interesting fella told me not to clean brass before reloading???

[whitenup11]

SO I met an old timer who said he reloaded professionally for 17 years and now own a gun store and range. I was asking him about reloading in general and mentioned when I tumble my brass etc... He replied "why are you doing more then just running a brush through the case and making sure the primer pocket is free of residues?" I said I don't know, because all you hear about is making sure the brass if free and clear of all residues and the shinny new look is kind of nice. He just shook his head and said "guaranteed your reloads will be less accurate running them thru a tumbler or the brass pins/lemy shine method, because that is gonna leave residue for sure" I understand what he is saying, but what do yall think. Is he right, should I just use my case prep center and run it through the brushes and primer pocket cleaner? He has me a little confused.

 

[TireMan]

People say weird stuff at the range and gun shops. If you think it has some merit, give it a try.

 

[mb3]

I have heard that cleaning brass isnt a must. I like my brass clean so I clean it. Helps me to inspect my brass condition.

 

[EasyGravy]

I know a few benchresters that say not to clean brass. I clean mine they shoot fine.

 

[FLIGHT762]

Tumbling or cleaning off the brass that you've picked up off of the ground will prevent scratching the insides of you dies with the powder residues and dirt / sand left on the cases. Cases don't have to be bright and shiny, but they should be wiped clean. I have scratched dies by not cleaning the cases off, I learned my lesson. I tumble fired brass or wipe them off by hand before sizing. Not doing so will scratch your dies. I only use crushed Walnut with no additives. I don't believe you NEED to do anything more than that.

 

[Geno C.]

Who doesn't like shiny brass?! I clean mine for the same reason as above. It helps ensure that my dies and chamber don't get scratched and it's easier to inspect cases. It also takes the sizing lube off.

 

[Layton]

When i can shoot well enough to tell the difference then I'll worry about it. Until then i'm cleaning.

L

 

[Gnzrme]

SO I met an old timer who said he reloaded professionally for 17 years and now own a gun store and range. I was asking him about reloading in general and mentioned when I tumble my brass etc... He replied "why are you doing more then just running a brush through the case and making sure the primer pocket is free of residues?" I said I don't know, because all you hear about is making sure the brass if free and clear of all residues and the shinny new look is kind of nice. He just shook his head and said "guaranteed your reloads will be less accurate running them thru a tumbler or the brass pins/lemy shine method, because that is gonna leave residue for sure" I understand what he is saying, but what do yall think. Is he right, should I just use my case prep center and run it through the brushes and primer pocket cleaner? He has me a little confused.

He's wasting time cleaning primer pockets, but ignoring the necessary steps to make sure his dies do not get damaged....

Yeah that's a "pro"....

 

[MLC]

There are folks that believe the carbon in the case necks effects neck tension and will give you more consistency than bare brass.

 

[SONIC SAAMI]

There are folks that believe the carbon in the case necks effects neck tension and will give you more consistency than bare brass.

^^^^^

 

[No1]

I personally don't like to run dirty cases into expensive dies and I'm not going to wipe the dirt off one at a time. I did a 2000 round session of .45 a while back and that would have been a little eccentric. Not going to do it for 500 rounds of 308 either.

 

[bax]

I have heard about bear scat that smelled of pepper and bells too. I see crap on movies all the time that is nothing short of fantastic. But I can't do it.

Inspect for imminent head separation and cracked necks. Tumble to get the dirt and powder off. Lube and size - I full-length size, YMMV. Tumble again to get the lube off. Clean the primer pockets. If you haven't already, debur the flash hole. Check length, trim if necessary, chamfer if necessary. Sort by weight (this one is controversial - I do it, YMMV). Seat primer. Charge. Seat bullets. Put in boxes, barrel, bag, bucket or magazines. Mark the box with date, case weight, and normal stats - case make, primer, charge weight, bullet weight. Stash it away or shoot it.

I always tumble before sizing, even mostly clean straight wall pistol brass -- 9mm, 40, and 45. I have carbide dies.

Think about this. When you fire that round, powder residue is going to blow around the case mouth and when the case expands into the chamber wall, that powder residue gets imprinted into the brass. This is easy to verify. Fire 20 cases. Wash your hands. Handle the cases. You can see and smell the residue on your hands. Suppose that you polish. Does much cleaner brass create a problem? What good does dirty brass do for accuracy? Nothing I can think of. I would rather have a dry chamber wall and the brass expand hard and clean against the chamber wall. If I don't polish, I have the powder from this shot plus the powder from the last shot. That powder interferes with the sealing action. YMMV but I tumble before sizing and after.

 

[MarkCO]

One of the really old farts at our club has a few benchrest records and some rifles with brass he prepped last century. He uses a single stage press to give a slight squeeze on the neck with a collet crimp die. Told me his favorite piece has about 40 firings on it. I don't care if he is right or not, he is just fun to listen to. He built most of his rifles, and a gattling gun from scratch.

 

[supercorndogs]

i like to clean so i can see the color change when i anneal.

 

[bertshortmag]

Well the biggest reason the bench guys don't tumble there brass is they don't have time between rounds. They only have time to wipe down there say 25 cases. I have destroyed dies with black carbon from case necks. Wont do that again. I always tumble and then tumble in clean dry corn cob to get rid of as much cleaner as I can