I know, here we go again.

Almost all reloading manuals say to clean brass to keep the wear on reloading dies to a minimum. The opinions on the 'Fire are pretty well split between "I like 'em shiny" and "Who cares?" Some of the gun writers only clean the ones they're taking a picture of.

Realistically, unless a case is black from having been out on the range for way too long, is there any credence to dirty cases (not sandy, just tarnished with some carbon around the neck) causing wear and tear on a die?

Thanks.

RM

If you want to clean the brass,go ahead no harm done by doing so. Or just buy new brass,it's all up to you.

Thanks, Ken. Actually I'm trying to figure out if it's really worth the trouble as far as the dies are concerned.

I usually use a piece of 0000 steel wool to give the necks a quick clean up. I figure it can't hurt and may help limit abrasive wear on the dies as well as keep them clean. It only takes a couple minutes.

Mike,

One of the first rifles I handloaded for after buying a Herter's press in the early 1970's was a Remington 700 in .270 Winchester. Bought a set of RCBS dies and used them for around 20 years before replacing them with a different brand--not because the RCBS dies were worn out, but because I "upgraded" to a pricier set of dies. This was shortly after I got my first bullet-concentricity gauge and the new dies would theoretically make straighter ammo. They didn't, and in fact the RCBS dies (I discovered) made VERY straight ammo with 150-grain Hornady Interlocks, which is probably why they shot so well in that 700.

In all that time I never cleaned any brass, and never found any difference in how the RCBS dies worked, even after loading an awful lot of ammo with 'em. In fact I shot the barrel out on that first .270 mostly because it made such pretty little groups. All that ammo was loaded with the RCBS dies, and they were still making very straight ammo with 150 Hornadys at the time of the "upgrade."

However, while the cases were sometimes a little tarnished, I couldn't call them "dirty," since most weren't ejected into the Montana dirt, but moved from the rifle's action to the ammo box the loaded rounds just came from. (The few that landed in the dirt usually did so while hunting, so were sometimes lost.) And of course I lubed the cases before resizing, so there was always a layer of Imperial wax, or something else, between the "dirty" brass and the inside of the die.

During that same period, some company sent me a case-cleaning machine with all the necessary stuff to make brass nice and shiny. I used it a few times and found the process a PITA, partly because I could have had the cases loaded up in the time the machine took to clean 'em.

The only time I've used it since was to shine up some new .416 Remington Magnum brass that had somehow gotten a little tarnished while stored in a box in my loading room. I'd sold the rifle so didn't need the brass, and making it shiny probably helped the sale. Other than that I haven't bothered, and have a bunch of other dies that still make very accurate ammo despite often resizing "unclean" cases.

I too just clean the neck with 0000 steel wool. Doesn't take much time while watching football.

Whadoyaknow ! you're right AGAIN!!

It's amazing how often you are RIGHT.

I also got ALL the case cleaning equipment, tumbler (old ice cream freezer), cob & walnut media, et.al. After a couple of times I decided 'shiny' brass wasn't worth the time/effort.

I have the SAME 270 RCBS dies I started with in 1976(?) also the SAME RCBS 300 WM dies I bought in 1978/9 (?). I found the same results that you have.

OTOH if pretty brass is worth the time/effort to someone ,cleaning the brass doesn't hurt anything.


Thnx
Jerry

There ya have it. I like it when JB does a "myth buster".

I personally like to have shiny brass but I know I don't shoot anywhere near the rounds what JB probably shoots.

What would you suggest when brass flies off into the sand/dirt? Deprime and swish in a bucket of water?

Hey Rev, I think you are making it harder than it is.....

No doubt! I'm just thinking that if I can skip that step, including the cost of a tumbler or sonic cleaner, I'm all for it.

Its a hard habit to break. Before I joined this site I was spending more time prepping cases than I was shooting.

Nonsense!

After reading some posts from Mule Deer I have started changing my ways a bit, strange really, I have been reading his articles for years, never really sunk in before.

The other day, using new brass, I was able to just run the new cases into the die just far enough to make the necks round..........instead of running them all the way up.

Gawd, that was hard!

I of course went through the chamfer and debur process.....small steps towards recovery are best you know.

Unless the "raw" case mouths are pretty smooth, I usually chamfer and deburr, because it makes the process of seating bullets smoother and hopefully more consistent. And if I'm going to chamfer it only takes maybe 3 seconds longer to deburr the outside with the Little Crow Gunworks rotary tool I've been using for the past year or more.

Oh good. I was hoping that was not one of the 12 steps to recovery.

My plan is to get my middle son Richard boy to do the chamfer/deburr process for me. I have the RCBS machine with a VLD chamfer tool.

He likes to help and wants to learn. Pretty good for a 4 year old.

You have to watch him though, he ran the decap pin into my finger because he ran the case up the sizer die before I had my hand out of the way. Scared the hell outta him. Me too I guess.

The good news is that's just one more piece of unnecessary equipment I can strike off the list. How, what to replace it with....

I wipe it on my pants, then put it in one of my pants pocket and continue hunting.

That's pretty much what I'm doing now, so I must be doing everything right.

Yup,you're doing fine.

Not to disagree with the experts!!

I have perhaps a lot more brass than I need. I don't mind throwing a box of used brass into a vibrator cleaner. For instance I just came back from PD shooting. I might throw my brass into the cleaner, maybe not. But I already have the vibrator/cleaner. I am tight enough that I don't throw brass out until they are about to or have failed -- the necks crack or the primer pockets become to large. Necks that are about to fail are easier to spot when clean, I think.

