soon though.

 

[Crashbox]

I've never tumbled since I use an ultrasonic cleaner instead- much more versatile IMO.

 

[BCRider]

I clean mine in an ultrasonic cleaner. But I don't think this is what you meant in your original question. To that I always clean the brass before reloading.

 

[osprey176]

I clean my brass. It's easier to see cracks,stretch rings,ect.,and bright brass is much easier to find if it winds up in the grass when I hunt or shoot at an outdoor range.

 

[V-fib]

to clean my brass i pile it into one of those small washing bags, throw it in the washer with a little dab of dish detergent, wash them on gentle cycle. In the winter dry them in the oven on low heat or in the summer put em out in the sun to dry then reload.

v-fib

 

[Ronniefromalabama]

I like shiny. I tumble.

 

[gojuice101]

I don't tumble or clean most brass. I've been thinking about getting a tumbler, just not sure if its worth it or not. However, for my brother's 243 brass, I either chuck it in a drill and shine it with steel wool, or wash it in a mix of water, dish soap and simple green. No real purpose. It's just the only high-end ("match grade") ammo I load so I like it to look good. Everything else I just load for plinking or general shooting. I really don't care how it looks.

Although, clean brass does make it easier to see defects, splits, etc. That's the main reason I've been thinking about investing in a tumbler.

 

[goldpelican]

I usually wash cases in an ultrasonic cleaner before loading then tumble the loaded rounds in corn cob media after loading to clean off the case lube. It works well for me.

Does everyone else find walnut media very dusty? Or is my walnut media just too old?

I do the same - I've only just started tumbling recently. Currently only loading 9mm. Deprime by hand (using a Harvey Deprimer), Harbor Freight ultrasonic to clean the cases, Harbor Freight vibratory tumbler to polish the cases using 24 grit walnut. I wouldn't tumble dirty cases - just a decision to eliminate mixing any toxic crap into the inevitable dust from tumbling - even with careful handling I can still taste the dust. Nu-finish and a dryer sheet do cut the dust but don't eliminate it, so the cases get a hot water wash and dry in the sun after tumbling.

Cases don't need tumbling, I just like that they polish the cases, and look good afterwards. Purely an aesthetic step. My car doesn't need washing either, but I still do it. If I'm not reloading the cases immediately though, then I might resize before tumbling which then actually does have the practical benefit of removing lube from the resizing step before storing them.

I don't get to shoot nearly as often as I would like to, so I have plenty of time to spend on the hobby of reloading between range visits. Good way to extend my enjoyment from the sport.

 

[Schwing]

Thank you Reloadron!

For those who wash, do you have to stand them up on the open end to get the water out?

Nope. I just have an old bath towel that I dump them on. I spread them out a bit and let them sit overnight.

 

[topazguy]

I just started reloading and already have a "rock tumbler" so I've just been using that. I like shiny so I do the wet tumble.