cleaning 38spl / 357 brass (inside) for reloading

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BondoBob

New member
I'm new to reloading. Is it necessary to clean the INSIDE of the brass at all? I don't really care about shine on the outside.

I'm starting with 38spl and soon 357. I've been saving my store bought factory brass for a year, so they've never touched the ground and look clean on the outside but the insides are filthy. Does that matter? Or can I just de-prime and move forward.

If I do have to clean the inside, Dry Tumble with Walnut is out because we have nut allergies in the house. And I hear corn only cleans the outside.

I was thinking of the harbor freight rotary rock tumbler wet process. Seems like better results than dry tumbling, no dust and it's cheaper. I've seen decent results with this on youtube. If I do that, would you recommend also using media pins, or go without? I guess the challenge is that these cases are narrow and deep compared to others. The formula I've seen online is water, dawn and lemi-shine 2 hr tumble.

Thanks,
 
Dirty Dude

I never clean the inside of my pistol brass. When the de-priming pin removes the primer, it makes sure there is a nice hole for the primer flame to shoot through. It's important that the outside of the case is clean. I don't want my dies scratched.
 
You DO want the outside clean so it doesn't scratch the inside of your die; the inside of the brass does not need to be clean.
 
Is it necessary to clean the INSIDE of the brass at all?
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No. It is not necessary, and, its not even useful. The only "inside" part I clean is the inside of the primer pocket, and that's not necessity, just habit.

Your ammo doesn't need to be shiny clean. Looks nice when it is, but it doesn't NEED to be. All it needs to be is smooth and free of "contamination" meaning dust, dirt, corrosion, or anything else that could act as an abrasive, or interfere with chambering.

IF you have a problem with dust in the house from dry tumbling, seems to me the easy way is to simply do it outside. The tumbler is sealed when running, no dust there. Only when you open it and load/unload is dust an issue, and when separating your cases from the media. Simply do that outside. I use a plastic colander, and a plastic bucket from the grocery store to "Strain" out my brass. If you've got dust issues, simply wipe down the outside of the tumbler with a damp cloth (after its all buttoned up). And, of course, yourself...;)

I've used walnut, but have been using corncob media for the last couple decades or so. I don't use any "wet" system or SS pins some people talk about. Never saw the point, what I do works well enough for me, and doesn't need anything I don't already have.
 
It is not necessary to clean the inside. And as 44 AMP said, it isn't even necessary to clean the primer pockets.

I do know this:

Before beginning the brass recondition process (size/decap, flair, etc.), I tumble in corn cob media. This cleans the outside so they are ready to go through my dies. So I would at least do that (get the outside clean in some manner.)

After the reconditioning process, I give my brass a wet tumble in stainless steel pins. This process cleans the inside, as well as the primer pockets to a nice, shiny luster. And although this is not a necessary step, you'd be amazed how black the water becomes. All that is inside your cases. Probably innocuous; but the thought of it being inside my ammo doesn't sit well with me. That's just me. My handloads look like brand spankin' new factory ammo; and that for some reason is important to me.
 
Almost all these people saying they don't clean the inside are wrong. When you dry or wet tumble the inside gets cleaned too. I don't think you can clean the outside without having the same affect on the inside.
I do see a value in this when inspecting brass. For example, clean brass inside and out makes case bulging (always on one side only), much more visible on the outside, and when I also see any anomaly inside in that same area, then that brass will mot be loaded by me again. Less obvious and severe bulging can be fixed with a bulge buster kit.
Another reason you clean is to remove contaminants like lead used in the primers. It vaporized when fired and contaminates your brass and gun. Washing in brass cleaner that includes citric acid binds the lead and it can be poured down the toilet. You do not need that stuff on your skin.
 
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3 major points to consider per cleaning the inside of a case.
1) - if it isn't absolutely clean, how will you clearly see case defects inside the case or primer hole burs?

2) - how will the chemistry of whatever is left in the case change your powder, especially if stored for longer? Will it degrade the powder? Will it weaken the brass? Will it affect the primer charge? How will the residue affect the powder charge you intend? You don't know? - bad answer.....

3) - when some of that stuff flakes off and happens to cover your primer hole - will it be a dud or a dangerous hang-fire?

I spent about 18 months playing with a dry vibratory tumbler. That now sits in the corner and only comes out if I get a bucket of dirty outdoor range brass. I've tried all sorts of different dry mixes and while I came to hate a few of them with a passion, there weren't any that I loved.

