Primer pockets - How "clean" do they really need to be?

[bsa1917hunter]

I used to clean every primer pocket, and then tried it without cleaning. There was no difference in accuracy, that i could tell.

 

[Member 5605]

I do have a rock tumbler that is just taking up space on a shelf. Can that be used as a suitable sub? I assume yes, but would like to hear from someone who has tried it (or uses it instead).

Yes. Can't tumble as much at once but they do a good job as well. I could run 1lb of pins in a 5lb lapidary tumbler. Don't overfill with brass

 

[P7M13]

Rock tumbler will work, you'll need some SS pins though, to get the primer pockets clean.
Those pins are what makes wet tumbler kits $$$.
Even on ebay the pins are $6-$12 per pound.

Check Midway or Brownells. You can sometimes find pins there at ~$2/lb.

Yes. Can't tumble as much at once but they do a good job as well. I could run 1lb of pins in a 5lb lapidary tumbler. Don't overfill with brass

Nope, the tumbler motors are kinda weak, and do burn up if you overload the drum.

Remember the Pins are stainless steel, but because they are magnetic, they will rust if left to sit wet.
After a tumble, I dry my brass in the oven and will dry the pins last.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Good thread guys. Great information. I usually just run my old midway tumbler with corn cob or walnut media mixed with Lyman tufnut:

Lyman Turbo Tufnut Media 3 lb Box 7631332

It's worked very well, for me, for quite some time. One of these days, I may try those stainless pins and a wet tumbler though.


I tumble a lot of brass. The outside of my brass has to be clean. So the chamber stays clean. This helps more with accuracy, then whether the inside of the brass is clean. IMHO..

 

[Member 5605]

Nope, the tumbler motors are kinda weak, and do burn up if you overload the drum.

I ran a $40 dual drum harbor freight for about 3 years. Sold to a member here so he could experiment with wet tumbling.

 

[P7M13]

I ran a $40 dual drum harbor freight for about 3 years.

Same. Also overloaded mine with 308 and smelled it cooking one day. Still works great. If I have up to 600 .380 casings, it's ideal.
They also work great as ball mills.

 

[M_59]

I once read an article by an accomplished bench-rest shooter that did an experiment on the primer pocket cleaning or not issue.. After exhaustive research he found that the average shooter would never be able to tell the difference between cleaned and not.

 

[BSG 75]

Two advantages of wet tumbling with stainless steel pins over vibratory dry cleaners:

1. Speed. 1-3 hours of wet tumbling is all that is needed to make filthy range brass sparkling clean. Vibratory cleaners usually take longer than that.
   
2. Thoroughness. If you deprime the brass first wet tumbling will clean the outside, inside, and primer pockets really clean. Vibratory cleaners don't clean the inside or primer pockets hardly at all.

I still use my old Lyman Turbo 1200 vibratory cleaner with resized rifle brass to remove the sizing lube and give the brass a final polish. Since it only has to polish the brass it doesn't take long and the corn cob media lasts longer.

I don't think cleaning the inside of the brass or the primer pocket increases accuracy but it makes the brass like new and nicer to work with.

 

[The Courier]

My setup is the harbor freight tumbler and gun tap SS pins. First toss em in the tumbler with lemi shine and dish soap, then resize and all other prep then a second tumble with frankford brass cleaner.
The big difference for primer cleanliness was when I started using the Lyman primer pocket uniformer it really gets the side residue that I previously used a razor knife to remove.

 

[RVTECH]

When I went to liquid with pins I never looked back - and wish I had done it earlier. No mess, no fuss and no dust! And my brass has never looked better! This is some old (30ish) Winchester brass that after liquid tumbling and drying took on a very deep yellow/orange patina and didn't change after sitting on my loading desk for several months.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

i dont get mine very clean. i do make sure theres no carbon build up though

 

[Mikej]

When I went to liquid with pins I never looked back - and wish I had done it earlier. No mess, no fuss and no dust! And my brass has never looked better! This is some old (30ish) Winchester brass that after liquid tumbling and drying took on a very deep yellow/orange patina and didn't change after sitting on my loading desk for several months.
View attachment 523348

Thing of beauty right there!

