Tumble before deprime or deprime before

mr phil · Dec 17, 2008

Does it matter . Do I need to deprime before I tumble . I am going to be using a single stage press for reloading 9mm and 45acp. If they are not really dirty do I have to tumble at all. If there is alittle sand in them how much of a problem it that . I see some people on line wash them. That seems like a real pain. But I want to be safe. The idea of sand grains in the brass sounds like a bad idea to me.
Can you guys recomend a process ?

gibby · Dec 17, 2008

I have tried both tumbling before and after depriming. The biggest issue I had was that the media would get caught in the flash hole if the cases were deprimed before cleaning.

j8064 · Dec 17, 2008

What Gibby said...
If cases are dirty, I usually tumble them some before decapping and sizing. Really prefer not to stick dirt and grit ino the dies. Then toss them back in the tumbler to shine them up. I always clean out primer pockets and flash holes before priming so no problem poking a little media out of the flash holes.

mr phil · Dec 17, 2008

Sounds good guys. One of the guys I shoot with said if I dont care what my cases look like I didnt have to tumble them. But, I was thinking he's picking his brass out of the same sand and dirt I am and that could be a problem on my dies or seating a bullit or priming with sand granules. I sorted my brass by hand and wiped and blew any sand I saw off . But still. I am new to reloading. I'm thinking better safe than boom :mad54:

organized_mayhem · Dec 17, 2008

I have been reloading for a little over a year and just last month finally bought a tumbler. I never had any problems with not tumbling the casings. But those casings are sure pretty now.

Lambo · Dec 17, 2008

I've been using The Lyman Treated Walnut Media (Turbo Tufnut) for some time now. I'm very happy with the results received.

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/tumblers/tumbling-media.php

I always clean before the Decap/Resize process. I run them for at least 6 hours. This should remove all foreign matter that can and will damage a Die or Firearm! Once the Cases are ready for Loading I tumble them again for at least 8 hours.

alucard0822 · Dec 17, 2008

I always tumble rifle cases for about 1 hr before de-priming, just enough to clean most of the dirt off, so it doesn't crud up my dies, handgun calibers tumble for about 2 hours to get them "factory ammo shiny". The difference is that I use carbide dies for the pistol cases, and don't have to lube them, the surface after tumbling is basically the same surface the completed rounds will have. Rifle calibers OTOH are pulled out of the tumbler after 1hr, and spray lubed before de-capping and sizing (both happen in the same Lee die). The cases then go back into the tumbler for about 2 hours to both get the lube off, and get them "factory shiny". If I am loading them in a progressive press, the first die is a universal de-capper instead of a sizing die, this is very effective at pushing any media that is stuck in the flash hole out, they are already sized, so no need to re-size them again. For the cases that are loaded in the single stage, I check the length, trim as needed, and being the Lee cutter uses a pilot that measures the length with a pin through the flash hole(case has to be de-primed for it to work), that also pushes out and media stuck in the flash hole, so once trimmed, the primer pockets are also de-corncobbed. Then I go about priming, charging, seating the bullet, and crimping if needed

julyccc · Dec 18, 2008

I use a turret press so no point in depriming first.

alucard0822 · Dec 18, 2008

julyccc said:
I use a turret press so no point in depriming first.

how do you get the lube off of bottlenecked rifle calibers, or check case length?

julyccc · Dec 18, 2008

alucard0822 said:
how do you get the lube off of bottlenecked rifle calibers, or check case length?

I only reload pistol for now.

good catch.

Topher · Dec 18, 2008

To get the lube off...
Tumble again or sometimes I just wipe them down with a paper towel.

Topher · Dec 18, 2008

Remember... Use lizzard litter for your cleaning media. It is crushed walnut shells and it's cheaper!

Fustercluck · Dec 18, 2008

I tumble first. There is no advantage to tumbling after depriming, as the primer pockets are too small to get any significant media in them. I throw all the brass I shot in the tumbler when I get back from the range and clean guns while I wait. After tumbling, I put all the clean brass in a ziplock bag until I am ready to load again.

