BP cases cleaning

[Licensed to kill]

I typically wet tumble my BP brass, a preliminary tumble to get rid of the bill, then change the water and tumble agin with pins. However, I prefer to have a decent tumbler load as I fell it works better when relatively full. So having said all that, what do others do with dirty cases when only shooting maybe a half dozen rounds and not intending to shoot more for awhile?

 

[flashburn]

I typically wet tumble my BP brass, a preliminary tumble to get rid of the bill, then change the water and tumble agin with pins. However, I prefer to have a decent tumbler load as I fell it works better when relatively full. So having said all that, what do others do with dirty cases when only shooting maybe a half dozen rounds and not intending to shoot more for

I will just swirl the cases in a bucket of hot soapy (dawn) water then rinse with clean hot water. Drying is done in the air fryer. The boss is vegan so never uses that appliance. Your milage my vary. I do have a ultrasonic cleaner big enough to hold 12+ cases but feel the bucket does OK and is less mess and set up. Shooting 357 mag.

 

[milsurpo]

I shoot hundreds of rounds of Snider and Martini every year and simply clean them all in soapy water with sticks with steel wool wrapped around them. I have one brass handled hammer that fits a Snider case perfectly with a thin wrap of steel wool and the open end of the handle pushes the wool down into the recess surrounding the flash hole. Thirty seconds per case. Occasionally, if a batch is showing serious tarnishing, I'll toss them in the ultrasonic bath. One helpful tip I got from friends is to throw the cases in soapy water at the range and it does seem to simplify the cleaning.

milsurpo

 

[BlackPowderBurner]

For a small quantity like that I put them in a pop bottle mostly full of hot water, add a drop of dish soap and shake it around quite a bit. Empty and repeat a couple times until the water runs out clearish. Once they dry, I set them aside until a bigger batch is ready to tumble with ss media. They'll tarnish a bit in air turning dull but the tumbling later on sorts that out just fine.

 

[iron cat]

I drop my cases 45/70 or 12 gauge cases into a plastic coffee can of soapy water, sometimes at the range, sometimes at home. I let them soak for a while (overnight most times) then rinse in clear water , blow them out with a compressor.
If they are really tarnished I drop them into my vibratory tumbler for a few hours ( or until I remember the next morning) .
I normally run 50 art a time.
Works well for my needs.
Cat