Case tumbling

[SevenSixTwo]

A necessary evil or a 'vanity' thing?

[Alpha1]

Necessary in my humble opinion.

[ovenpaa]

Case cleaning is necessary however it does not have to be tumbling. Workable alternatives include ultrasonic cleaning and mechanical cleaning methods such as scrubbing the case neck with a worn out kitchen scourer and using a primer pocket cleaning tool and PB brush for inside the neck for the first few loads.

[phaedra1106]

Necessary for me as I like my brass all clean and shiny, not quite in a Gollum "My Precious" sort of way though :lol:

It helps to spot any defects and the stainless media means primer pockets are always fully cleaned and the flash holes are clear.

[Tower75]

Just bung 'em in a sock, and put 'em in the washing machine. They come out shiny and clean, and any nicks - if any - that the cases pick up in the machine will be corrected by the sizing die.

[SevenSixTwo]

You know, I was going to suggest that flippantly but perhaps it wasn't a bad idea!

[phaedra1106]

I do small batches (50rnds or less) in the washer as well, quick force wash in a jug with lemon washing up liquid to get any loose crud out then a 14min wash at 30c followed by 10mins in the Ultrasonic tank for the primer pockets.

[ptheta]

I tumble mine before I resize/de-prime. The comments about primer pockets make me wonder if you guys are cleaning twice or resizing before cleaning.

[The Gun Pimp]

A necessary evil or a 'vanity' thing?

Never done it - over a season, my 6PPC benchrest brass will get about 40 firings - accuracy is not diminished. However, I do clean primer-pockets and case-necks - inside and out.

[phaedra1106]

I tumble mine before I resize/de-prime. The comments about primer pockets make me wonder if you guys are cleaning twice or resizing before cleaning.

Depends on the cases, for my 308 oe 300BLK target loads I de-prime, quick wash, dry then full length size, trim, chamfer and de-burr followed by a stainless media tumble for 2 or 3 hours.

For indoor gallery 308, 300BLK 44mag I usually full length size/de-prime, stick in the washer and ultrasonic then trim, chamfer and de-burr followed by a quick wash and dry to remove any residue from handling.