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Keeps folks away at the line!
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My brother's case prep is elegant, efficient, and brief.
He hands me the empties and says, "I need more."
He's a freaking genius.
P
He hands me the empties and says, "I need more."
He's a freaking genius.
P
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lol
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Whatever I'm doing must work for him. He killed this buck a couple of years ago at 534 yards.
P
P
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We had a really, really bright spotlight.
It's easier than you think.
P
It's easier than you think.
P
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What kind of spotlight were you using? Or was it like a night vision scope?
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Aircraft landing light. Needs a 2k watt generator.
Hums like a bee's nest but it lights up the night.
P
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Years ago I was informed by my Police Sergeant not to wipe down my brass with penetrating oil of any kind, as it can seep into the primers and powder and alter the response when the firing pin strikes, in some cases it may cause a stronger reaction ( explosion ), and in others it kills the primer. In either case I wouldn't want such failures in a serious situation!
Later I remember reading the same thing in a publication, please don't ask which, it was many years ago, WD-40 was mentioned.
I find your test of pouring in 3 in 1 oil , pouring it out , then firing or pounding it right away with a hammer to be
unsubstantiated testing. Wait for a week or 2 and try it again, then give us a report, I think you will have much different results.
I know cases with primers of unknown MFG or viability (read old) are dumped into oil and left to soak to disable them so they are safer to de-prime and replace.
I would clean such brass to remove all the oil prior to reloading, mainly by tumbling with Dawn dish washing detergent, then rinsing with hot water and drying in an oven on cookie sheets at around 100F for an hour or so.
Better safe than sorry don't you agree?
Gabby
Later I remember reading the same thing in a publication, please don't ask which, it was many years ago, WD-40 was mentioned.
I find your test of pouring in 3 in 1 oil , pouring it out , then firing or pounding it right away with a hammer to be
unsubstantiated testing. Wait for a week or 2 and try it again, then give us a report, I think you will have much different results.
I know cases with primers of unknown MFG or viability (read old) are dumped into oil and left to soak to disable them so they are safer to de-prime and replace.
I would clean such brass to remove all the oil prior to reloading, mainly by tumbling with Dawn dish washing detergent, then rinsing with hot water and drying in an oven on cookie sheets at around 100F for an hour or so.
Better safe than sorry don't you agree?
Gabby
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Don't get caught!
In AZ when I hunted there, spot lighters, could be heavily fined and or jailed, and vehicle and equipment confiscated. With All hunting privileges suspended for life depending which judge handled your case!
I have seen where some states allow spotlighting ferrell hogs, and even using FLIR night scopes, but that doesn't count with big game, any place that I know of.
Gabby
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I have not used Brasso well tumbling but wood assume that it would be good for the, wait for it, brass.
I use corn cob media exclusively and I mix a cup of Jasmine rice into my mix. The jasmine rice is larger and harder then the regular long grain rice and so far no rice stuck in the flash holes like the long grain rice.
I've been tumbling lots of pistol brass with long grain white rice and a squirt of Brasso, and the results are very good. However I've had to tumble for 8 hours to get really shiny brass. Yes some small bits of rice can get into the flash hole but my partner and I don't expect any serious problem pushing them out when de-priming. Perhaps when we get around to that stage I'll have an update for you. I've been tumbling brass for 2 weeks and even tested tumbling using dry BB's instead of rice, but since I only have about 5pounds of BB's I have limited how much brass at a time I tumble. Usually about 2 or 300 at a time for about 3 or 4hours, I want enough BB's to pretty well cover the brass, it seems to result with a smoother polish.
I just got about 2 or 3 pounds of mixed size heavy hard shot used with core drilling, that I will test a batch of 45ACP brass, to see what the results are, I'm going to add them to the BB's I've been using. They are much smaller than the BB's, so I expect to see results in the smaller places that BB's can't reach.
I anticipate shorter tumbling times, which will reduce my times per batch maybe to 1 or 2 hours and speed things along, so I can get 3 or 4 batches in my short work day. Maybe we can even get some loaded before winter sets in.
LOL Gabby
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I've read more than once that you're not supposed to use chemicals containing ammonia on brass. I believe Brasso contains ammonia. Redding (and maybe others) sell a liquid case cleaning compound additive that you pour a smidgeon of into tumbling media. The Redding product doesn't contain ammonia.
Case lubes. My preference is for a product that is water based, which includes RCBS and that's what I've used for some time. Simply wiping any lube from a case isn't good enough for me. Numerous reloading manuals weigh in against getting oil on primers or powder. I don't know that by merely wiping it down I can ensure an oil free case after it's been rolled around in oil, then having had the inside of the neck oiled. After sizing with water based lube, I give my cases a rinse in warm water, then let them dry. Yes, it adds time to the process. I've never been hurried in my approach to hand loading.
Yes, I sometimes use the tumbler and corncob or walnut media (I keep two tumblers) to remove sizing lube. But not often; water is cheaper than tumbler media. You wear out media more quickly when it becomes contaminated by sizing lube - of any kind. My main use of the tumbler is to clean up brass before sizing. Even then, it has to be pretty clean. Cases that are oily (from semi-automatic rifles), carbon-sooted, discolored, etc., all get chemical washed with Iosso before sizing. Bit of advice for using Iosso: Rinse cases completely and utterly; if you think you've rinsed them enough, do it a few more times.
