Pocket cleaning

[DesertRatR]

1) Why clean primer pockets? I've reloaded a lot of 45 ACP, 45 Colt and 44 SPL after just tumbling in corn cob media (with a little of the media solvents out there), followed by reloading. The rounds seem to shoot well.
2) I am not opposed to the added steps of primer pocket cleaning, but it seems I might need an extra decapping die so as to not mess up the die in my press, as I'd be running dirty brass thru the decapper.
3) What is the best way to clean the pocket? From reading this and other forums it seems folks like the tumbler with stainless media and dish soap and Lemi Shine to clean the pocket and case interior. But that is a pricey item. Is there a lower cost way?
4) The Frankfort Arsenal tumbler offers an option for a magnet to transfer the media. Not all stainless is magnetic. What is that contraption for?

 

[Nick_C_S]

Why clean primer pockets?

I have found that the new primer goes in with a bit more of a "positive" feel with a clean primer pocket, as opposed to one that is thoroughly fouled. But it is necessary? Probably not. Many loaders don't bother.

I am not opposed to the added steps of primer pocket cleaning, but it seems I might need an extra decapping die so as to not mess up the die in my press, as I'd be running dirty brass thru the decapper.

Your brass should be reasonably clean before running it through the sizer die. That's why I vibra-tumble in corn cob first.

What is the best way to clean the pocket?

For me: stainless steel pin tumbling. Not to mention the clean case interior and superior outside shine.

From reading this and other forums it seems folks like the tumbler with stainless media and dish soap and Lemi Shine to clean the pocket and case interior. But that is a pricey item. Is there a lower cost way?

I first bought a little rock tumbler from Harbor Freight to test the effectiveness of the ss pin tumbling process. I bought the Frankford Arsenal product shortly thereafter.

The Frankfort Arsenal tumbler offers an option for a magnet to transfer the media. Not all stainless is magnetic. What is that contraption for?

I don't use the optional magnet. Although I always have a strong magnet handy whenever I'm handling the pins. I got my pins from Frankford and Harbor Freight - they are magnetic. I would think if they were non-ferrous, they'd advertise it all over the place. I'm not a metallurgist, but I'd think it's not really "steel" if it non-ferrous - being that iron is the primary constituent of steel. Maybe I'm wrong. I digress.

When the pins are done tumbling, I put a screen over the drum opening and pour out the water - rinse a few times. Then I use my RCBS media separator http://www.midwayusa.com/product/176956/rcbs-rotary-case-and-media-separator - the same one I use for my corn cob - to separate the pins from the brass. I then spread the brass out on a towel (like the 500 or so pieces next to me right now ) to dry.

Point to ponder:

Stainless steel pin tumbling is a pain in the keester huge extra step that isn't really necessary. That said, I wouldn't reload my brass without it. But that's just me. I like nice, clean, shiny brass. My ammo looks like factory; and for whatever reason, that's important to me. Is it important to you?

 

[hounddawg]

I never thought primer pocket cleanliness mean too much until I started cleaning them. It gives me a lot more feel when seating primers. I fought against wet/stainless method for years but a while back got a Frankford Arsenal kit off Jet for a great price.

As Nick noted they are a pain in the butt. I switched from a welding magnet to their magnet. Both work but being able to release without sweeping the magnet with my finger was worth the bucks to me. I pour the brass into a dollar store plastic kitchen strainer suspended over a 5 gal bucket. The strainer catches the brass and the water and pins find their way to the bottom of the bucket with a bit of agitation. The pins in the water get swept up in the magnet. I bet a old towel suspended under the strainer or lining it would catch the pins. I used to dry my cases with the towel method as well until one day I spotted my dehydrator sitting there doing nothing. An hour at 140 degrees works.

I can't say that bright shiny cases have improved my scores any but they sure do look pretty at the range

My guess on the pins is Austenitic stainless, that would mean they are chromium based but can have a carbon content of up to 1%. Very magnetic and easily formed with good corrosion resistance

 

[juggernault98]

1) Why clean primer pockets?

I am fairly new to reloading (started 7 months ago) I have never cleaned the pockets. I also have a turret press. Guy at work has a single stage so he will decap clean. Cap etc. All in big stages. I figured I would try also. Only thing I've noticed is the primer sits in easier than one not cleaned. All I use the that little metal tool. A quick twist and done. Nothing too crazy.

 

[BigJimP]

I have not cleaned a primer pocket ( for handgun calibers )...in at least 40 years.../ and i currently load and shoot about 25,000 rds a year ( mostly 9mm )....and all from brass i sweep up off my local range's concrete floors.

I dry tumble ( crushed walnut shells & dillon rapid polish ) all range brass i pick up ( spent primers intact ) - for about 3 hours per batch, so they are pretty clean & bright ...after they are clean...i hand sort and inspect every case - tossing out oddball headstamps & any cases with any suspect marks, dents or wear that i don't like.....then case lube them and toss them into case feeder on the press.../ run them thru all 5 stations on my progressive press...wipe them down, case gague each round....and box them up....

No accuracy issues, no failures...( and i shoot 95% of my ammo thru 1911's --- with well made, match grade barrels...not sloppy chambers...).../ so cleaning primer pockets makes no sense to me...

 

[Tsquared]

I do like the way brass looks when it has been cleaned with SS pins. I have a buddy that has done a few batches for me with his equipment. I just can't justify the cost and time of it.

 

[robhic]

I'm a bit new at this so consider the source. I have an RCBS RockChucker SS press. I bought a Heavy Duty RCBS Universal Decapping die off eBay for $18.

My thought was to decap different calibers after a day at the range I could do all with just swapping the shell-holders. Didn't have to change dies, too.

