How frequent and necessary are both primer pocket and flash hole cleaning needed ? are these cleanings needed to be done frequently or could be avoid most of time ? I am starting to "gathered" all needed stuff to start reloading, and I not sure about the mentioned ...
I always scrape out the primer pocket with a flat jeweler's screwdriver blade that has a shaft smaller than the flashhole and clean the flashhole with this same screwdriver. However, ammo I've loaded without performing this step seems to shoot just as well!
I'd say it isn't necessary to do this, and the practice is a carryover from the days of folded head cases, when primer pockets used to crack! You had to clean 'em out to see these potentially dangerous primer pocket cracks, so you could discard the damaged cases.
I uniform all my flash holes with a "Flash Hole Uniforming tool" when they are new, but after it's done, I don't mess with the flash holes again. The tool that I use is from Lyman, but there are lots of other choices. As for cleaning the pockets... I clean them every time I load them as a matter of principle, but whether or not it makes a big difference, atleast in my case, is anyones guess. For primer pocket cleaning I have two tools. I have a regular RCBS large primer pocket brush, and I have a Dewey "Crocogator", I think that's how it's spelled. The RCBS does a better job, but you have to replace the brush every so often because the wires get bent up. The Dewey tool does a fair job and gets out most of the carbon, and it's all one solid piece with no brush to trash, so it's maintenance free. If you just wanted to give the cases a general quick cleaning, the Dewey tool is a good little piece to have. If you want to get all the way down to the brass and remove all the carbon every time, then you need to go ahead and get a regular primer pocket brush.
Posts: 852 | Location: Austin | Registered: 24 October 2003
I use a Lyman primer pocket uniformer for uniforming and cleaning.It's a manual tool. If you reload many rounds,one of the drill powered tools is a much better option,though you can remove the Lyman from the handle and chuck it in a drill. In my limited experience,I've never seen a flashhole plugged up with powder residue. I also deprime cases before I tumble.that will help some. You need a universal deprimer for that.
quote:Originally posted by eldeguello: I'd say it isn't necessary to do this, and the practice is a carryover from the days of folded head cases, when primer pockets used to crack! You had to clean 'em out to see these potentially dangerous primer pocket cracks, so you could discard the damaged cases.
This isn't entirely true. Primer pockets with a buildup of crud can leave seated primers seated above flush with the base of the case. This can potentially cause slamfires in autoloaders (it definitely will in an M1) and may prevent chambering in some bolt actions.
Better to clean the primer pockets.
Posts: 1985 | Location: The Three Lower Counties (Delaware USA) | Registered: 13 September 2001
I load and shoot around 2000 rounds of 222 every year for ground squirrels. I deburr the flasholes on new brass. I used to clean the primer pockets but quit because it was too time consuming. I've haven't had any problems, my rifles are bolts. Pa. Frank is right though, cruddy primer pockets can cause problems in certain instances.
Posts: 8169 | Location: humboldt | Registered: 10 April 2002
quote:This isn't entirely true. Primer pockets with a buildup of crud can leave seated primers seated above flush with the base of the case. This can potentially cause slamfires in autoloaders (it definitely will in an M1) and may prevent chambering in some bolt actions
PA Frank is certainly right about this, of course. If your primer pockets get too full of ash and carbon to permit the primers to be seated fully, by all means clean them out! High primers can be dangerous in any kind of action, not to mention if the round is dropped on the primer. Additionally, a primer that is not fully seated will cushion the firing pin blow, to the extent of possibly causing a misfire at the worst possible time! Like when you're looking at a prehistoric bull elk through your scope at 40 yards!!
I clean and uniform all my rifle primer pockets everytime i reload them.Most of the time you only need to uniform the first few times you reload,but sometimes they keep flowing back.But i always check.I use an RBCS case prep center for all of this time consuming work.Yes, its probally not needed everytime but why take the chance of putting a primer in a dirty pocket causing a misfire??? Would you want to bank your life on such work? I wouldn't! muskrat live to shoot-shoot to live!
