Let's talk brass

[BigK]

I’ve been reading a lot of reloading threads here on TGO and other sites recently.

 

One of the things I’m most curious about is your cleaning regiment. I hear some claim they don’t clean theirs at all. I can’t skip that part…just can’t do it. Putting my reloading OCD aside, I feel clean cases mean cleaner dies and less scratches in them. Also, I find it MUCH easier to see cracks/splits/bulges if my brass is clean. Anyone disagree strongly enough to help convince me to quit wasting time?

 

Another thing is longevity. When I first started reloading, several folks that had been doing it for years told me 3-5 or 7-8 or whatever uses was all I should expect out of brass and that I should toss it after several reloads for safety’s sake. I like to test boundaries, so I marked a couple dozen or so cases with blue marker and kept track of how many times I’d reloaded them. When I got to 5, I just kept going, only throwing them out of they were damaged. I was surprised to find that most of the 25 stayed in my rotation for way past 30 reloads. I finally ended up running out of other ammo at a match once and used them up without recovering my brass. Otherwise, who knows how long they’d have lasted.

 

I’ll stop there and look forward to seeing where this thread goes or if anyone is even interested in discussing it.

[timthetoolman]

To me cleaning is a must.  Like you said it makes it easier to detect issues, but it also keeps your dies from undue wear.  I'm with you on the number of reloads and I feel like the primer pockets start to get loose before the brass is no good.  Of course I typically only load light practice rounds, and some hot loads could certainly change that lifespan.  The one area I do skimp on if any is trimming depending on the cartridge type. 

[2006Blackpearl931]

I'm curious about brass "life" as well. I just bought a cheap Frankfort Arsenal tumbler on sale and some crushed walnut. Added a few drops of car polish and let 350 9mm cases dance for about an hour. They look new. I am gonna have to get a separator though.

[2.ooohhh]

Well some of the .38 brass I'm reloading has been reloaded way more times than I can count, I'm almost finished shooting through my grandfather's stockpile of .38 but the're no clue how many times some of it's been reloaded in the 40+ years the brass has been in the family. I can tell you that they older brass weighs more than the new brass I've found in the last few years, and it makes a much different sound when dropped. Most of it's old enough that the headstamps aren't listed online, but I'll report back here if any wears out. 

Edited January 30, 2013 by 2.ooohhh

[BigK]

To me cleaning is a must.  Like you said it makes it easier to detect issues, but it also keeps your dies from undue wear.  I'm with you on the number of reloads and I feel like the primer pockets start to get loose before the brass is no good.  Of course I typically only load light practice rounds, and some hot loads could certainly change that lifespan.  The one area I do skimp on if any is trimming depending on the cartridge type. 

 

I've never loaded what you'd call a "hot" round...ever. So, I'm with you on the light loads = longer brass life thing. Plus, I put the barest minimum flare on the case mouth that I can get away with and still stand a bullet up. I assume this works the brass less and leads to less cracks/splits. 

 

Like you, I save time on trimming too. In fact, I can honestly say I've NEVER trimmed a pistol case for the purpose of keeping it in spec. I have trimmed a mm off of 100 or so 9mm luger case to create some 9mm Makarov cases, though.

 

I'm glad you brought up primer pockets. I cleaned my primer pockets like it was a religion for a long time. Someone I trust finally told me the same thing you said basically. The primer pocket gets before the brass wears out and/or too much crud builds up. In fact, I think the extra layers of crud keep the primer pocket from being too loose, too soon LOL.

[BigK]

Well some of the .38 brass I'm reloading has been reloaded way more times than I can count, I'm almost finished shooting through my grandfather's stockpile of .38 but the're no clue how many times some of it's been reloaded in the 40+ years the brass has been in the family. I can tell you that they older brass weighs more than the new brass I've found in the last few years, and it makes a much different sound when dropped. Most of it's old enough that the headstamps aren't listed online, but I'll report back here if any wears out. 

 

That's not hard to believe at all. These ammo companies will do anything to save a penny per box of ammo lately. What do they care if their brass sucks so bad that we can't use it for reloads.

 

Of the major brands, Remington seems to be the thinnest I've dealt with. S&B and Pvri seem like they're much thicker than most of the others.

[battleop]

You can certainly skip the cleaning process but your quality will go down hill the more times you reload without cleaning.   I like shiny new looking brass.  Out side of the above mentioned reasons I prefer shiny looking brass because it's smoother which means a lower chance of an extraction problem.  I usually throw a few hundred cases in the tumbler before dinner and then come back and decap that batch and throw it in the sonic cleaner for about 15-20 minutes.  Then from there I throw the brass in my wife's dehydrator and then back into the tumbler for 2-3 hours.  Once that's done I separate the media from the brass.  If I don't think I will touch the brass for an extended period of time I will throw the brass in a bag and separate seal it until I need it.

 

I know that's way to much but when it comes down to it I spend about an hour total to process about 800-900 rounds not including the time that elapses between steps. 

