Tumbling .223 brass before or after deprimming?

S

SmokeyBravo307

New member
I'm just curious of what others prefer and the pros & cons of tumbling your brass before or after the deprimming process? I've heard some like to do it before because of the medium getting stuck in the flash hole of the primer pockets? Thanks everyone!!!!
 
Funny you should ask.

My take is that the spray on lubes work better on a fired case than a shiny one.
I like spray lubes!

I have a hand trimmer for a 223 case, I don't shoot those but it has a pin on the end that is perfect for primer hole punch out.

I clean the pocked and then poke the pin into the hole and into the storage container.
 
When I first started reloading I ran my .223 brass through the tumbler both before and after depriming, without issue. The media I used was Cabela's brand walnut. Never had any issue with media getting stuck in primer pockets.

About a year and a half ago I bought Lyman's walnut with jeweler's rouge. Apparently Lyman's walnut is slightly larger stuff, and it gets stuck in the primer pockets (in fact it seems to be perfectly sized to get stuck), so now I only run my brass before depriming. Once a year to clean the pockets I'll boil my brass with some citric acid.

That usually does the trick, and since I live in PHX, drying my brass is ridiculously quick and easy. Simply dump them into a large colander (bought it at a thrift store; don't use the real one on pain of death), give 'em a good shake and leave out in the sun on the back patio. 45 minutes later perfectly dry brass. This may not work in more humid parts of the country.

If I could, I'd tumble my brass after depriming to clean the pockets, but that's just not feasible for me right now.

Bottom line, whether your media gets stuck is going to depend on the particular lot of media you happen to buy. Some of it will get stuck, some won't. You'll just have to try a small batch and see what happens.
 
I had a stainless pin lodge in a .62 in. Palma style not too long ago and cause a misfire but that was a lesson learned kind of thing. That pin was in there tight. I got the primer and the pin out but I trashed that case. Now all small flash hole cases get a extra close look see in the primer pocket area

I assume you mean tumbling media being corn cob or walnut and the cases having .75 to .85 diameter flash holes

lets see a crumb of walnut vs the primer flash images on this page

http://www.6mmbr.com/primerpix.html

I think that walnut would be turned to ash real fast

Last year Uncle Nick linked some articles to primer seating and I learned that it contributes to accuracy more than I imagined.

So I guess a lot depends on how much accuracy you want or need. Mid range varmit and target shooting I want clean primer cups But if I am just going blasting away at a target 25 or 50 yards away, who cares it's all fun
 
Last edited:
I like to de-prime brass first. I use a Lee universal decapper, which does not touch the brass. Only the de-capper pin on spent primer and and the shell-holder get touched. Then I clean in either a SS tumbler (cleans primer pockets), or hot dish-washing detergent/water. The wash water removes GSR, and leaves brass clean for handling and sizing. The brass drains well without the primers.
I use a pad or paper towel and very lightly lube rifle cases with White Lithium Grease, and only lube every other, or every third, case. Some grease sticks in the die, so I do not need to lube every case. They size very easily (even military 7.62). I have never had a stuck case with WLG. It does need to be cleaned off by washing again. I do not lube 40SW and 9mm handgun brass, and don't use carbide dies. Regular Lee dies work fine for those.
Notice that to this point I have not used dry tumbling media, so I do not get clogged flash holes. I may tumbler for appearance, and may need to poke some flash holes, at that time, if I do.
I find that 223 don't need much trimming, but it is easy enough to set a micrometer at a hair over trim to length and use asa trim/no trim gauge. 7.62/308 I need to check with a case gauge every sizing.
 
I tumble before running the brass through the die. Why stick a dirty, grimy case through your die?

And yes, I've had to clean out the primer pockets on the rare occasion I deprimed first. Happened when I first started reloading more than 25 years ago. Will a plugged pocket cause a problem? Maybe not, but I'm not going to risk it.

If you have a universal deprimer case, where it just deprimes and does not resize the case, you can give it a try. But even when using crushed walnut media, you will get small granules stuck in the primer pocket.

Unless you are using stainless steel pins, no dry tumbling will clean the primer pockets. Just does not happen. No way for the media to get in there and scrub the pocket.
 
I deprime the brass with a Lee decapping die, soak in a Lemi-Shine solution for an hour or so, then dry. Removing the primer first allows the solution to get to all parts of the case. No air pockets. Drys faster too. I size the brass and then put it in a tumbler w/ fine walnut shell media & Nu-Finish to remove the lube. Then I do other case prep (trimming, deburring, chamfering, etc.
 
