Can I get away with not cleaning brass & reloading?

You can just wipe them off or wash them in a pail of soapy water, dry them in a barley warm oven.

But as tumblers are abotu $50 these days, it's a better option.
 
In theory you can get issues with powder not burning at designed speed or burning incompletely due to blackened inside of the case absorbing heat faster than shiny new brass. You can just put a brush into hand drill and clean up inside of the cases if they are straight wall.
 
I've been reloading for about a year now and I still don't have a tumbler. Some of my brass has been through 7-8 firings with no noticeable accuracy difference from much newer stuff. Maybe there is a slight difference, but because I do very little paper punching I haven't noticed anything .I never thought about the blackened case walls making a difference, but I guess it's something to watch for.
 
If you value your dies, I would at least make sure they are wiped clean.

As far as tumbling for cleaning, bright shiny brass is better to see defects and condition of your brass (ie cracks, etc).
 
When you apply the lube for resizing, you can feel any cracks etc. in the neck area. After sizing, a good wipedown with a clean cloth and get set to reprime. I have seen no appreciatable difference between tumbled and untouched. Just in the eyes of the beholder I guess.
 
1340 said:
So brass should be tumbled before reloading?
How is the lube removed?
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*Most* of the time, i do this-

Dump dirty brass in tumbler, run for a few hours, overnight, whatever.

Seperate brass form media via bucket/plastic strainer

Lube and resize

Back in the tumbler to remove lube.

Pop out media from flasholes

Prime, charge and seat....

When loading 223 on a progressive, I use a lube die and dont' bother to remove the lube, although you coudl tumble the loaded rounds...Although peopel on the intraweb will tell you it's dangerous.:)
 
I reloaded for something like thirty years before I tumbled any brass. I'm here, my rifles are here, even some of my old brass that was semi-retired is still around. The answer must be, "Yes."
Funny thing was during part of that time I was also doing rock work, and tumbling rocks. Never thought about doing the brass and certainly never read it in any of the books!
 
I've never used a tumbler, never noticed any effect on accuracy. I do wipe the outside with 00 steel wool, because I like shiny brass, and it erases the numbers I've written on, and I clean primer pockets.
 
Gatehouse said:
Dump dirty brass in tumbler, run for a few hours, overnight, whatever.

Seperate brass form media via bucket/plastic strainer

Lube and resize

Back in the tumbler to remove lube.

Pop out media from flasholes

Prime, charge and seat....
Click to expand...

Me too...
one thing I should do better is clean the inside of the necks.
 
Dirty brass shoots the same a nice clean shiny brass. I tried tumbling first then resizing, then tumbling again to clean off the lube. Seemed like a big waste of time to me.(working with 1600 rounds of .308 Lapua brass) I am going back to just tumbling after resizing.
Make sure the flash hole is clear of media, but as far as cleaning primer pockets go it is another waste of time. If it won't gain me one more point in a match, I won't waste hours doing it. Spend that time dry firing and you will gain more points than you would cleaning primer pockets. I have tested dirty primer pockets and clean primer pockets and there is no difference.
 
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So far I have not used a tumbler, but I ordered one from Higginsons with some other stuff now.

I came into a bunch of surplus and other brass, and a lot of it in pretty grungy. In great shape but just dirty. I usually hit em with 0000 steel wool (chuck it in my zip trim, hold the wool over it, yank the cord) while I am trimming em...but I don't want all those necks running into my dies like that.
 
17asleep said:
I never thought about the blackened case walls making a difference, but I guess it's something to watch for.
Click to expand...

That should bother you only in very special situations, like mine: I reload for antique revolvers, where there is very little powder in the case and complete combustion is critical. If you load modern rifle cartridges it won't have any effect, the heat from the barrel would balance everything out.

Like I said, in theory! :)
 
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