[gregintenn]

I don't have a "regiment", but I will regularly throw a bunch of brass in the tumbler and run it.It's kinda like the dishwasher; you don't have to stand and watch it. I like relatively clean brass because it looks better, it's easier to see potential problems with it, and it goes through the sizing die easier. I also don't like having black fingers after loading a few rounds.

 

As for longevity, I have worn out high power, bottleneck rifle cases, but I've about decided you can reload a 38 special indefinitely.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Cleaning is a must if the brass is on the ground. All it takes is a single piece of sand to ruin a set of dies. And as far as cleaning you can get away with letting it soak in Lemishine overnight or even just soapy water or even just plain water. You just want to make sure to remove any debris from the cases.

 

Longevity of brass depends on the caliber, pressures and sizing procedures. The "all-in-one" dies that size the case as well as the nouth at th esame time, like Lee RGB dies, will work harden the necks in no time. If you seperate the steps by using a body die and a neck die you can double or triple the brass life. Straigt walled cases, like 38 Special or 9mm or 45 ACP, will last a very long time. As a matter of fact I loose them before I start seeing problems. Most problems from straight walled cases are from having a case mouth belled too much. I have a bell you cannot see and just barely feel. You want just enough to seat the bullet without shaving it.

 

Personally I tumble my brass to first clean them. Then after sizing I tumble again to remove the lube. For my media I use Kaytee Lizard LItter Desert Blend and add car polish, either Turtle Was or NuFinish. I let them run for an hour or two.

 

One thing you need to make sure is not to use too much media when tumbling. The cases rubbing up against each other also has a very good cleaning action. If you use too much media it will take longer to clean the brass. You want just rnough media that the brass rolls over in the media and not just sit there vibrating.

[RED333]

I use the Dolomite way, soak and reload, I dont have a tumbler.

Pretty brass aint a big deal to me for.

[BigK]

I just tumble mine in crushed walnut bedding for pets with a little auto body polish added. I let them tumble til they shine, cause that's how I roll.

[Flyboy]

which media seems to do a better job, crushed walnuts or corn cob???

 

Flyboy

[jaysouth]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?83572-Citric-acid-brass-cleaner

[MarkInNashville]

I use crushed corn-cob with a handful of crushed walnut (lizard litter) or two. Usually tumble at least an hour.

[Guest Fruit jar]

I use Zilla desert blend from the pet store. It's a lot cheaper than the walnut media. It's finer than regular media, a couple of dryer sheets and polish helps. I bought 5M 9mm brass that had been decapped. I didn't do a super fine inspection when removing the brass from the media. I didn't see any grains in the flash holes.

[robbieg19]

I used to soak my brass is soapy water then rinse and dry, tumble in walnut for a couple hours then in corn cob with polish for about an hour. I bought a Thumblers Tumbler with the stainless pins about a month ago. It is absolutely the best method I've found. The brass looks like new inside and out. It actually comes out almost gold colored. It isn't the cheapest method but it works so good I will never go back to dry tumbling. I've even gone and recleaned some of the brass I had previously tumbled in walnut and corn cob.

[BigK]

which media seems to do a better job, crushed walnuts or corn cob???
 
Flyboy

Walnut has sharper edges, so I think it works much better. Both "can" get down in the primer pockets, if you deprime first, which I no longer do. Since I switched from corn cob to walnut, I don't see any down in the flash hole either.

[runco]

I used to soak my brass is soapy water then rinse and dry, tumble in walnut for a couple hours then in corn cob with polish for about an hour. I bought a Thumblers Tumbler with the stainless pins about a month ago. It is absolutely the best method I've found. The brass looks like new inside and out. It actually comes out almost gold colored. It isn't the cheapest method but it works so good I will never go back to dry tumbling. I've even gone and recleaned some of the brass I had previously tumbled in walnut and corn cob.

If you do not mind me asking, where did you get your Thumblers Tumbler, and I assume you mean model B? This is one of my adventures that I am currently own. I have bought two in early January that have went to back order, and I bought another one 7 days ago from this retailer http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/thumler-s-tumbler-model-b-high-speed-7.html . After talking to them on the phone, they assured me the wait time would be no greater than 14 days, and their price seemed reasonable. The other purchases were from Midway and Brownells. I have been on ebay and made some bids, but I have not been successful. Too much panic causing frenzy prices.

[chances R]

Clean it.  And if you want it to look new inside and out, stainless steel pins are the way to go.

[robbieg19]

If you do not mind me asking, where did you get your Thumblers Tumbler, and I assume you mean model B? This is one of my adventures that I am currently own. I have bought two in early January that have went to back order, and I bought another one 7 days ago from this retailer http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/thumler-s-tumbler-model-b-high-speed-7.html . After talking to them on the phone, they assured me the wait time would be no greater than 14 days, and their price seemed reasonable. The other purchases were from Midway and Brownells. I have been on ebay and made some bids, but I have not been successful. Too much panic causing frenzy prices.

I got it from Sinclair International on Jan 9th. I was surprised when I found it in stock, I had been looking for a few weeks and couldn't find it in stock anywhere. I too tried eBay but used ones were going for about as much as new.