Thank you everyone for helping me out I'm always thinking of ways to improve my reloading skills and ask a lot of questions (I think I've asked the same question more than once a few times) I'm looking forward to trying some of these processes!!!!
 
Dry tumbling generally won't clean primer pockets very well IMO. I deprime with a Maight Armory decapper, clean the PP's on a FA prep center, then wash 'em in hot water/dawn/lemi shine mix, rinse good, dry in a dehydrator or lay 'em out in the sun. Then I dry tumble, and knock a few kernels of media out a few cases. I usually watch TV and do the PP kernel picking.

Just my method of madness.
 
Well, now that you mention it...

Tumbled my brass last night. Getting ready to go downstairs and deprime/size, trim and start anew.
 
This is one of those to each their own. I generally shoot clean brass so I simply lube and size my fired brass without any cleaning. I still am using some old (about 20 year old) RCBS aerosol can case lube which for reasons I'll never understand RCBS quit producing. I always liked the stuff and have what remains of a case. So I size which includes deprime, trim and then run the brass through a vibratory tumbler which really vibrates and doesn't tumble but it comes out clean. This also removes any case lube which is here nor there. I suggest you just see what works for you and run with it making any exceptions as necessary.

Ron
 
After wiping the fired cases off of any initial grime, I then use a separate RCBS de-capping die to knock out the spent primers. Then, I brush/clean the primer pockets and also run a brush through the neck. Then, they go into the vibratory cleaner with corn cob media along with a bit of Flitz tumbler/media additive. They get vibrated for about 4 hours and that works quite well for me. I check all the primer pockets for any stuck media once the cases are out of the vibrator, and push the kernels out with a pipe cleaner if necessary. Those cases are now ready to resize and trim if needed.
 
Thank you everyone for helping me out I'm always thinking of ways to improve my reloading skills and ask a lot of questions (I think I've asked the same question more than once a few times) I'm looking forward to trying some of these processes!!!!
Click to expand...

Its not always "skills". Often its a different way of doing things. I may not adapt it but I do like to hear what the reasoning is.

Like wet cleaning, I think its great, it just does not work for me.

My brass is clean so just going to sizing works fine. I do like it shiny so it gets polished after.
 
I wet tumble my brass now so I pop the primers first , dry I would leave the primers in , tumble , size & deprime , uniformer would clean up the pockets.
 
I tumble the brass prior to resizing so as not to scratch my dies. Then I tumble after resizing to clean the lubricant of the case. And yes I do inspect the primer pockets for tumbling media that might get stuck in the hole. Handgun brass I tumble, resize and load. I use carbide dies so I don't need to use resizing lube.
 
lordvader, you could save time by washing your fired brass in hot water and dish detergent. A bucket works fine, and the water comes out filthy. That is residue your media does not need to absorb. Takes less time than tumbling, sifting, and checking primer holes. I deprime first so they drain better.
I have never needed to use lube on straight walled pistol cases, and I have found that I do not need carbide dies to size them. If they are clean, they size fine.
 
Last edited:
Dry media: Tumble before decapping.
Wet media: Decap before tumbling.

Exceptions:
-Tumbling to clean lube.
-Tumbling to clean something previously sized and decapped, but now needing another cleaning for whatever reason.
-Rimfire hulls and centerfire cases destined to be used as bullet jackets. They are stainless tumbled, rinsed, and put back into the tumbler until no hint of grit or contamination is present. Then they can go on to annealing (and another cleaning, if needed).
 
For rifle brass:
- I media tumble to clean and lightly polish
- Anneal (every other time)
- Lube
- Size and de-prime
- Check with case gauge and trim if necessary
- Either media tumble to clean up the lube and polish, or get my buddy that has the steel pin tumbler to run them trough

Everybody has their own process. I have refined my rifle process over the years changing a step or two here and there to address shortfalls in my processes. What works for me may not work for you.
 
Everybody has their own process. I have refined my rifle process over the years changing a step or two here and there to address shortfalls in my processes. What works for me may not work for you.
Today 06:35 PM

- Tsquared
Click to expand...

I am constantly changing my routine, this is just my hobby. I do it for fun and fum means experimenting.

I have found a few simple basics will give you good results. Well seated primers which means clean and uniform primer pockets. Consistent case lengths, I trim on a regular basis and always chamfer and deburr. Use a good bushing die get low runout and consistent neck tension. Then if your powder charge and bullet seating is good your reloads will bee golden. Just my opinion
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top