For handloaded rifle rounds, the sequence is clean, deprime, uniform caselength, clean primer pocket, casemouth prep inside and out. After the casemouth is ready, the shell is finally ready for priming and the rest. Most bang for the buck in handloading for accuracy comes from having all your brass look and act identical to each other. Quality bullets have very little variance anymore, and gunpowder is pretty reliable, especially H322 and their ilk, so the biggest loss in shot-shot accuracy is usually the brass.

For pistol and plinker rounds in rifles, I skip all that and run them through a progressive reloader. I load pistol on the light side (barely make IDPA power), so I don't worry too much about brass flow and, in turn, caselength becoming too long. Every loaded round takes a trip through the case gauge before jumping into an ammo box, to insure it will feed properly. That last step has kept me out of a lot of trouble at the range and in competition.
D

gibby · Dec 18, 2008

Lizzard litter you say. Safe to say any major pet store carries it. Will have to check it out. Thanks for the tip

Lambo · Dec 18, 2008

alucard0822 said:
how do you get the lube off of bottlenecked rifle calibers, or check case length?

If you Lube by rolling Cases on a Pad you shouldn't be getting any on the neck. But we all know accidents happen! I wipe them off with a clean soft cloth then tumble 8-12 hours.
Note: remember Primer Pockets must be cleaned too!

https://shop.rcbs.com/WebConnect/Ma...oductDisplay&screenlabel=index&productId=3249

mr phil · Dec 18, 2008

Man I went to Gander Mt to pick up a tumbler. I could swear they had one for like $ 45.00. The reloading area was cleared out !!!!
They didn't have sh--. They did have one tumbler for $75.00.
I guess I waited to long. I'll be checking out midway I suppose. :sad20:

K31 · Dec 19, 2008

You can buy a separate de-capping die just for that purpose. It is larger than most cases (I don't think it was built for .50 BMG) so no worries about scratching it. I've decapped before and after tumbling. Sometimes if I want to tumble two batches of brass of the same caliber together but be able to sort them later, I'll decap one batch but not the other (say one batch has been reloaded 2X the other 5X). Corn media will catch in the flash hole so you have to watch for that if you decap first.

Topher · Dec 19, 2008

gibby said:
Lizzard litter you say. Safe to say any major pet store carries it. Will have to check it out. Thanks for the tip

Yup! Think I got my last batch at Pet Smart.

Just ask the teenager in the reptile section for lizzard litter and they will know. Check the bag and it should say crushed english walnuts!

4g64loser · Jan 15, 2009

+1 on lizzard litter. the stuff is cheap. not to mention no stores carry reloading stuff around here and BassPro is an hour plus drive as well as havin evil pricing. the media is heavy, so it costs to ship. the litter works fine. now i just need to find a farmers co-op with large quantities of corncob.....

Jmurman · Jan 16, 2009

Lambo said:
If you Lube by rolling Cases on a Pad you shouldn't be getting any on the neck. But we all know accidents happen! I wipe them off with a clean soft cloth then tumble 8-12 hours.
Note: remember Primer Pockets must be cleaned too!

https://shop.rcbs.com/WebConnect/Ma...oductDisplay&screenlabel=index&productId=3249

What Lambo says.

I tumble first for an hour or so to clean. Now keep in mind that I am reloading mil-surp rifle brass. I then decap, clean and uniform primer pockets, then trim the case. I'll then tumble again for a few hours to make em nice and shiny, then go about my loading business.

Tumble before deprime or deprime before

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Garrett Co Hooligan #1

Ultimate Member

Legend in my own mind

R.I.P.

For great Justice

Active Member

For great Justice

Active Member

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Active Member

Ultimate Member

R.I.P.

Ultimate Member

"Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"

Ultimate Member

Bad influence

Ultimate Member

Users who are viewing this thread

Log in

Forum statistics