Decap before or after cleaning?

[Catbacker88]

My fired pistol brass goes into a tumbler with walnut media for a few hours, then into a little squirrel cage gizmo to separate the brass from the media. Then sized and decapped in carbide sizing dies. I prime them with a Lee priming tool I've had for probably 35 years or more. Like some others have mentioned here, scrubbing out primer pockets is a waste of time. I honestly don't know what good bringing in soap and water and lemishine (whatever that is) and or steel pins or toaster ovens or anything else would do to improve that process, given the mission is simply working with brass clean enough to properly inspect that won't harm your dies. If you really love super bright shiny brass, add a spoonful of a good quality liquid car wax to the tumbling media and run the tumbler for ten or fifteen minutes before adding the brass.

 

[Marshal Tom]

Thanks all for your replies. I have done it both ways. I have a large Dillon tumbler that I have had for years and recently purchased a stainless pin system. I was just setting up a depriming only station to deprime prior to cleaning so I guess I can go either direction.

 

[scattershot]

I clean prior to decapping. That way, I know for sure that the flashhole is clear.

 

[lrrifleman]

Depending on the cartridge, both methods are utilized.

For my handgun ammo, I usually throw the brass into my vibratory tumbler with media for a few hours. Honestly, I reload too many rounds of handgun ammo to add the extra steps.

For rifle ammo, that is now a different story. Since I am looking to create sub-MOA ammo out to almost 1050 yards, I deprime using my universal depriving die, then drop the empties into my ultrasonic wet tumbler for a few cycles.

For rifle ammo, I may be loading 100 or 200 rounds a month, depending on whether there's a 1000 yard match or not. For handgun ammo, I'm looking at anywhere from 600 to a 1000 rounds a month.

 

[kbm6893]

Deprime with either a LEE or RCBS decapping die, wet tumble with pins, resize the dry clean cases, expand per the intended bullet and hand prime...

Then all that's left is powder, seating & the crimp.

Cheers!

P.S. My sizing dies look like new.

Only issue with resizing after tumbling with pins is that the cases are so squeaky clean that they stick in the dies. I quick wash to get the grit off without pins and they don't stick as much. You can lube the cases but that da gum up the dies a bit.

 

[kbm6893]

My fired pistol brass goes into a tumbler with walnut media for a few hours, then into a little squirrel cage gizmo to separate the brass from the media. Then sized and decapped in carbide sizing dies. I prime them with a Lee priming tool I've had for probably 35 years or more. Like some others have mentioned here, scrubbing out primer pockets is a waste of time. I honestly don't know what good bringing in soap and water and lemishine (whatever that is) and or steel pins or toaster ovens or anything else would do to improve that process, given the mission is simply working with brass clean enough to properly inspect that won't harm your dies. If you really love super bright shiny brass, add a spoonful of a good quality liquid car wax to the tumbling media and run the tumbler for ten or fifteen minutes before adding the brass.

Dry tumbling does a fine job, but steel pins and hot water wish Dawn soap gets them looking much cleaner. I've tried them all and nothing gets them as clean as wet tumbling. Bit of a hassle separating the pins and makes a bit of a mess but I do it outside so no real mess there.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Only issue with resizing after tumbling with pins is that the cases are so squeaky clean that they stick in the dies. I quick wash to get the grit off without pins and they don't stick as much. You can lube the cases but that da gum up the dies a bit.

All my handgun caliber sizing dies are carbide and I don't really notice any stuck cases, although some brass varieties are sometimes a little harder to size (just like some primer pockets are harder to prime).

The rifle caliber brass gets lubricated prior to the resizing so any stuck cases have been few and far between. Wiping off the lube after any trimming isn't that big of a deal for me, either. I tend to clean my rifle dies after use, a little Hornady One Shot on a Q-Tip works wonders.

For me there are two basic routines: case cleaning and prep, then the actual reloading activity. I tend to spend a couple days when I'm feeling ambitious & energetic to clean & prep stockpiled deprimed brass en masse. I like to have cases ready to go when I decide there is something I need to resupply or some new load I wish to explore.

Fortunately I can go quite a while (for most calibers) before I have to do so: between having loaded ammo ready to go & prepped brass on the shelf I can procrastinate away...

Cheers!

 

[tlawler]

Bit of a hassle separating the pins and makes a bit of a mess but I do it outside so no real mess there.

I had a lot of issues with pins when I first started wet tumbling. I still use the strainer that came with my tumbler to dump and rinse, but then I spread them out on an old beach towel with a fan blowing to dry out a bit. I shuffle them around some to get more pins out, then I scoop handfuls into a frankford arsenal wet/dry separator. Don't dump them in or you'll just mix the pins already separated. A few cranks back and forth in a rocking motion, and all the pins are out, neatly contained in the bottom of the separator. I then use our big air fryer with three baskets to finish drying at 150 deg. for 15 minutes. The three baskets will easily hold the full tumblers worth of brass.

 

[dogdoc]

When all carbon is removed from brass via wet tumble with pins,I have had issues with the powder charge/expander station on my Dillon presses. The cases tend to stick on the expander/ powder funnel and make for a jerky process. They are too clean. I have tried it. 45 years of tumble then load works best for me. I did four hundred for a match last night on my 650 after about 4 hours of tumble. Smooth as glass

 

[cmj8591]

Both. Straight walled pistol cases that will be loaded on a progressive press with TC dies gets tumbled before loading. Rifle cases that will be reloaded on a single stage get sized and deprimed first, then tumbled. That way the case lube is removed before the round is finished. When I load 223 range ammo, I resize then tumble. I then set up my progressive without a size die and run them through. That way there is no need to deal with lube after the round is done.

