SS tumbleling, with or without primers?

Z

zanemoseley

New member
I'm curious what the guys with SS pin tumblers do with their primers. Do you decap before or after tumbling. So far I've been decapping before tumbling but could save a lot of time if I let my Hornady lnl do the decapping.
 
its not really necessary to decap first, but I like to resize and decap before cleaning since the sizing process leaves marks on it own. I rinse and dry(to keep grit and dirt from getting in my dies), deprime and resize, then tumble clean before powder and seating

but yes, primer pockets get clean with SS tumble, one of the main benefits....how much that matters is up for debate
 
Depends on the planned purpose of the rounds. Loading up, testing, precision and defense rounds get the whole treatment. Pretty much everything that will be loaded in single stage batches. Praxis and plinking hand gun ammo will be tumbled with primers and decapped / loaded progressively.
 
i resize/deprime (to save a step) first then wet tumble. while not a requirement for reloading, clean primer pockets are a perk of wet tumbling so take advantage of it.
 
I don't always clean my .40S&Ws or .45ACPs, but then I do pick them up off of my asphalt drive and they only get the powder soot.

I de-prime before wet with SS pins (universal deprimer) because it helps in getting the pins out and cleans the primer pockets. I haven't used my dusty rattle tub in a couple of years. I just like how clean they come out after the wash. Sometimes I will give them a second go after sizing. :)

40s and 45s through a progressive and sometimes dirty.
44s, 300 Blacks, .223s, 308s, '06s and .375s sparkling clean. Different needs for different loads.

Load with care,

OSOK
 
Hehe, I think we all do it differently. Maybe we need a government agency to come in and regulate the process. Or not.

To me, the point of tumbling wet with ss pins is to clean the primer pockets. I don't ss pin tumble until I am done running the brass through the dies. I tumble after flairing. Once they are dry from the ss pin tumble, they are ready for reloading.

Of course, this process has the drawback of dirty brass going through the dies - except I first vibra-tumble them with corn cob.

So mine is a two-tumble process ;)
 
With a SS pin tumbler, if you decap first, the primer pockets will come out clean as a whistle.
No extra cleaning needed, they will look brand new, inside and out, including the primer pocket.

Otherwise, if you are inclined, it's primer pocket brush time...
 
I deprime and then wet tumble. I use my progressive press that has a case feeder to deprime them so it takes less then 15 minutes to do a couple hundred cases.

As others have said the primer pockets and the brass in general come out looking like new. I also really like not running dirty brass through my dies.
 
Deprime on the LNL with a universal decapping die, SSTL tumble, lube then size and run my now clean brass in station 1 and rock and roll.

Depriming on the progressive press is a breeze and you can go through a lot of brass in a short period of time, and the decapping die doesn't touch the walls of the brass so I don't have to worry about grit and what not in the die. Just clean the press after and you are GTG.
 
1. De-prime with universal decapper
2. Wet tumble 2-3 hrs. (lemishine/ArmourAll Wash & Wax) and Dry

3. Lube, size, trim (if needed)
4. Back in the wet tumbler for another 30 minutes to remove the lube and put a protective film on the cases to keep them from tarnishing during storage. Dry.
5. Prime, store until ready to load.
 
I leave the primers in to tumble. They are tumbled in corn cob and a little bit of nufinish. I run all my cases over an RCBS prep station and clean the primer pockets that way.
 
With a SS pin tumbler, if you decap first, the primer pockets will come out clean as a whistle.
No extra cleaning needed, they will look brand new, inside and out, including the primer pocket.
Click to expand...

Yup yup yup ! Let the SS do all the cleaning work.

Everyone has their own style. Me, I am not about making it faster, but more efficient. After the brass is clean in the SS, I dry and lube it, leaving the One Shot on until the bitter end (doesn't hurt a thing and keeps a coating on your brass that hinders tarnish if your loading is interrupted for a few days). Once cartridges are crimped, I pour them in the vibe tumbler with some walnut and polish for about 15 minutes to remove exterior lube, fingerprints, etc. The result is shiny, factory-looking ammo to be proud of.
 
I had always deprimed before SS pin tumbling. This past week, I needed to keep some brass identifiable, so I left the primers in one one batch while deprimed the other batch. I tumbled them together. The ones with the primers still in place still had SS pins and some water in them. I never had a problem with deprimed cases draining and have never had any pins left inside.

I know what I will do in the future.
 
Pistol brass - deprime on drill press, rinse off sand, grit, mud, grass and tumble with pins. Then size. Don't like the idea of crud in dies or on press (abrasives will get between ram, linkage, bushings, ect., I like all the piled up stuff to be clean piles)
 
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