Deprime brass before cleaning?

[LostintheOzone]

Would you deprime all of your brass before throwing them into the shaker? I'm using walnut medium if that matters. If you do deprime first do you have to clean primer pockets and flash holes after? Can you tell I'm new at this?
Jim

 

[Titegroups]

Some do but I dont. Media can get stuck in the primer pockets dependinh on the size of the media you're using. I dont bother with cleaninh primer pocket either.

 

[DGT]

I'm interested to hear what others do but, I've always polished my brass with the fired primer still in the casings.

 

[Hansli]

As previously stated, walnut clog your flash holes. Wet tumblers deprime to clean the primer pocket, I don't think it makes any difference in performance.

 

[TAROMAN]

I do it both ways without any master plan.
As far as I can discern, it makes no difference whatsoever.

 

[mkk41]

Unless it's going thru my Dillon , I do deprime first. The walnut I use is too fine and does not clog the flash hole. Plus , it seems to clean the primer pocket.

 

[stumper]

Most depriming dies are also size dies and as such if you are running dirty brass through them can scratch up the interior surface of the die. I always tumble first and then deprime/size. Brass cleaning is the same either way and you don't have to worry about checking the flash holes for stuck media.

 

[Kelly Green]

Back when I used a tumbler I de-primed after cleaning because of the debris I would end up getting in the flash holes. I use an ultrasonic cleaner now and de-prime before cleaning because it will clean and shine the primer pocket as well as the case.

 

[madd matt]

I decap and clean in sonic wash tank only takes 30-40 min in sonic cleaner. This cleans brass very well and only clean primer pockets as needed.

 

[Moonman]

I de-prime and ROTARY TUMBLE with STAINLESS STEEL MEDIA.

Comes out looking likr new, inside and out.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

I size & deprime before I tumble them. Lee states on their FAQ webpage to size the cases before as the soot reduces the friction & allows the carbide sizer to slide over the case easier & that shiny clean cases allow the sizer to pick up metal particles which cause scratches. That aside, I always like to check & clean the primer pockets separately, as my last cleaning step. Unprimed cases usually get a good cleaning leaving less work for me, other than having to poke some media out of the flash hole occasionally. You don't wanna leave any of it in there before you prime, for sure. It's a personal preference.

 

[arjay]

I've done it both ways.Deprimed,the pockets get cleaned,but the walnut gets stuck in a lot of the flash holes.

 

[iouri]

I did deprime before tumbling, but now I'm having second thought about it. Maybe I'm imagining things but it seems that after couple hours of handling dirty brass and depriming it my throat get sore. So I've decided to tumble it first. I do wet tumbling with SS pins, so no dust there...

 

[Maximumbob54]

I don't always but when I do I use a universal decapper to do it so the sizing die doesn't take a beating from dirty brass. And the worry over the flash hole being clogged is moot when it goes through the sizer as the depriming rod will clear it back out. I usually only do it with ammo I want to actually try and see how bad of a shot I am.

 

[ChuckS1]

Cleaning primer pockets is a waste of time. I've never seen an instance where a primer pocket cleanliness has made a difference in seating pistol primers. But, if it turns your crank, go ahead!

 

[LittleCooner]

I agree with ChuckS1 the cleaning of primer pockets on pistol ammo, it is not necessary. If I am only doing a few rounds, I will sit in front of the TV and use "Never Dull" wadding polish to clean my brass as the very first step. This allows me to make each case look to my approval. I picked up using this stuff years ago when I shot benchrest rifle, as you can not find anything that will take the black crud off a centerfire rifle case neck as quick and efficient as this stuff. It is about $ 6 at any auto parts store and a 5 oz can will last for years. My cases look great after coming out of the carbide dies.

 

[Black_Sheep]

I tumble rifle brass after the depriming/resizing operation to remove case lube, doing so necessitates the extra step of clearing media out of the flash holes.

Handgun brass gets tumbled prior to depriming/resizing.

 

[madmikeb]

I always resize and decap before cleaning. I made a tool out of piano wire with a handle that I run through the flash hole after tumbling. Only takes a few minutes and the primer pockets get somewhat of a cleaning this way.
After shooting, I resize and decap, tumble, and flare the mouth. Then I'll put the prepped cased back in the box so when I'm ready to load all I have to do is prime, powder charge, and seat and crimp. Therefore it doesn't take long to put a box together before I head to the range.
Since I do all my loading on a single stage press this saves me quite a bit of time after I decide what I'm going to shoot and how hot a load I want.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Never. Never. Never.

 

[SMSgt]

I tumble first to clean--not polish--as I don't want grit damaging dies or brass. I am not running dirty, gritty cases into my dies. I use the ground walnut from the pet store and it's too fine to plug the primer holes. I no longer clean primer pockets unless I'm really, really bored. It has never caused an issue. What little crud is in there is burnt out on the next firing.

Sometimes I forget about the tumbler and it runs all night, leaving me shiny cases, but they shoot neither better nor worse than the dull ones.