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Originally Posted by Mule Deer
It's always interesting to read about what "dirty" brass might do to dies. Of course, if you're picking brass up off the ground (either yours or somebody else's) that's one thing, but just firing brass doesn't make it very dirty.


Depends what and how you're shooting I guess; almost all of my brass hits the ground, unless it's from a Ruger #1 or a revolver. I have scratched dies (yes even carbide) from dirty brass (meaning dust/dirt/whatever), and find it no significant trouble to drop cases in the tumbler with some case polish.

On the other hand, squeaky clean brass is not desirable other than for looks; I prefer to have at least some case polish or wax residue left on them after tumbling. I haven't switched to stainless pin tumbling for that reason.

Last edited by Yondering; 09/13/17.
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Another vote for stainless steel pin tumbling.
A little copper cleaner (vitamin C?), some laundry or dishwasher detergent and some Turtlewax.
The Turtlewax puts an imperceptible coating on the brass that resists tarnish for years and prevents cold welding.


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Still haven't figured out where the switch is yet? grin

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I'm part of the anal-retentive crowd, I guess. All my fired brass gets tumbled, then sized. For the cases using a FL sizing die, I throw the majority of them back in the tumbler to remove the sizing lube. Slowly collecting neck sizers though, and for neck sizing, I usually use graphite or nothing, and only rarely bother to do any wiping after that.

I try to police up others' brass where I shoot, which is always out in the sticks, and there is usually some varied handgun and rifle brass lying around. I stockpile and eventually sort by headstamp, then prep it and work it into the shooting mix.


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When I read the article, I understood that the author started by sonic cleaning the brass. Seems a duplication of effort. A pin tumbler will clean everything, inside and out. Forget that step and save a lot of time.


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WoW!

Guess I like nice an shiny brass...my stuff spends a night in the tumbler, using walnut media...

I clean the carbon out of the necks with a bore brush on a pistol cleaning rod...

I lube the cases using Amzoil version of WD 40 in a blue camping frying pan..

I neck size with a Lee Collet Die.. and then if the shoulder needs bumping back
I use a Redding Body Die, or pull the spindle out of a larger bore case...

such as a 308 die with the spindle removed, makes a body die for the 7/08, 260 or 243...

outer necks give a quick between the finger and thumb treatment with fine steel wool..

if I want the brass nice and shiny in a short period of time, I pour a cap full of Mineral Spirits
in with the Walnut Media...

I anneal every 4th reload and also normally use less than full power loads, where
my pressure is running in the range of the old Mauser cartridges or 30/30s...

I get a lot of miles out of my brass...40 plus reloads on most of my brass isn't a big deal...


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Originally Posted by DigitalDan
Sounds to me like you fellas are playing around with that passing fad known as "smokeless powder".

Lord Black has standards and commandments.

#1: Thou shalt clean thy brass.
#2: Every time thou dost jerk the trigger
#3: Thou shalt anneal thine own cases
#4: Thou shalt compress thine charge
#5: Thou shalt act superior when in the company of passing fad shooters.


Lord Black ran the roost before smokeless (it isn't) powder (it ain't that either) was invented. But A Lot Less Smoke Granulations didn't fit on the signs.

Now here's the thing. Your mother always told you to wash your hands before supper. It was her way of helping you stay clean and (hopefully) you would not swallow unknown germy stuff at supper time. Carrying over, or carrying on, or carrying forward, or carrying out the habits of BP daze, cleaning brass was de rigueur, okay? If you want to clean your brass, go for it. What you do, behind closed doors, in the comfort of your home, is your business. It certainly doesn't hurt, unless you wash them so much that the copper wears off.

It's the same as people who shoot Remington rifles. If you want to, go ahead. Just remember that the other shooters at the range aren't laughing with you, they're laughing at you. And if that ain't a cue for a song, I don't know what is.






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