I watched a video where the guy suggested to leave the old primers in when you clean the brass so the media doesn't get stuck in the primer pocket. Is this a good idea or should you pop out the old primers before reloading??

I decap mine before I clean them. I just keep my universal decapping die handy when I'm taking them out of the tumbler... If there is something in the flash hole or in the pocket I just drop the cartridge into the "upside down" die and out comes any media stuck there...

Ken....

I always clean mine before resizing and decapping. Eliminates the problem of media in the flash hole and the brass is clean when you run it in your resizing/decapping die.

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
I always clean mine before resizing and decapping. Eliminates the problem of media in the flash hole and the brass is clean when you run it in your resizing/decapping die.

+1

quote:

Originally posted by Fish30114:

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
I always clean mine before resizing and decapping. Eliminates the problem of media in the flash hole and the brass is clean when you run it in your resizing/decapping die.

+1

+2

+3 for before.........same reasons.

I've done both prefer if I remember to leave em in . +4

Happy Holidays ALL ...

I decap and resize before cleaning, after check the firehole.
I prefer so why wenn I resize I use a bit oil.
Faina

Seldom do I have a round touch the ground--even when hunting. My purpose for tumbling is to remove the sizing lube. So I size and deprime--then tumble. Tumbling doesnt do much in the way of cleaning the primer pocket,but might as well get the little bit it does do. If you use corn cobb media you will have a piece in the primer posket/flash hole just about everytime. Walnut runs out like sand is not as big a problem.

This remind me of the question, "Do you wash your car or mow your lawn first on Saturday morning?"
There are those that say they don't want to get grass clippings on their wet car and there are those that say they want to get the lawn more time for the dew to dry.

I have never washed my car or mowed my lawn, but I did clean some 6mmBR brass this morning and then deprimed it.
I then clean the primer pockets with a Lyman pocket uniformer with the pocket pointing down so I can get my pants good and dirty

Somewhere out there, there must be a guy with clean pants that deprimed his brass before he vibrated it.

I normally clean after sizing to remove the lube. Like carpetman normally not even my hunting brass touches the ground. If I do have some dirty pistol brass I'll clean it the resize and use a carbide or nitride sizer.

Wipe it, size/deprime it, wipe again to remove lube, clean the pockets, tumble, wipe again to remove dust/residue. If I'm going to trim, I do that before I tumble.

There are sound logical reasons for doing it either way, I suspect.

You guys have stated the major reasons for cleaning first. On the other side of the coin, consider this:

If you clean the brass first, you can't just tumble it, then size it, IF you use corn or walnut shell media. You need to tumble it in the nedia, then take it out, wash it thoroughly, then dry it, all before sizing.

Otherwise, if any media dust is left on the brass, some abrasive from the media will be left there too. And that abrasive WILL eventually damage your sizing die (scratch its interior). In turn, the die will then damage the brass, leaving deep scratches on the neck area and shallower ones on the body of the cartridge cases.

I have had to repolish numerous sizing dies for folks who did exactly that.

It is also slower for the brass to dry after washing, if the fired primers are left in place.

So, one could contend that the process of tumbling first is not only slower, but less mechanically sound.

Guess it depends on exactly what the operator is trying to accomplish.

tnekkcc, nice your t-shirt, I like it so much!!!
Here in I taly we have a lot of comunists... also the governamente is comunist!!!
And I can't shot them!!!!!
Faina

I simply wipe 98% of my brass off with a soft cotton cloth with thinner on it . Then cotton towel to dry and remove any film , next over in my clean plastic box . I then spray Boe-Shield T9 on another clean lint free Kimber wipe . I roll the shells on the rag then place them in my shell tray . Size either FL or Neck decap & reprimer . Then round the carousel until I have fully loaded beauties . Where I wipe with another or same clean cotton towel into my ammo boxes they go .

I'm like Alberta mine generally don't see the ground .

I only use my tumbler when getting once fired or LC or commercial brass . After using T9 I've so much less to clean and no more lube to buy .

Happy New Year too ALL . ...