Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

[sberge84]

Here's my dilemma...I recently started into this fascinating hobby and I am set up for .308 Win and .45 ACP. I have some "couple months old, dropped in the snow and ice and thrown back in the box til I get reloading equipment" once-fired Speer .45 ACP brass that I've been saving and I'm currently in the process of making up 100 rounds for the weekend (if the Alaskan weather permits!)

Ok, to the point...even after running the de-primed brass for roughly 6 total hours in an 80/20 mix of walnut/corn media, I still have a crusty powder residue ring just below where the original bullet was seated. I've been pain-stakingly scraping it out with a hobby knife, taking care to do minimal scratching of the brass (I have slight OCD with things like this lol).

Is there an easier way for Christ's sake? Should I even bother and just leave the ring? I don't want some weird, inconsistent charge. I'm on a limited budget, so forget recommending that fancy SS media lol. I run a Lyman Pro 1200 with Frankford Arsenal #5 corn cob and "pet-store" walnut media. The brass is pretty shiny, but I can't seem to get the crap out of the inside of the case without spending an hour per 50 rounds "flaking" the crap out with a scribe or small knife. Any help would be appreciated fellas. Don't have this problem at all with my FGGM .308 Win brass, but these carbide dies for my .45 ACP are spoiling me lol.

 

[Niles Coyote]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

a 45 cal bore brush and drill may do the trick...

 

[sberge84]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Niles Coyote</div><div class="ubbcode-body">a 45 cal bore brush and drill may do the trick... </div></div>

Touche, man you guys are fast, lol. I knew there was a simple explanation, just having a brain fart I guess, lol. Forgot all about my SS brush in my pistol cleaning kit

 

[vman]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

Or you could go Stainless Media Tumbling or Ultrasonic. Both are wet methods of cleaning, but the best of the lot with SS being on top.

 

[kd185]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

try and soak them in a lemon juice/vinegar solution or the lemon shine wash

 

[marduk185]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

or just baby step your ocd a bit and loadem the way they are, its just pistol fodder.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

The brush will help. Other methods involve soaking in some sort of acidic solution. Lemi-Shine is one. It can be substituted with Unsweetened Lemon Kool-Aide (not joking here). For tougher deposits try CLR or Lime-Away. I will dampen my tumbler media with a diluted vinegar solution before adding the brass. I spray it onto the media using an old Windex bottle while the tumbler is running, then let it run a few minutes so it can get distributed and absorbed into the media <span style="font-style: italic">before</span> I add the brass. This causes the media to swell some, so leave the brass out for the first five minutes or so, or it will still be swelling as it gets inside the brass. That's not so good, because it will finish its swelling inside and be very hard to get back out.

 

[Kentucky Jelly]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

I would just load them. .45 is pretty forgiving.

 

[jwoolf]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

Yeah, I'd load them. I REALLY fuss over rifle rounds but I turn out pistol rounds by the thousand and for all pistol rounds, I mix and match brass etc..... hell for 45 acp, since it's such a low pressure forgiving round to reload, I keep shooting the brass till I find a split neck. ( which I rarely do )

If you're on a budget, find a good company you can buy cast bullets from and, you'll save a ton of money on bullets.

If you do that and you have brass, you can load 45acp practice rounds for under 100.00/1000 rounds.

 

[Leaddog]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

Unless you are shooting bulls-eye competition and need your brass perfect, don't worry about it. I've loaded 45 for over 10 years and never have a problem with residual crud in the cases. I shoot IDPA and USPSA and use the Precision 'Black Bullet' in 200 gr. Tumble for a few hours, then load 'em up. They don't need to be squeaky clean.

In my .308, I use stainless steel media for cleaning, but that's really too much work and overkill for the 45.

 

[turbo54]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

I agree with the others... Fuhgettaboutit!!!

My Sig 1911 shoots 1.5" groups at 25 yards with mixed headstamp range pickup mixed brass and 5.3gr of titegroup, with ZERO case prep other than a few hours in the corncob.

Oops-did I say I run reloads in my sig? For the record, I most certainly NEVER have done that!

 

[sberge84]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

Thanks for the help fellas. This is my first thread on this site and I'm glad to be here. Lots of good info on this site!!

I went with the bore brush chucked in my drill and it cleaned em right up! The only reason I thought the powder residue ring would be an issue is when it came time to seat the bullet, it may stop the the new bullet in the seating step. Then again, I thought it might just break away and mix with the new powder charge causing inconsistent burn. Either way, the SS bore brush worked like a champ and they're ready for the weekend lol. Now we just have to make it there with our paychecks intact. Uh oh, I think I just opened a can of worms haha!

Yeah, here's a grand idea...stop paying the guys that are fighting for your country Pres. Real smart. That moose that keeps walking around the neighborhood would feed my family for a month in a worst case scenario, lol...hmmmm. Too bad you can't shoot em on base.

 

[saleen308]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

Soak them in a Koolaid, Dawn dish soap, and hot water. The citric acid in the Koolaid does wonders

 

[samnev]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

I'd shoot them the way they are. That will probably cean out the crud.

 

["Partridge"]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

we load a lot of range brass,man the stainless media has made a believer out of me,every part inside and out of your brass will come out shiny new.

 

[sberge84]

Re: Yes, I know you guys reload mainly rifles, but...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: saleen308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Soak them in a Koolaid, Dawn dish soap, and hot water. The citric acid in the Koolaid does wonders </div></div>

It's posts like these that make me glad I'm on the Hide. Who would've ever thought to try this, lol!! Thanks for the help guys, the chucked bore brush worked wonders. It's good to know the other options though.