How often do you tumble your brass?
- Thread starter sure as shootin
- Start date
What about if you have a dry media tumbler like the RCBS?
- Location
- West Quebec
Wet tumble after every shooting here..
Me too.
This is my routine as well.
Pistol or rifle brass? I always clean pistol brass before reloading since I pick up so much of it from my outdoor range. Once I start reloading for a semi-auto rifle, it will follow the same tumble and reload.
For the most part, my bolt action rifle brass never leaves the bench or shooting mat so I will usually wipe off any carbon right away and tumble only when I plan to full length size. If the brass will only be neck sized, it will just get a wipe.
For the most part, my bolt action rifle brass never leaves the bench or shooting mat so I will usually wipe off any carbon right away and tumble only when I plan to full length size. If the brass will only be neck sized, it will just get a wipe.
GMC Trucker
Regular
- Location
- Airdrie, AB
I clean my brass every time it's reloaded. Keeps all of the debris out of the dies. Not a lot of effort and makes it easier to see defects.
geotndtwine
CGN Regular
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta
I personally just rinse most of my brass in the sink with warm soapy water, I find it faster then setting up a tumbler. Once I have rinsed off the soap I set them up to dry and leave them for at least 3 days to dry(even though its pretty warm in the house). I only tumble to remove sizing lube and once more to shine them up.
G-Man_Quagmire
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- North Delta B.C.
Every time before reloading. Makes inspection much easier and cleaner.
Armored Metal
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- The People's Republik of Kébekistan
I use a Lyman tumbler with corn cob for pistol and rifle brass.
I have a bucket of media for the realy dirty range pick-ups (+used Bounce sheet) and one bucket of clean media with NuFinish car polish. I use the second one for the finishing touch or lube removal.
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----------survey says --me too.
As you can see tumbling or other cleaning is about cleaning the brass so it won't hurt your dies or your gun.
I suppose if you load single rounds and ease them out so they move straight from case to chamber and back to case again and if you're using a fairly clean powder that there is some room for only cleaning after so many reloads. But with the whole idea of accuracy being based on consistency if you don't clean every time then the time you do you introduce a new factor. So pretty much everyone cleans every time before the brass sees a press.
The only exception is using a universal decapping die to punch out the old primers in dirty brass before cleaning. But that dies only pushes out the primers and does not touch the side walls.
I suppose if you load single rounds and ease them out so they move straight from case to chamber and back to case again and if you're using a fairly clean powder that there is some room for only cleaning after so many reloads. But with the whole idea of accuracy being based on consistency if you don't clean every time then the time you do you introduce a new factor. So pretty much everyone cleans every time before the brass sees a press.
The only exception is using a universal decapping die to punch out the old primers in dirty brass before cleaning. But that dies only pushes out the primers and does not touch the side walls.
Same
