Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Cleaning Brass (again)

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.