Posts: 287 | Location: central ohio | Registered: 05 January 2003
I use the Lee primer pocket cleaning tool -- it is designed to be used by hand, and it has two ends, one for large and the other for small primers. Instead of using it by hand, I put the end I am not using in the chuck of a small electric drill, and then proceed to use it with the drill spinning it for a few seconds in every case I reload, every time before loading it. It probably isn't necessary to do it every time, but this method is very quick and it does get the crud out of the primer pocket.
[ 11-19-2003, 06:03: Message edited by: LE270 ]
Posts: 5883 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 11 March 2001
quote:Originally posted by Afrikaander: Being a newbie in this reloading matter ...
How frequent and necessary are both primer pocket and flash hole cleaning needed ? are these cleanings needed to be done frequently or could be avoid most of time ? I am starting to "gathered" all needed stuff to start reloading, and I not sure about the mentioned ...
Which tools do you reccomend me for such task ?
Thank you all in advance
.....Get one of the Sinclair primer pocket uniformers with the carbide cutting edges and the power screwdriver adaptor and you use it on new brass to cut and uniform the primer pocket and then afterwards it will just clean the pocket and cut only if the pocket material flows durring firing.....the RCBS flashhole uniformer works good for use under power and only requires that the cases be trimmed to the same length to work well.....the Sinclair version ISN"T FOR USE UNDER POWER but uses a built-in stop to control cutting depth to make the case length inmaterial..but you should keep the cases trimmed to get good bullet seating and pull.....I use a #45 drill bit that is .082 in diameter to clean the flashhole and get them the same after the use of the uniformer the first time......the same crud that builds up in the pocket gets into the flashhole and use of the drill bit keeps the flashhole clean and avoids over cutting on the case inside by a deburrer/cutter type you use once to uniform the case flashhole.....the power screwdriver adaptors save a lot of finger cramps and time.....I make some for screwin type tools..such as the RCBS version by epoxy holding a correct thread size nut in a cheap hex nut bolt driver socket for the electric screwdriver.......you can do this "no thought" type prep away from the bench and even at the tube.....good luck and good shooting-loading with nice uniform clean cases!!!
Posts: 687 | Location: Jackson/Tenn/Madison | Registered: 07 March 2001
Hey Bigdaddytacp, seems you have just read my mind !!
I recently posted an order purchasing the Sinclair uniformers ... but can�t totally understand what you wrote about them " Sinclair version ISN�T FOR USE UNDER POWER" ... can you explain me its significance ?
quote:Originally posted by Afrikaander: Hey Bigdaddytacp, seems you have just read my mind !!
I recently posted an order purchasing the Sinclair uniformers ... but can�t totally understand what you wrote about them " Sinclair version ISN�T FOR USE UNDER POWER" ... can you explain me its significance ?
Regards, Afrikaander
We are talking about the flashhole uniformer...the RCBS version uses a case mouth pilot and stop to set the cutting depth of the internal funnel at the flashhole and the cutter is exposed and is stopped/limited by the pilot aganist the case mouth...requiring case length uniformity....the SINCLAIR uses a funnel shaped pilot that is multi caliber unlike the caliber specific RCBS and it only centers the cutter shaft......the depth of cut is stopped by a collar at the cutter and this collar is around the cutter and when the cutter cuts the internal burrs and uniforms the flashhole the cuttings get in the space between the cutter and the collar and get trapped and jamb the cutter and can loosen the cutter in the shaft....Sinclair themselfs in their book on reloading suggest the RCBS for power and their uniformer by hand......and I have seen the Sinclair flashhole uniformer broken by use under power.....I have seen a post where they say the "cutter" is a standard countersink of a certain size but I am not familar with that personally........I use my Sinclair flashhole uniformer to do small batchs or use it to cut a case and then use that case to "set" the stop collar on the RCBS to match the cut and use it with the power screwdriver for the larger batchs.......HTH..again good luck and good shooting-loading!!
Posts: 687 | Location: Jackson/Tenn/Madison | Registered: 07 March 2001
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