The HD decapper is a wide open deal. I can run different calibers and, as such, the cases don't touch the die except for the pin. Dirt is NOT transferred to the die body because they never touch.

Something to think about if dirty cases bothers you.

 

[rob-c]

I use the Lyman universal decaper set up in a cheapy lee C press, so no worry about dirty brass damaging the die . Then I wet tumble with ss pins,lemon shine and dish detergent . myself I like the fact that the flash hole is clean as well as the inside of the case. Is this really needed probably not , but it gives me piece of mind knowing my cases are clean inside and out .

 

[P5 Guy]

I tumble in lizard litter, size and knock the primers out. While I am inspecting I brush out the primer pocket. That doesn't take me too long.
You guys cranking out rounds on a progressive press don't need to clean the pockets, but I use a single stage press and load in 100 round batches so my technic may not be for all.

 

[Don Fischer]

I think that a lot of thing's done in handloading is not needed for anything other than making the handloader feel better. Good enough reason to do it. I've never cleaned a primer pocket in a handgun case, never had a problem. With rifle's I do, sort of. Most my life I scraped them out with a 7 level screw driver. Blade fit's in nice and clear's out the residue well enough. Today I have a tool I made to do the same thing, short piece of 1" dowel and drilled a hole in the end. epoxied a 16p nail in it and cut off the head and sharpened it on the grinder. Work's good enough, Very advanced tool! Actually I made it to poke the media out of the flash hole's after tumbling. Does a good job of that also. I can manufacturer one for anyone that wants one for a meer price af $24.99 + shipping!

Stop and think about it a minute. The Dillon press's seem to be the go to for large volume handloader's. They size and remove the primer, put in a new primer, add powder, seat the bullet and crimp without taking the case out of the shell holder! I had the Square Deal and I had trouble with the primer station, to many screw up priming attempt's. So my first thought was to remove the primer and re-prime before putting it in the press. First station size's the case, how do you go through it without removing the primer you just installed? I though about removing the de-cap pin in the sizing die but couldn't figure out how to do it! I ended up selling it and I am better off without it.

Point being, Dillon, very good name in reloading, didn't provide a way to clean primer pocket's while the case is in the press! Now am I to believe that guy's using the Dillon press are producing inferior ammunition? Matter of fact I did the tour of the Nosler plant in Bend years ago and in the testing room I noticed they have a Dillion press!

I've known a lot of guy's over the years that don't clean them ever as little as I do and they could stay right with you on the range! So really other thn make you feel better, what does cleaning primer pocket's really do? It's kinda of like the guy that does some extra effort in his ammo and get's a 1.32" better groups! Hoe does a guy shooting off sand bag's know if it was hie extra effort, without a vice, or simply his own wiggles and wobble's that gave him an extra 1/32"? I really love the guy that improves his group's by say .230" With the simple addition of say, cleaning a primer pocket!

 

[ShootistPRS]

Since the primer is an impact ignition system for your ammo it seems reasonable that a clean seating surface is optimal. I don't know that one could measure the difference between a primer seated solidly on the brass floor of the primer pocket and one seated on a bunch of crusty carbon on the floor of the primer pocket but I believe the response to the impact from the firing pin would have to be different.
The difference, for me, is that I know I have done what I can to insure that the primer will work. That gives me more confidence in my ammo. If leaving the crud to build up works for you then do it your way. I will continue to clean the primer pockets in my brass.

 

[hounddawg]

These days it is a lot more enjoyable to attempt to shoot precision rifle laying down and relaxing than doing the run and gun stuff. I have slowly gotten to the the point to where my biggest problem is with vertical stringing. While that can be caused by a number of things primer inconsistencies can are one of the possible issues. That is why I started cleaning them. If I were shooting nothing but pistols I would most likely go back to dry tumbling simply because the stainless pins are such a time consuming pain in the behind

 

[The Kingfish]

Another + vote for the Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler. Wouldn't go without it. You can get a good price from Midway USA if you wait for a holiday to order it. I bought mine on Black Friday for around 120.00 bucks I believe.

I also find it necessary to use a chamfering tool on my primer pockets. Gives me a near 100% success rate when it comes to seating primers, which I do on my Redding T7 press.

 

[condor bravo]

Like others have said, I have never cleaned handgun primer pockets. As for rifle brass, my only cleaning is for '06 cases used in the Garand and this is done with the Redding primer pocket uniformer to establish optimum primer pocket depth and serves as an excellent pocket cleaner.

 

[Reloadron]

While I don't load as much handgun as I once did I cleaned the primer pockets. When I load rifle I clean the pockets but is it really necessary? I doubt it.

I have bought brass from a friend who tumbles all the brass in a rotary tumbler with stainless pins and the pockets come out clean, real clean. I generally just use a vibratory tumbler with walnut or corn cob media and while it does well enough on the brass it doesn't do what a tumbler wash does.

So I generally start with this:

Obviously the flash holes are fine and I could easily prime these cases but after another firing there will be more crud and carbon. Time is not a factor and I figure primer pocket brushes are about six bucks each on Amazon and are easily chucked up in a variable speed hand drill or placed in a case prep center. Each case takes a few seconds.

Will these cases shoot any better than if I had not removed the crud? I highly doubt it but the new primers will seat easily and more important nicely bottom out in the pockets seating the anvils. For me the added step(s) and time are inconsequential. I have plenty of brushes from decades ago so I may as well use the stuff.

Ron

 

[mmb713]

These 45 Auto Starline cases have been loaded 19 times and the primer pockets have never been cleaned. Primers still seat easily below flush and loaded rounds are very accurate. Only so much crud will build up and then no more. Cleaning primer pockets is a waste of time. If it makes you feel better do it I guess but you will be gaining nothing.