Depriming brass

[RoninPA]

What do you use for depriming brass?

Do you just deprime when you resize or do you deprime first, then clean, then resize using a "universal" depriming tool (like the Lee depriming die, or the Harveys hand held deprimer)?

 

[daveg.inkc]

I clean fired brass, deprime when resizing. My press is a Lyman T-Mag. I deprime/resize, flare mouth on revolver cases in one step. Clean primer pocket and deburr mouth after removing from press. Then prime with either Lee auto prime, or RCBS hand primer. Then brass is ready to load.

 

[wizofwas]

Usually I deprime first with the Lee Universal deprimer, then clean.

 

[Bobberfishin]

Tumble, then deprime & flare mouth on Lyman T-Mag. If brass & pockets are just not clean enough, I may put them in the ultra-sonic cleaner.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I wash brass, then lube, then size and de-prime, then tumble, then trim if necessary, then bell and flare if necissary. I usually store clean brass ready for re-loading in plastic jugs.

 

[grobin]

Inspect, deprime, clean, resize, prime, inspect...
Cleaning works better without the primer.

 

[RoninPA]

Has anyone who deprimes before cleaning/resizing used the Harvey depriming tool? Looks kinda like the Lee and RCBS hand primer. https://harveydeprimer.com/

 

[NikA]

I use the Harvey deprimer and like it a lot. I deprime while watching TV, then throw the brass in a tub with stainless pins. My only complaint is the expense of replacement pins: will probably make an adapter to be able to use Lee pistol decapping pins. Otherwise, no complaints; it is a very quality little tool.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

I used to deprime and size everything before cleaning. Then I bought a Lee Universal decapper, originally to punch out crimped primers, and switched my drill to deprime, clean, resize... with most of the calibers I load. Since my cleaning is done wet (Folgers coffee "can", shot of Dawn dishwashing liquid, 1/4 tsp of citric acid, warm water to cover cases), having the cases deprimed also cuts drying time by quite a bit.

The comparison picture on the Harvey website pretty well 'splains why I changed my evil ways.

Rick C

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

It depends on the type and condition of the brass.
If it's range pickup brass, I dry tumble before resizing/depriming and wet tumble with SS pins. Clean brass goes right to the full length sizing die. I have no set method.

 

[Ka6otm]

For handgun brass, I deprime when I'm sizing the brass. In my 60+ years of reloading handgun brass I've never cleaned a primer pocket nor felt the need to and the wife and I shoot handguns a minimum of once a week, frequently twice a week. I've got .45 ACP empties that have been fired so many times you can't read the headstamp. It's absolutely unnecessary for handguns.

For hunting rifle, I do the same as with handgun brass.

For my precision rifles, I deprime with a Lee universal decapper, clean the brass and use a Sinclair uniformer on the primer pockets.

All case cleaning is done with a 50/50 mixture of walnut and corncob with a capful or two of NuFinish thrown in and 2 dryer sheets cut in half to hold down the dust. I occasionally throw in another teaspoon full of red Jewelers Rouge powder for even more shine.

 

[daveg.inkc]

Every shooter does it a little bit different. I read recently unless you cleaned the inside of brass, you could not achieve good accuracy. In 40 yrs of reloading, I had not heard that.

 

[grobin]

I tend to try strange loads. So I inspect first for signs of over pressure or primer pocket problems. I deprime before cleaning as the inside of the case gets cleaner and the case dries faster.

If the inside of the case is really dirty you can get as much as .3 gr difference in 9mm against a clean case. Not much but can be a problem if you are trying for maximum accuracy. A bigger problem with precision rifle loads. But unless you check for case capacity and weight for each batch of cases it doesn't make much nevermind.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

The only thing about de-priming and then tumbling, is you have to make sure there is no media left in the case or in the primer pocket or in the flash hole. I use a toothpick to poke the flash hole out and then look through the case and flash hole to make sure it is clear.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I deprime first using a dedicated deprime die permanently mounted in a little cheapo LEE press, then tumble in crushed walnut hulls. The remote occurrence of a bit of media in the flash hole is taken care of by the deprime pin in the following resizing die. Been doing it that way for over forty years with no problems whatsoever.

Full disclosure: I only reload straight-wall handgun brass.

