What did you reload today?

[Holepuncher]

That's worse than pouring a cup of bleach on top of the wifeys' laundry load. Her clothes came out kinda camo looking!

 

[Caveman Jim]

Finally cleaned the 500 .38SPL cases that I got from @Bill W over a month ago.
Looking Sooooo Goodddd!!!!

 

[Camelfilter]

Besides I don't want to leave finger prints...

You are OCD!

Always Like This.

 

[Mikej]

Got the press today.... need to get some proper fasteners but I'm finally doing something. Depriming and sizing .50 Beowulf. Makeshift lube pad too. Still lacking a few things.... but soon enough.

Guess two schools of thought as to when to clean..... before or after de priming. I'm going for the latter..... will have to borrow my dads cleaner/media tumbler. But I have enough to get started making rounds. Woohoo!

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If you're going to tumble with walnut/corn media after decapping be sure to check the flash holes for media. I don't clean primer pockets on handgun rounds. I DO, however, tap the cases firmly on the bench, open end down, after priming and before charging to get carbon out that had broke loose from priming.

With handgun rounds I tumble W/walnut before decapping. I recently started doing shouldered rounds and I tumble a second time after sizing to remove trace lube. Checking for media is no problem for me. I'm slow and methodic with rifle rounds and another chance to handle/inspect brass is a good thing.

 

[NobullSKS]

If you're going to tumble with walnut/corn media after decapping be sure to check the flash holes for media. I don't clean primer pockets on handgun rounds. I DO, however, tap the cases firmly on the bench, open end down, after priming and before charging to get carbon out that had broke loose from priming.

With handgun rounds I tumble W/walnut before decapping. I recently started doing shouldered rounds and I tumble a second time after sizing to remove trace lube. Checking for media is no problem for me. I'm slow and methodic with rifle rounds and another chance to handle/inspect brass is a good thing.

Thank you for your experience.... always appreciated. Dad says the tumbler media will clean that pocket out too. But I'm just using whatever tools I have available to do a thorough job. I mean (slowly) 100 rnds go a long way for this cartridge.

 

[CLT65]

A quick twist around the inside of the primer pocket with a small pick or tiny screwdriver will remove most of the residue. I like shiny brass and clean primer pockets too, but I'm not sure just how necessary they are.

I was helping a friend get set up for reloading, and he kept asking about tumblers. I kept telling him that he can always find one later, after he gets a feel for what direction he want to go with reloading. He seemed to think it was absolutely essential equipment.

I pulled out a bag of range pick-up .40S&W brass that hadn't been cleaned or prepped at all. I washed it in the sink for a few minutes with dish soap and Lemishine, then dried it with a hair dryer. Normally I would just let them dry overnight on a towel, but we were in a hurry.

We then went through the steps and loaded them up. They looked perfectly fine. I use a tumbler, but unless your brass is especially dirty or tarnished, you don't really NEED one.

 

[NobullSKS]

A quick twist around the inside of the primer pocket with a small pick or tiny screwdriver will remove most of the residue. I like shiny brass and clean primer pockets too, but I'm not sure just how necessary they are.

I was helping a friend get set up for reloading, and he kept asking about tumblers. I kept telling him that he can always find one later, after he gets a feel for what direction he want to go with reloading. He seemed to think it was absolutely essential equipment.

I pulled out a bag of range pick-up .40S&W brass that hadn't been cleaned or prepped at all. I washed it in the sink for a few minutes with dish soap and Lemishine, then dried it with a hair dryer. Normally I would just let them dry overnight on a towel, but we were in a hurry.

We then went through the steps and loaded them up. They looked perfectly fine. I use a tumbler, but unless your brass is especially dirty or tarnished, you don't really NEED one.

Great to hear..... I was looking at my empty casing and wondering if little black soot inside it gonna fail to fire or what. Guess all the reading I do or videos I watch and the way my father in-law talks about this like clock making or high explosive. Most literature on reloading is written like a Bible. I'm starting to see common sense works fine here after loading some dummy rounds for seat depth and crimp. Again some people talk refinement for every case. I'll get there when I'm sub MOA

 

[Mikej]

He seemed to think it was absolutely essential equipment.

WHAT??? "Not Essential"?? The vibratory tumbler was the FISRT thing I got after I bought the RCBS kit at BiMart. And media. You need media! Being into guns for a little over a year, and brand new to loading, I wasn't even sure how much media a person used. So I bought some walnut from a member back then. His handle was "Skydiver". I bought four 5 gallon plastic buckets full to the top! I still have TWO of them.