Now I'm wet tumble in stainless steel media with a tiny dash of lemi-shine, a drop of dawn and half full w/ brass of the same caliber and hot water. Never looked back since - and I get better than 99% mirror shine brass....

This increases my chances of perfection..... and I load to a standard of defending my family - no compromises....
 
Wet it is

Thanks for all the great replies. I see both sides of this now. I'm going to go ahead with the wet tumble with stainless. Being a newbie at this, I think it's important to see the powder level and any defects clearly.

As for drying, oven at 175 degrees, or just lay them out?
 
If you have Sun, use it. Or a box fan. 175f is ok.
Some people use a food dehydrator.
Now that I think about it, I don't use any drying any more. I have 3 of the exact same sifting screen/bowls and pour the cleaned brass back and forth, over a bucket, over a few days, to drain the steel pins. They get everywhere. The magnet gizmos are critical must have items. They grab the pins and let them go again when you pull the grip. The pins and water fall into the bucket. All the water is gone by the time I am done collecting the pins.
It is possible to mix brass in the tumbler, but it is not recommended. You end up with a 9mm inside a 40, itself inside a 45. That does not happen with all the same brass.
 
I've used walnut, but have been using corncob media for the last couple decades or so.
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I switched to a 50-50 mix, a capful of Nu-finish and they come out great after two hours or so.
 
2) - how will the chemistry of whatever is left in the case change your powder, especially if stored for longer? Will it degrade the powder? Will it weaken the brass? Will it affect the primer charge? How will the residue affect the powder charge you intend? You don't know? - bad answer.....
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I had to think about this for a bit...
Then I decided I was overthinking it...

Your experience might be different, I have no way of knowing what factors are in play with your stuff.

In my case, in over 50 years of reloading, my answer to all the questions you brought up is, "it won't".

I've still got a little ammo I loaded in the 80s, and its in cases that weren't perfectly clean inside and out, in fact some of is in cases that weren't cleaned at all. Last time I used some of it (2-3 years ago) it worked exactly the same as it did when I loaded it.

Your ammo, your business, your worries. Me, I'm not worried about it.
 
Four years ago I purchased a .243 varmint rifle to use for woodchuck hunting and to also use just for trying out new loads and spending time at the bench shooting (I'm retired and I just like to shoot little groups). Anyway, it arrived and I was anxious to try it out. I had some boxes loaded from thirty-one years earlier and they were marked "loaded 3x". These were my accuracy load for a heavy bbl .243 long gone...to buy something else. Anyway, I took those "old shells" that had NEVER been cleaned inside, or even tumbled the last time I used the cases. I got very, very consistent little groups with that 31 year old ammo at 100yds. I recorded it, like I do for all my groups, and it gave me five shots groups ranging from .3" to .65". The brass was totally reloadable again after shooting it. I totally agree with 44 AMP's last post on the subject. Like he said, it's your ammo so do as you please.
 
2) - how will the chemistry of whatever is left in the case change your powder, especially if stored for longer? Will it degrade the powder? Will it weaken the brass? Will it affect the primer charge? How will the residue affect the powder charge you intend? You don't know? - bad answer...
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Cleaning brass with ammonia isn't my idea of a wise idea.
(the line about it maybe weakening the brass is why I bring this up)

It may or may not have any effect on the brass, but, with so many alternatives, why risk it?

I avoid anything (Brasso for instance & some widow cleaners)that might contain ammonia when I clean my fired brass.

As far as doing the inside goes, it gets a pretty decent cleaning when I toss it in the Dillon Case Cleaner - both inside and out. I tried decapping the cases first once, and all that did was make a place for corn cob media to hide. I ended up having to use a pick to clean out the flash holes.
 
I started using the Harbor Freight wet tumbler about a year ago. At first I tried it without pins, it worked. But I had to tumble for 4-5 hours to get the level of clean I wanted. When I added pins it went to 2 hrs, and every nook and cranny was shiny.

I started loading in the mid 90's. Always just wiped the outside down with a rag and scrubbed the primer pocket with an RCBS pocket brush. WOW what a difference. Should have started wet tumbling long ago.

I got a timer that you can plug in a lamp or Christmas lights to set up a timer for the tumbler. Works pretty well.

I also got a universal decapping die. Use it as the first step to knock the primers out before tumbling.

I can run 50 357 mag cases in each tub. If you want to clean more than 100 cases at a time, get the larger tumbler made for reloading.

I use an old toaster oven to dry my cases. Some months we don't get sunshine.
 
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