 

[mikld]

In my experience (an average reloader, reloading all kinds of brass for 14 guns, 9 calibers, do not shoot bench rest) I've found no need to deprime as a separate step. My brass is either cleaned in my tumbler, or wiped down with a solvent dampened rag, then sized/deprimed. I have produced some accurate loads this way (my 308 gives me 7/8" groups and my 44 Magnums often give 1" groups @ about 20-25 yards). Over the years (30+ reloading) I've heard/read of prolly every different method/procedure for reloading and find 90% is just personal choice. The "right way" to reload is to produce safe ammo in a manner that suits each individual... :wink:

 

[Rick Courtright]

Over the years (30+ reloading) I've heard/read of prolly every different method/procedure for reloading and find 90% is just personal choice. The "right way" to reload is to produce safe ammo in a manner that suits each individual... :wink:

Hi,

And that, folks, is our hobby in a nutshell: there are many ways to get to the same end, which is ammo that shoots the way we want it. A couple of thousand years ago a wise man predicted this, as he told us "All roads lead to Rome." And the fact people want to try these different routes keeps the equipment manufacturers on their toes, looking for newer/different/better ways to go on our journey. Keeps otherwise "Ho, hum" reloading forums hopping, too, as the "My way is better than your way" crowd is always active, and whether it is or isn't, there's usually a tidbit or two in the conversation we can learn from! There are lots of good things in all that...

Rick C

 

[RoninPA]

Here's my reason for why I asked what others use/do:

I have been handloading since 1974. Started with a Lee Load All (pound the cases into the resizing die with a plastic mallet, ...) for .38/.357. Moved to a single stage press (RCBS Jr), moved to a better single stage (Lyman Crusher). With these, I deprimed with the deprimer/resizer die and then hand primed). Then I started shooting competition handgun (Bullseye and PPC). Went to a Dillion Square Deal B due to the huge amounts of .38 used for PPC practice and competitions. Never did much about cleaning other than a vibratory cleaner/dry media and did the deprime/resize/prime at the first stage. Out grew the SDB and went to a RL550B, still same cleaning procedure (clean then run them through the Dillion.)

Well, I won a Ruger Precision Rifle (at a gun bash this spring) and am now getting into the long distance shooting game. Reading a lot about precision loads and making sure the brass is clean everywhere to help get the best results, etc. Most suggestions were to deprime and then clean to get the primer pocket and inside the case clean and to help the dies work a bit easier. I hated depriming/resizing and then using standard cleaning media and having to make sure there wasn't anything stuck in the primer pocket before doing anything else. But I really don't want to go to the trouble of cleaning, then depriming/resizing, then cleaning them again. So I am going to deprime, clean in the tumbler, the resize/prime/load powder/load-seat bullet. I have found the tumbler works amazing, shells come out looking like new with perfectly clean primer pockets.

So I asked the question, and of course the folks here on the forum gladly responded and I thank you for your comments.

I think I am going to go with a Lee universal deprimer (with upgraded hardened pin) for my Lee hand press (can deprime while I watch TV if I want). Then the brass will go to the tumbler for cleaning.

I do agree that people have their own way of doing things but asking a question like this can lead to little hints and tricks that people might decide to try to make their life while reloading a bit easier, if not cheaper or even safer.

We do have a great forum here don't we.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

You don't 'HAVE' to clean brass or primer pockets. Reloads in dirty brass will go bang just fine. For me reloading is just as much a part of the hobby as shooting is. Why would I go at it half a$$ed ???
I can see that a competition shooter who only reloads to save money and doesn't enjoy reloading at all would skip the step. Those of us who enjoy reloading want the best ammo we can produce.

 

[Tom W]

I resize bottleneck brass using Imperial wax, deprime / resize and throw into the tumbler. The pistol/ revolver rounds are all straight wall, so they get deprimed/ resized with carbide dies and thrown into the tumbler.
My range pick up brass is all from an indoor range, so it's good and clean, usually once fired. I have an RCBS deprimer , but seldom use it.

 

[gramps]

I used the Lee Universal decapper on some 5.56 cases with crimps. When I placed the bullet it dropped all the way into the case. So my reloading of the 5.56 round came to a schreeching halt!
gramps

 

[Rclark]

Handgun brass.
When and if I clean the brass, I de-prime after cleaning.
The exception is after shooting BP loads. Then I de-prime before dunking to make sure the primer pocket doesn't hold any BP residue.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Yeah, I's all good. We all work out a "plan" that suits us. My reasoning for decapping first with a dedicated die in a little "off to the side" LEE press is merely to avoid the mess of residual crud that comes out with the spent primers getting into my "real" press and also to leave the primer pocket open to the tumbling media. And I tumble before resizing for the same reason as well as to run nice clean brass thru my dies. As a result, there is a noticeable absence of crud in the area of my "real" press. I have no idea if any of this is necessary or worthwhile, but it just feels right and I don't care about whatever small amount of time is involved in decapping as a separate step . . .it's all part of the hobby.