But you're not wrong. I would say a person should wash and dry if they're using outdoor range pick-up brass though.

 

[RVTECH]

WHAT??? "Not Essential"?? The vibratory tumbler was the FISRT thing I got after I bought the RCBS kit at BiMart.

LOL !

Probably good advice but I have to admit to loading for many years before a getting a dedicated dry tumbler.

I tried several things, including chemical cleaning and putting the cases in a heavy (but porous) cotton sack, tying it off and throwing them in the washing machine with dark clothes! It worked pretty well actually!

 

[CLT65]

I have to admit, I like shiny brass as much as the next guy. Aesthetics are more important than I care to admit. It's a "take pride in your work" thing.

As to primer pockets, I haven't always tumbled and haven't always cleaned primer pockets, and I've never had a single problem that I could attribute to dirty pockets. I don't remember ever hearing of anyone else who has either. I'm not saying it absolutely won't cause a problem, only that I've never heard of any.

When I started reloading back in the '80s, tumblers were a luxury that most reloaders didn't have, that I knew of. Somewhere along the line they became essential to loading "proper ammo".

 

[Caveman Jim]

Thank you for your experience.... always appreciated. Dad says the tumbler media will clean that pocket out too. But I'm just using whatever tools I have available to do a thorough job. I mean (slowly) 100 rnds go a long way for this cartridge.

Also for those of you that have been informed that jasmine rice is great for cleaning brass, it really is but be diligent when checking those flash holes.
This is what I found out of 500 cases...

 

[NobullSKS]

Haaaaaaaaa, that's almost every single one...

 

[RVTECH]

For those of you rice/walnut shell tumblers when done, separate the cases from the media normally, and throw the cases back into the tumbler and run them a while - it will remove all remaining traces of media!

 

[NobullSKS]

Okay.... I sized and de primed my bigger and small quantities compared to what I just started (many more) .223
I see LEE suggests that you can THIN resizing lube with water..

what about a spray bottle for a great many cases? A lot for me for now. Or is it lube pad only?

 

[gtivan]

Okay.... I sized and de primed my bigger and small quantities compared to what I just started (many more) .223
I see LEE suggests that you can THIN resizing lube with water..

what about a spray bottle for a great many cases? A lot for me for now. Or is it lube pad only?

No idea about lee lube. Dont use it even though I have a bunch lying around. However lanolin and isop. alcohol in a spray bottle works great, Line everything up on a cookie sheet and a couple of spritzes and you are good to go.

I have heard of people using both water and alcohol to cut lee lube and use it as a spray. Shake more with alcohol since it is water based. Worse that can happen is a stuck case so go for it.

 

[Lennie]

It has been 6 years since I tumbled cases in media or ran cases in media with a vibrator. I feel that sonic cleaning of cases is the way to go. Using simple green and distilled water, I can sonic clean a large number of extremely dirty cases in 30 minutes. And I don't have to worry about media stuck in flash holes, primer pockets or media hung up inside the case by the flash hole.

Yes, I do gave to rinse the cases when I finish sonic cleaning. But rinsing is very simple job.

 

[Caveman Jim]

It has been 6 years since I tumbled cases in media or ran cases in media with a vibrator. I feel that sonic cleaning of cases is the way to go. Using simple green and distilled water, I can sonic clean a large number of extremely dirty cases in 30 minutes. And I don't have to worry about media stuck in flash holes, primer pockets or media hung up inside the case by the flash hole.

Yes, I do gave to rinse the cases when I finish sonic cleaning. But rinsing is very simple job.

They also work great to clean parts!!!

 

[NobullSKS]

Probably pretty dorky but... it's my first full tube of primers... woohoo!

learned (besides reading) what too much lube does inside a die; denting the shoulder of case.

learned the difference in feel in the press between straight wall case and a necked case.... .223...extra pull on the down stroke and easier than 12.7/42.. but more lube needed.

next step: tumble the brass and set up powder dump....

 

[nammac]

First 50 .38 Super off the press, Starline brass and Berry's 124 gr .356 projectiles... Not looking too shabby.

 

[Holepuncher]

First 50 .38 Super off the press, Starline brass and Berry's 124 gr .356 projectiles... Not looking too shabby.

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Lookin good! You just saved about $50 bucks.