After chemically cleaned brass cases are dried, they may still get a trip through the tumbler to get some shine but of course they have no case lube on them by then.
One more comment re. wiping lube from cases. Not only is it time-consuming, it's hard on old, arthritic hands. Rinsed with water allows nature to do the work. In good weather, they dry in the sun on baking pans lined with shop towels. In cold/wet weather, they dry on the same pans near the wood stove.
If you're using tumbling media to clean the lube from cases, that lube is going into the media. So you can assume that over time, it builds up. If you don't change contaminated media, you're going to be putting some amount of oil from it back onto the brass, inside and out. It won't be sticky, you won't be able to feel it much but it's there in a light coat just the same.
Good dope on the meplat trimming. Those ragged meplats on fancy Sierra HPBT match bullets haven't escaped my notice. However, I'm basically a service grade shooter, not a match grade so I doubt I'd notice much difference in my shooting if I trimmed.
Case lubes. My preference is for a product that is water based, which includes RCBS and that's what I've used for some time. Simply wiping any lube from a case isn't good enough for me. Numerous reloading manuals weigh in against getting oil on primers or powder. I don't know that by merely wiping it down I can ensure an oil free case after it's been rolled around in oil, then having had the inside of the neck oiled. After sizing with water based lube, I give my cases a rinse in warm water, then let them dry. Yes, it adds time to the process. I've never been hurried in my approach to hand loading.
Yes, I sometimes use the tumbler and corncob or walnut media (I keep two tumblers) to remove sizing lube. But not often; water is cheaper than tumbler media. You wear out media more quickly when it becomes contaminated by sizing lube - of any kind. My main use of the tumbler is to clean up brass before sizing. Even then, it has to be pretty clean. Cases that are oily (from semi-automatic rifles), carbon-sooted, discolored, etc., all get chemical washed with Iosso before sizing. Bit of advice for using Iosso: Rinse cases completely and utterly; if you think you've rinsed them enough, do it a few more times.
After chemically cleaned brass cases are dried, they may still get a trip through the tumbler to get some shine but of course they have no case lube on them by then.
One more comment re. wiping lube from cases. Not only is it time-consuming, it's hard on old, arthritic hands. Rinsed with water allows nature to do the work. In good weather, they dry in the sun on baking pans lined with shop towels. In cold/wet weather, they dry on the same pans near the wood stove.
If you're using tumbling media to clean the lube from cases, that lube is going into the media. So you can assume that over time, it builds up. If you don't change contaminated media, you're going to be putting some amount of oil from it back onto the brass, inside and out. It won't be sticky, you won't be able to feel it much but it's there in a light coat just the same.
Good dope on the meplat trimming. Those ragged meplats on fancy Sierra HPBT match bullets haven't escaped my notice. However, I'm basically a service grade shooter, not a match grade so I doubt I'd notice much difference in my shooting if I trimmed.
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OK
I'm still tumbling brass, and the best results were with white rice with brass polish and 8 or so hours tumbling. For some reason the brass tumbled with just BB's would come out shiny but would discolor afterward. I'm thinking since there wasn't any polish residue that the brass was tarnishing rather quickly because it was dry with no film of preservative.
I've since returned to using the dry rice and a squirt of Brasso!
Dry rice is available at any grocery store and I don't have to spend a lot of money for it, or wait or pay for shipping. However rather than destroying live primed cases I did polish them dry with 5# of BB's. Results were OK but nothing to brag about.
I hope this helps.
Gabby
I'm still tumbling brass, and the best results were with white rice with brass polish and 8 or so hours tumbling. For some reason the brass tumbled with just BB's would come out shiny but would discolor afterward. I'm thinking since there wasn't any polish residue that the brass was tarnishing rather quickly because it was dry with no film of preservative.
I've since returned to using the dry rice and a squirt of Brasso!
Dry rice is available at any grocery store and I don't have to spend a lot of money for it, or wait or pay for shipping. However rather than destroying live primed cases I did polish them dry with 5# of BB's. Results were OK but nothing to brag about.
I hope this helps.
Gabby
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Had a buddy buy a batch of 223 that was not usable due to ammonia contamination. He
had a serious case failure. I have used many types of case lube. First started
using RCBS lube pad. What a pain to clean off of the cases.
Dillon lube use to be my go to until I started using homemade lanolin.
Lay in metal tray mist with lanolin case lube shake. Let dry about 3 minutes. Ready to size.
After sizing I lay the cases or loaded rounds on a towel. Mist with water mix 1% alcohol. Wipe
down good to go.
I use a WFT trimmer. Leaves very little to deburr and chamfer. RCBSprep station chamfer, debur and primer pocket uni-former. I load on a 550. For long range
I weigh each charge with a RCBS chargemater. Some powders that meter consistent I will
use the powder thorougher. I shoot several thousand SMKs a year in competition.
Interesting about the meplat trimming. I haven't done it and most all competitors I
have talked to don't. I like to ask the top shooters at a match reloading and shooting questions.
A guy that shoots a 1199-80X in a 1200 points possible match knows what works.
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When the cops show up we just point the light at them, and move off in a straight line. By the time we turn the light out we're 18 miles away.
P
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Do not use ammonia based stuff on brass.
Thought that was reloading 101.
Thought that was reloading 101.
