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Brass tumbled, now what ???

FEENIX
A newbie question ... just got me a new tumbler and did my first tumbling run using corn media mixed with polish. Brass came out clean and polished after a couple of hours. They've all been de-primed and re-sized and all clear of any media. Do I still need to do any other cleaning after tumbling?

Thank you in advance for your support and understanding.

V/R

Ed
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Comments

11 comments

Date Votes
  • dcs shooters
    With pistol brass and carbide dies no, just load and shoot. Lubed rifle brass needs the lube cleaned off before loading.

    FEENIX, I tumble my brass before depriming. That way the primer pocket gets cleaned out. Never had a problem doing it that way with rifle or pistol brass in over 40yrs. loading [;)]

    B17, I've never cleaned the primer pocket in any pistol brass, just tumble, decap, reload. Rifle brass same thing, except match [;)]
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  • Bubba Jr.
    Some have suggested that you clean the primer pocket out. It's an extra step I take, since I don't need to get in a hurry. And it may avoid having to de-prime one to clean it out because the primer won't seat.

    Just my humble opinion.[:)]
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  • rong
    +1 bubba
    i do it to every shell
    every time i decap
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  • FEENIX
    The primer pocket have been thoroughly cleaned out before I invested on a tumbler and have done dummy run to make sure primer seats OK. I double checked my reloading manuals and don't seem to find any reference (or at least something that stands out) about cleaning it again after tumbling that's why I am soliciting your expert opinion.

    Thanks again.

    V/R

    Ed
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  • perry shooter
    Tumbled is clean no other step needed.
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  • wanted man
    Do you kow the "history" (once fired, in YOUR gun?) of this brass? You may want to check and se if it needs trimmed? 'Prolly not if pistol. I'm assuming you inspected the brass for defects (split necks, excessive pressure rings) as you re-sized it?
    Depending on your needs and goals you may want to turn the necks (inside, outside or both) if this is a rifle cartridge.
    If all else is in irder, you appear to be ready to re-prime and charge your brass.

    Just curious, did you re-size the brass BEFORE tumbling? That's the impression I get from the way your post is written. NOT a good idea!
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  • machine gun moran
    Two things about case vibrators, don't mix sizes of brass, because a .32 goes inside a .38 which goes inside a .40 which goes inside a .45, and when compound gets between them, they are difficult to get apart. And the inside ones don't get polished. The other thing is, the granules will not only plug the primer pockets in deprimed brass, but will also lodge in the flash holes whether the brass is deprimed or not. I avoid this by only cleaning un-deprimed brass, and the decapper later knocks out the media that is lodged in the flash holes. The primer pockets can be cleaned afterward of primer residue if necessary, but I've never done this, as I've never encountered primer residue which would interfere, and I don't load for Match.
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  • Bubba Jr.
    quote:Originally posted by FEENIX
    The primer pocket have been thoroughly cleaned out before I invested on a tumbler and have done dummy run to make sure primer seats OK. I double checked my reloading manuals and don't seem to find any reference (or at least something that stands out) about cleaning it again after tumbling that's why I am soliciting your expert opinion.

    Thanks again.

    V/R

    Ed


    If you have the primer pockets cleaned before tumbling, the only thing I do before reloading is to make sure there is no media stuck in the primer hole.
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  • B17-P51
    quote:Originally posted by dcs shooters
    With pistol brass and carbide dies no, just load and shoot. Lubed rifle brass needs the lube cleaned off before loading.

    FEENIX, I tumble my brass before depriming. That way the primer pocket gets cleaned out. Never had a problem doing it that way with rifle or pistol brass in over 40yrs. loading [;)]


    DCS I am puzzled by your answer.[?] How does the primer pocket get clean if the brass is tumbled before the primer is removed? Could you mean the Flash Hole?
    PS. I tumble before all else. Easier to get the cases clean and keeps all the range crud out of the dies. Also sizing lube will shorten the media life. I also clean the primer pockets in a seperate operation as the posters above do.
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  • FEENIX
    wanted man,

    My bad, they are once fired .300WM off my rifle, de-primed, primer pocket cleaned, re-sized, and trimmed/de-burred.


    machine gun moran/Bubba Jr.,

    They are all Federal brass. I ran a batch of 50 ... only had to clean off media on 9 of them.

    Thanks again.

    Ed
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  • sandwarrior
    FEENIX,

    The big question here is did you de-prime first or did you tumble first? The point of that question is the primer pocket or flash hole can fill with media and you may have a hangfire or no fire.

    If you tumble afterward take a spare depriming stem (with pin) and run it through each of the flashholes in the cases. I've seen daylight in a plugged flash hole once, having done this once or twice, and noticed the hole wasn't round. I punched the pin in and sure enough I had some media stuck in the flash hole. It's okay to deprime then tumble just run the pin in after tumbling. It's quick enough. You can grab up ten cases at a time and punch a pin in just as fast. You can go through 100 in less than two minutes.

    The reason I now tumble then deprime is it gives you a cleaner look at the case. For cleaning pockets I have a RCBS pocket primer brush. It goes fast but your hands get cramped a bit doing more than 100 or so. RCBS also makes an electric one on the Trim Mate.
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