Another advantage of clean brass is that it is easier to find when on the ground.

These maybe not reason enough to by a cleaner, but I've never worn out a die set. I've abused them, but not over-used them.

However I think that it is necessary to clean cases used in shooting black powder loads. These cases just need to be cleaned. I use a liquid rotary cleaner for these cases. A bucket of soapy water and a brush would probably do though.

Used the tumbler twice on brass for whatever reason. Do use it on things non ammo related. Pollished up some small hinges for a project. Jewelry pc now and then. Hell I can reclaim some space, 2 ammo boxes will fit there.

Sold some brass and thought they would think they got their monies worth if it was shiny .

I don't clean brass for my hunting rifles although like others I sometimes use 0000 steel wool on the necks. But .223 range brass that has rolled around in dirt and gravel on the range, and perhaps been stepped on and ground into the mud, can get pretty dirty. There might be a case for cleaning this type of brass. I don't think that's what most people are discussing here, but range brass that gets really dirty may benefit from some cleaning.

I wonder if the dust residue that always seems to be stuck to the shiny clean cases after tumbling might be more abrasive than what ever residue might be stuck to a case after firing?

Media is abrasive I guess, might stand to reason that the dust is too.

I rinse my brass in a colander with water and dump them on a towel. Hit them with a little air to blow off excess water and let the sun do the rest. I just like shiny brass.

I keep my tumbler set-up in my garage, when I return from a range trip I throw the brass in the tumbler while I go inside and clean the guns. When the guns are clean and put away the brass is ready, I store the clean brass in Planter peanut jars ready to reload as needed. Loaded ammo is also stored in peanut jars, the amount I take to the range or hunting is placed in zip-loc bags with load info label. I long ago gave up the compartmented plastic boxes, too tedious.

Deprime, dishwasher, check length, chamfer, load, shoot, and do it again.

Best,

JACK

G W -

Have you noticed any change in the accuracy of your rifle loads, by putting ALL brass in a container together.

Brass from diff lots & or diff manufacturers vary in weight & physical makeup, and even hardness. It would take me a FEW tests to remove my 'apprehension' about using mixed brass.

There are other ways to keep brass segregated ( ! - oh !) than small ct. boxes

If it works for you that's all that matters.

Jerry

I usually clean the inside of the case neck as well as wiping the outside with steel wool to remove buildup. I don't worry about the rest of the case.

I clean my match brass every time with this stuff.
http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/
It does help keep crap from building up in your dies.
From a accuracy standpoint.
I would say it makes no difference.
dave

In my opinion shiny brass is the same as a shiny paint job on an old muscle car. It looks more better but doesn't make it go faster. I use 0000 steel wool to clean the necks up and lightly brush the body. Only takes a few seconds on each piece of brass. However I have found an occasional polishing of the die to be useful.






Shod

I've wondered before if residue can build up enough on the inside of the case to affect the powder capacity of the case. I guess not. I just figured since the outside of the case can get pretty dirty it would be more so on the inside.

From the respondes in this thread I guess it doesn't.

From some of the comments posted some are getting far too anal regarding a simple operation. Clean in a vibratory or tumbler with the media of choice for heavens sake, plenty good enough for a hunting rifle or handgun. Don't overcomplicate things.

I tumble in corn cob media with whatever brand case polish I have at the time. Do it while I am busy doing something else or just relaxing. I don't sit and wait for it to be done.

Then I do all prep work, then load. That is all I did for years.

Lately, I have been doing all prep work, then put in tumbler with Nufinish car polish and walnut media. It gives it a great shine in not very much time, and cleans the necks much better. Then prime and load.

All my older handloads look much "dirtier"in comparison to later ones. Is a great shine needed? No. But it really doesn't require much more work/time to get it.......

I look at dies as a pretty small investment, and only worry about really dirty cases...ones that hit the mud. I wipe them off. If they were plucked from the chamber or just landed in the grass, good to go. I do use the tumbler to remove the lube after sizing.....sometimes just enough to get the lube off if I want to get them loaded soon, longer in the tumbler if I have time. I may be damaging the dies...but if a sizing die ever goes bad, I'll replace it, probably with a new set of the Redding dies I've seen advertised that come with the better expander plug and micrometer seater. I have a hunch I won't need too many of those sets, though.

Jim, if you're tumbling in the red walnut media from Lyman, that dust is a red rouge. It is technically an abrasive, but is so fine that it just polishes, and shouldn't do anything harmful to your barrel. If you put some cut up paper towel strips in the media, it'll cut down on the dust a lot, the towel attracts the dust.

If you're using corn cob media and case polish, there shouldn't be any dust. If there is, either get new media or put a little mineral spirits in it.

I'm not one who thinks cases must be clean before loading, but I do like shiny ammo better than dirty cruddy ammo, so I polish cases when I feel like it. Sometimes I load without cleaning cases though, and don't worry about the dies or the barrel.

For those who really like shiny cases, I've found a couple tricks that help.

Quick and easy - rinse really dirty cases in mineral spirits before tumbling. Drain, then put them in treated corn cob media while wet. This cleans them pretty well, and the solvent keeps the media working better too. This helps a lot if you shoot a semi-auto with a suppressor; cases can get nasty with soot from that.

More work for really nasty cases (like range pickup brass) - soak cases in a mixture of warm water with a little white vinegar and lemon juice. Drain well, dry, then tumble in treated corn cob media. This leaves brass looking as good or better than new.

I use Dillon case polish in my corn cob media. At about $7 a bottle, which lasts several years, I don't see the point of trying to substitute various household products as some like to do.