Clean brass, is happy brass!

 

[DizzyJ]

Working in the ammo biz, where we load both new and reload...the primer pocket doesn't have to be spotless, and would be difficult and time wise non-productive.

As long as the flash hole is clear, and anything that would prevent the primer from seating to proper depth is cleaned out, you're good. Anything past that is a plus, but have never seen it as a performance problem.

This right here. As long as the primer sits flush, you're good to go.

 

[DizzyJ]

If you wet tumble...use water, citric acid and dawn soap, with a touch of simple green. Brass will come out factory new.

Might have to try the simple green thing. Even after 3 hours with dawn dish soap and lemishine, there's still a tiny bit of crud in the corners of the primer pockets.

 

[osprey]

Wish there was a mixture that would clean primer pockets and inside of cases well without SS pins. The pins are quite a bit of extra work to deal with.

 

[RVTECH]

Wish there was a mixture that would clean primer pockets and inside of cases well without SS pins. The pins are quite a bit of extra work to deal with.

What is your 'system' for dealing with them? Mine is very simple and is like ten minutes from case separation to completion.

 

[osprey]

What is your 'system' for dealing with them? Mine is very simple and is like ten minutes from case separation to completion.

1. Put brass in tumbler with dawn and citric acid and pins, tumble for 1.5 hrs.
2. Pour dirty water from drum and put sieve ends on and rinse brass under faucet catching pins in bucket.
3. Empty contents of drum into my dillion media seperator unit with catch bin 1/2 full of clean water. Rotate 15 turns each in both directions.
4. Empty casing out of separator onto towel and dry outside of casings.
5. Place casings upside down in loading blocks in front of heater overnight.
6. Pour contents of separator tub and bucket through fine screened strainer to collect pins and run water through them to rinse.
7. Place pins on cookiie sheet and place in oven at 300 for 1 hr to dry pins.
8. Collect pins in ziplock after they cool.

This is from the the other thread about the franford arsenal tumbler. No matter how you slice it, it is much more labor and time intensive than dry tumbling due to dealing with the pins.

 

[Tilos]

1. Put brass in tumbler with dawn and citric acid and pins, tumble for 1.5 hrs.
2. Pour dirty water from drum and put sieve ends on and rinse brass under faucet catching pins in bucket.
3. Empty contents of drum into my dillion media seperator unit with catch bin 1/2 full of clean water. Rotate 15 turns each in both directions.
4. Empty casing out of separator onto towel and dry outside of casings.
5. Place casings upside down in loading blocks in front of heater overnight.
6. Pour contents of separator tub and bucket through fine screened strainer to collect pins and run water through them to rinse.
7. Place pins on cookiie sheet and place in oven at 300 for 1 hr to dry pins.
8. Collect pins in ziplock after they cool.

This is from the the other thread about the frankford arsenal tumbler. No matter how you slice it, it is much more labor and time intensive than dry tumbling due to dealing with the pins.

Get these paint strainers and skip step #6
HDX 5 gal. Elastic Top Strainers (2-Pack)-11573/36WF - The Home Depot
it's what I use,

 

[AMT]

What is your 'system' for dealing with them? Mine is very simple and is like ten minutes from case separation to completion.

I was fortunate to get a Frankford wet tumbler and some pins. Last night I ran my first batch.

1. They DO come out MUCH cleaner that my vibrating media cleaner.
2. THOSE PINS ARE A PAIN TO DEAL WITH !!!!

RVTech, What is your method?


I know that I have some items to buy. For example a media separator, filter/screen and a larger bucket that is easier to work with in this case. That is just to name a few.

 

[The Courier]

Plastic collender and a flower bowl, total cost $10 and easy to use.