Newbie, possible numpty, reloading question

[Dombo63]

I have recently acquired a full set of Lee reloading equipment, press, dies, scales, dippers etc, for my 303. i also have the Lee manual that goes into some detail on the topic.
With regards to cleaning cases the book says not to bother, as all the old powder is burned off and cleaning media could get stuck inside, so reducing the volume the reloaded powder can occupy and thereby increase the pressure. I have some little brushes to clean the worst of the soot out, and a scraper to do the flash hole, but can they be reloaded without being all shiny inside?

[dromia]

Yes.

However I believe cleaning to be an important step in the hand loading process.

Firstly clean case are far less likely to harm your dies, dirty case can carry grit and such like and scratch or dirty your dies and blunt your trimmer, also clean cases are easier to inspect.

You must remember that the Lee book is primarily written to promote Lee products and lock people into their products, I suspect that Lee's opinion on not cleaning cases is to justify the fact that they do not make case cleaning products. I would suggest buying or reading some other reloading manuals to get another perspective, I think the Lee books are the worst reloading books out there for the beginner because of Lee's particular and idiosyncratic take on the subject.

The brushes you have will be for cleaning the case necks I suspect, tumbling in a good media cleans this area. I use a very fine walnut media in my tumblers that runs like water and with a touch of T cut type car polish and a dash of white spirit cleans my cases far better than I need. I never get any of this medium stuck in my cases and even after years of using gravel like corn cob it never was an issue as I inspect all my cases before going into the die and would notice and address such an eventuality.

I wouldn't let the lack of a case cleaner stop you from getting some bench time, just wipe down each case before putting it into the size die, I don't clean my primer pockets every time just every third loading or so unless I am making some long range ammunition but most of my shooting is only out to 600 yrds.

Shiny inside is not necessary but clean is, if you do want shiny then your will need to go the wet tumbling route with ceramic or steel pin media and all the faff on that that entails, for smokeless cases the benefits of wet tumbling are more cosmetic than anything else. Now black powder cases are another thing all together and they can rapidly build up internal fouling that can reduce case capacity and I always clean my BP cases wet with ceramic media, a lot easier to manage than those bloody pins.

[Steve E]

Yes they can.
I generally only neck size (cases are kept separate for each rifle) and I rarely tumble them. One of the easiest ways to clean your case's, is to put them in an old pillow slip and put them in you washing machine when you do a dark wash. Put wet cases in a net and hang up in the airing cupboard or in fresh air to dry.
You can use a PB or bristle brush to clean the inside of the necks and just wipe the outside of the cases with a microfiber cloth to remove any residues prior to sizing if you don't want to bother with washing/tumbling etc.

As for cleaning primer pockets, I don't bother any more. I primarily shoot Palma at 800/900/1000yds and have never seen the difference between clean primer pockets and those that have not been cleaned. If I am holding the 10" V bull at 1000yds with dirty pockets I am certainly not going to spend precious time cleaning them.

[rox]

...and have never seen the difference between clean primer pockets and those that have not been cleaned...

Where did you look? There is apparently 'proof' that hardened carbon from the pockets can find its way into the leade. From there it can embed into a bullet and then score the barrel on the way through (shown by a bore-scope). It doesn't seem to bother most people though and I gave up cleaning pockets by hand years ago, although I did settle on a cleaning process that takes care of the pockets.

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[ovenpaa]

We use stainless media and dry media tumblers for cleaning however if you are embarking on reloading you can overcome case dedicated cleaning processes to a degree, for the outside of the case neck a well worn out green kitchen scourer, slightly dampened works wonders on cleaning carbon from the outside of the case necks and a phosphor bronze brush in a cordless drill cleans and burnishes the inside of the neck very nicely. I personally do clean and uniform my primer pockets as well and then wipe the case over with a paper towel to remove the residue, the case is then ready to prime and reload.

[FredB]

I used a tumbler for more than 30 years and then gave it away. I had discovered ultra-sonic cleaners. Ultrasonics clean the case,inside and out, and the primer pocket.
They don't look nearly as pretty as they did from a tumbler, but I never saw any evidence that my tumbler cleaned the inside.
Fred

[Alpha1]

I have never used any thing else except a tumbler. When I come back from the range I just sling the cases in the tumbler with corn cob media. I tumble for a couple of hours then remove them tip the tumble media out of the caes then de cap them in a Le wilson neck die and chuck them in a tub for future use. I dont think its the end of the world if you dont clean your cases its just easier to spot defects in a clean case.

[Dombo63]

Thanks for advice everyone. And finally, do people generally prefer ultrasonic cleaners or dry tumblers? Just thinking I could spruce up the missus' sparklers

[rox]

Thanks for advice everyone. And finally, do people generally prefer ultrasonic cleaners or dry tumblers? Just thinking I could spruce up the missus' sparklers

I tried a small consumer ultrasonic and a large commercial one and never had good results from the process, despite trying many difference solutions, different case suspension methods, different timings, and different quantities of cases. Even if it had worked, the throughput and amount of interaction required made it unworkable for me. I know that some people have actually got it to work though. I now use the small ultrasonic to clean triggers etc.

For my routine cleaning I use dry tumbling and/or wet stainless tumbling.

Dry tumbling gives a great finish, is very 'hands off' and can handle large volumes (500 .308 at a time). It doesn't clean the primer pockets or the inside of the case though. You can use polish to provide long term protection against tarnishing, and can use the process to de-lube. Choosing suitable media avoids flash-hole clogging. Bulk media and polish can be bought/made at low cost.

Stainless tumbling results in the cleanest cases, including inside the case and the pockets. The cases need to be dried after cleaning (as with ultrasonic). Slightly more interaction is required to rinse and separate than with dry tumbling. Volumes are smaller - typically 100 at a time with the most commonly available equipment. There is a little debate on whether having necks 'too clean' is not actually a positive. Cases cleaned by stainless tumbling will tarnish, so I sometimes polish afterwards using dry media if the cases will not be used for a while.

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[Matt]

I've always used a vibratory tumbler and had no probs, stick in the cases, go to work and they're nice and clean when you get home (times vary depending on how dirty they were and how clean you want them) it's also a good opportunity to inspect them for any wear, cracks or general nastiness before re using them as you empty them out from the tumbler

Always clean before sticking them through your dies though to avoid any complications etc....

I've tinkered with a sonic cleaner which does work well but I can't be bothered with it most of the time and seem to revert back to the tumbler tongueout

If you've just got your dies.... Are they the collet neck sizing type or are you going to full length size?

I've used the collet neck die for years with good results, cleaner as no lube needed, quicker even using the half turn method and produces some good results for not much money. (Assuming they're going to be shot in the same rifle that is)