 

[tmd17]

What are your goals? Are you loading precision rifle or plinking pistol rounds?

90% of my hand loading is for rounds to be shot at steel 25 yards and in, so precision is not as critical as some hand loaders running out to 500+ yards. With all that said, I clean pistol brass in SS media with spent primer still intact. The Dillon's don't deserve dirty cases!

 

[Model19man]

I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference. Either way you need to inspect each case after cleaning.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Take say a 38 spl case with media in the flash hole. Take another 38 spl case with the primer hole open. Load both asn shake them in your hand so you won't know which is which. Load and shoot. You won't be able to tell which was which.

 

[Skeet 028]

Deprime all cases...rifle need a lot of hand work si I know the cases are ready to load. I deprime wet tumble run 'em through the separator...dry on a towel on the truck tailgate....quite often I put them in a separator again..very seldom have any pins come out. And when I run them through the Dillons I spray with lanolin based wet lube...just a spritz...no problems at all. I will say I have picked up a case I may suspect isn't quite right. I load most of my brass at one time and store in military ammo cans...after inspection. I have approx 5000 38s to load now...probably 1800 44 special...223...oy! a lot of work...but I have to size before I trim on my Giraud trimmer...but that goes pretty quick.

 

[JSR III]

I am a range brass scrounge. Why buy when you can pick? As such, many of the cases that come off the outdoor range may have sand or other junk attached. One of my gun buddies just introduced me to the wet method using the small SS pins and I was amazed at how clean they came out.

I was always concerned about placing range brass in my dies before cleaning for fear of hurting them so I lean toward the clean first method.

I have a home made rotary tumbler powered by an old aquarium pump motor and a newer vibratory tumbler. However after seeing the wet method, I have one of those on order. I never liked having to clean the media out of the primer pocket when I did remove the primer first.

The wet tumbler is so quick and efficient, you could easily clean, remove the primer and clean again if having a super clean primer pocket was your desire.

The only complaint that I have read is that unless super tight, the tumbler container can leak a little. So my suggestion is to not set it up on the kitchen or dining room table if you are married or live with a SO. If you do, you may want to consider placing the unit on a cookie sheet with raised edges to catch any drips.

 

[JSR III]

Well an interesting footnote to my reloading saga. I received my Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler last week however I was a little taken aback when it appeared that the carton had been put back together and instead of one flap being blue with printing, it was merely a piece of brown corrugated cardboard taped to what was left of the original box. Upon opening the box it appeared that the base unit drive assembly wheels were scuffed and scratched and when I opened the drum there was water and SS pins inside. It was very obvious that this was a returned item and being passed off as new.

Needless to say I was not pleased. When you pay for a new item, you expect a new item. I immediately called the supplier, explained the situation and said that I wanted to return the item and receive a NEW one. The customer service girl was very understanding and stated that she would send me a return label and as soon as it was returned they would send out a replacement. Not pleased, I told her that I had a shoot coming up that Sunday and needed it by Saturday. She told me that one would go out immediately. Well truth be told, I did not have a shoot but thought that it might light a fire. As it turned out, the new tumbler did not arrive until Monday but at least it appears to be new.

Soooo, getting back to the original topic of this thread, in reading the instructions that came with the unit, they DO recommend that you wash your brass first, especially if you are a range scrounge, but you can do so with just water and the cleaning solution, no SS pins. They even supply strainers that you can replace one of the clear end covers with so you can drain out the dirty water and leave the cases in the drum. You then can remove the cases, remove the primers and then run them a second time using the pins. This will clean the exterior, the interior and the primer pockets as well. Remove, dry on a spread out towel (a fan helps this process) and then go ahead and reload.

 

[tew3006]

I always decap first then put it in the tumbler. I don't want the primer crud getting on my press.

 

[Mr. October]

Universal de-prime, tumble wet with pins and then reload..

Same. The pins really do the job and don't get stuck in the primer hole.

 

[Cdog]

Condition, Condition, Condition.

If I am loading straight wall cases that were mine to start with, (known to be free of grit, etc) then I generally size them before deciding to tumble or not.

For any unknown fired brass I tumble before doing anything else. Cleaned brass is easier to inspect before proceeding any farther down the road with it.

Bottleneck cartridges get tumbled to remove Full Length sizing lube, so they see the tumbler with and without primers.

I have a rotary separator that does a good job of jarring any media out of the flash holes.

I keep a paper clip handy to punch out the stubborn bits of media that insist on personal attention.

Cleaning primer pockets may be a waste of time, but if I'm not loading on a progressive press I usually give the pockets a ride on the case prep unit's cleaning tool.

If I'm in a hurry, concerned about time at all, I don't need to be loading anything.

I loaded precision rifle rounds for many years, case prep is easier for me to "just do it" than it is to think about what I' consider as skimping on.

 

[Paul in Nevada]

The biggest reason to decap before sizing is to reduce your expose to lead. Almost all the lead exposure associated with reloading is due to lead based priming compounds.