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[BucolicBuffalo]

I like the Lee Universal die also. With those aftermarket, hardened pins. I did turn one down with sandpaper to fit small flash holes on .22 Hornet.

Usually I tumble first, then run partially sorted brass through the de-prime step on the Forster CO-AX, so I do not have to change the shellplate. I tumble similar sized cases to keep them from getting stuck inside each other. Then sort again when de-priming. I pick up a lot of range brass. Pistol brass is less work than rifle brass of course.

 

[mikld]

oops!

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Did anybody mention an Ultra Sonic Cleaner?

https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=asc&order=EAScore%2Cf%2CEAFeatured+Weight%2Cf%2CSale+Rank%2Cf&q=Ultrasonic++Cleaner

 

[RoninPA]

Did anybody mention an Ultra Sonic Cleaner?

https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=asc&order=EAScore%2Cf%2CEAFeatured+Weight%2Cf%2CSale+Rank%2Cf&q=Ultrasonic++Cleaner

Ultrasonics were, for a long time, out of the price range for the average reloader. They are now being built for DIYers and gun people and coming down in price every day, just like all electronics and are more affordable for a lot of people now. That said, a lot of reloaders already have systems that work great for them (and have supplies that will last a long time) so they don't see the need for going with something new.

I have an ultrasonic cleaner for my gunsmithing/Cerakoting business. It's a godsend. Get a crapped up gun in, take it apart, into the ultrasonic for 20 min and it comes out with no crud/grease/oil to get all over everything. Saves a lot of time. However, I found that as well as it cleans empty cases (which now is the main reason most gun people use them) it doesn't make them as "pretty" like they get when tumbled or even in a vibratory cleaner. For some people that is not a big deal, for others, they want their reloaded brass to look like factory new. To each his own, just like depriming/cleaning before resizing or not.

I will not hesitate to get another ultrasonic cleaner if/when the one I have dies, it is like having a part time helper but you don't pay near as much in salary.


There are so many new devices that make reloaders lives so much easier, it's kind of hard what to recommend to a person who wants to start reloading. That's why, when I am asked, I tell them "Do not buy any equipment yet. Buy two books, one, the "ABC's of Reloading" and two, either the Lyman reloading manual or if you know what brand bullets you're going to reload (and most don't know yet), that manufacturers reloading manual. Then, sit down and read them, get the basic understandings of reloading and the steps involved, then start writing down the things that you need to get started (depending on what they are going to reload) and things that will be nice to have but not necessarily required to get started." I tell them they can go on forums and say "I want to start reloading, what do I need?" but I warn them they will be inundated with everyone's favorite equipment/opinions and they won't know where to start and that's why you read the books first.

 

[grobin]

First I'm going to say that there are no really bad formulas for reloading. The egregiously bad (e.g. I just fill the case to the top and then push in the bullet) are usually self correcting!

How you reload depends on your goal(s)! If it's just to have plinking ammo that's a lot different from self defense and from New load development.

When I am just reloading for plinking then I throw loads and don't inspect often. For hunting or defense I check the throw weight every 10 loads. When I am trying to develop new loads for the PC carbines then that's very different. I use an ultrasonic cleaner and deprime first in any case.

When developing a new load I weigh new brass and inspect to see if it needs work. I measure the water volume of several cartridges to see if the brass is uniform.

After fireing I inspect the primers for over pressure or other problems. I then deprime and clean-if there are problems I steam the inside of the cases-then inspect for signs of case wear problems. I hand prime, lube and resize; then inspect for lube in/on the case. If the case has a lube problem then I use steam or solvent to clean it. I weigh every load to the mg level. Yes this seems to be pretty O-CD; but for repeatable results and maximum accuracy there is no substitute.

I don't do this any thing like all the time, just for special development or accuracy loads.

So what you do depends on what you are reloading for. A bunch of loads for plinking where minimum effort is desirable, versus hunting or defense loads, or critical new load development, or accuracy loads!

 

[Coyote Hunter]

My brass never gets very dirty because it gets cleaned every time it gets reloaded.

Standard SOP for me is to shoot, FL resize and de-prime in one operation, then tumble to clean and remove sizing lubricant.

Could probably get more life out of my brass if I didn't FL resize every time. Some loads require it, though, as they may go into any one of multiple firearms.