Who does not tumble their pistol brass?

[PS Paul]

I took a look in classics & stickies and found just a little bit of info on this. I sure don't want to be "Little Billy" (ha-ha)!!!:oops:

For years I have not tumbled my pistol brass, preferring to wipe them down either at the range (when possible) or at home when prepping. Sometimes not at all for a few loadings.....

I know I am not the only person out there who does not tumble. In the past, I have played around with washing them using different detergents/soaps/vinegar and the like, but I have always avoided compounds/tarnish removers/polishes and paste and just let them "age naturally", so to speak. Rifle brass is a very different story and I treat those with loving care and respect.

So I thought it might be a good idea to post a thread so some of us could offer up some of the other things they do to clean brass effectively (or not) without a lot of hassle. I tried it in a bag in the dishwasher once, but I loaded them a little too soon and found some duds due to dampness. Further, I realized this was probably not very safe due to the possibility of lead contamination, so I stopped that practice right away......

[Ed_Shot]

Based on what I learned here, I clean my de-primed brass in a bucket of hot water with a teaspoon of citric acid powder and a squirt of Dawn soap for 20-30 min. Dry on a screen wire rack in the sun. Plenty clean and shiney for me

[PS Paul]

Ed, do you leave it in the soap/water/citric acid to sit? OR do you swirl it around and scrub/shake?

[williamwaco]

I took a look in classics & stickies and found just a little bit of info on this. I sure don't want to be "Little Billy" (ha-ha)!!!:oops:

For years I have not tumbled my pistol brass, preferring to wipe them down either at the range (when possible) or at home when prepping. Sometimes not at all for a few loadings.....

I know I am not the only person out there who does not tumble. In the past, I have played around with washing them using different detergents/soaps/vinegar and the like, but I have always avoided compounds/tarnish removers/polishes and paste and just let them "age naturally", so to speak. Rifle brass is a very different story and I treat those with loving care and respect.

So I thought it might be a good idea to post a thread so some of us could offer up some of the other things they do to clean brass effectively (or not) without a lot of hassle. I tried it in a bag in the dishwasher once, but I loaded them a little too soon and found some duds due to dampness. Further, I realized this was probably not very safe due to the possibility of lead contamination, so I stopped that practice right away......


The first 20+ years I reloaded, I didn't even know tumblers existed.
I wiped pistol cases in an old bath towel.

If they were greasy or smokey from bullet lube, I wiped them with a shop rag damp with naptha.

Only if they were encrusted with mud did they see water.

I reloaded thuosands of them that way. I still have about 500 + of those same cases and they are still in use.

Summary:
In my opinion.
It is NEVER necessary to tumble them.
It is ALWAYS necessary to be sure they are clean of mud, dust, grit, carbon, and bullet lube.

That said, I now tumble every case every time. It is easier, takes less ( hands on) time. It makes 'em really purdy.

.

[sledgehammer001]

I don't tumble any of my brass, typically. Unless it's gotten something on it that shouldn't be there, grease, wax etc. Always wipe them down good before lubing to size. Keeps the brass pretty clean, actually.

[felix]

I just wash in paint thinner unless picked up of the ground with loose sand, dirt. Then water wash with a little vinegar, and then paint thinner if still greasy from lube. If in a hurry, then I substitute trichloromethane or a safer equivalent for the paint thinner. I have all kinds of chemicals around my house that I have accumulated over the years. ... felix

[Ed_Shot]

Ed, do you leave it in the soap/water/citric acid to sit? OR do you swirl it around and scrub/shake?

I use hot tap water and agitate it with my hand 2 or 3 times during the course of 20-30 min. It starts getting shiney real quick. After a good rinse I pat it dry inside an old towel before putting it on a screen wire rack in the sun. I do 300-400 pistol brass at a time. For rifle brass I wipe down each case out ot the rinse water.

[BruceB]

For quite a while, I'd put my brass in cloth mineral-sample bags with a little powdered detergent, and tie the bag closed. Each bag would hold several hundred pistol cases.

Then, I just ran them through a full wash cycle in the washer, and spread them to dry afterwards. NICE clean brass, with a bit of shine.

Now I use a tumbler with fine corn-cob and a shpritz (scientific measure, there!) of Turtle Wax "Scratch and Swirl Remover", and the cases glitter like mirrors after this treatment. No effort, and wonderful results. Shiny cases are easy to inspect and easy on the eyes as well.

I do tumble all my brass; from the range they go directly into the machine.

[stubshaft]

I also do not tumble any brass. I have not had any dies scratched or chambers harmed by NOT doing it.

[Wolfer]

I have a tumbler but rarely use it. After loading I wipe the excess lube off the entire case.
I'm more interested in how they go bang than how they look.

[Shoot66]

I put the brass into a plastic bottle with the neck wide enough not to cause trouble when I pour them out. Usually not higher than to 1/3 of the bottle size. I add some dish-soap, a dash of vinegar and then pour hot water in. Not too much so I can shake the content well. I shake to bottle for a minute or two, and I then let it sit for a few minutes and repeat the shaking process. Next I pour the cases out, wash them with clean water and let them dry well in the sun or in the oven shortly.

[prs]

I wet tumble in a model B Thumblers. Fill the tank about 3/4 full of brass, add enough hot tap water to just cover, add a few drops of Dawn and teaspoon of LemiFresh (citric acid). I let this run until I get ready to fool with it, usually far longer than necessary. When I get good'n ready I dump the tank load in a sink basin and run a gentle stream of cold water. I run my fingers through the shiny gold treasure just like Midas as the water rines away all the solution and dirt. When the water is draining clear I turn the spigot off and put a dib of Lee case cleaner on my hand and give it the Midas touch again to spread the lube. I put the wet lubed brass into an orange sack and hang to dry. When decapped, even the primer pockets are clean. I like lubed cases feed very well through my carbide dies in the progressive loader, way easier than unlubed.

My vibratory dry tumbler is on the shelf, too much dust and that dust probably has a lot of lead staphinate residue.

prs

[PS Paul]

prs, like Midas? That's actually pretty funny. I like the notion of adding the Lee case lube during the process and the fear of the lead styphnate is one of the reasons I avoid case tumblers. I've used colanders in the past, but I might give the methods you and shoot66 mentioned.

[gunseller]

For the first 30 years I reloaded I never tumbled any brass. When I did get a tumbler and started running my brass through it I did notice that the brass went though the sizer die much easier. I do not think they shot any better nor did I ever have extraction problems. I use nut hulls. Do not get as brite of a shine as with corn cob but nut hulls are faster. The oldest brass I have that I can identify is from 1973. They are Browning brass in 44 mag. Some have been loaded over 30 time. Half or more of the loads were a 240 SWC over 22 grains of 2400.
Steve

[captaint]

My brass comes home from the range, gets dumped into the vibrator and gets run for a couple of hours. Easy. I do this to keep it clean to protect my carbide dies. And - OK - I like to load pretty ammo. I admit it. There. enjoy Mike

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Yeah, I tumble most spent cases.
BUT, if it's a small batch of larger cases like 44 Mag (which is most of what I shoot)
I just wipe off the soot and lube right away with a shop rag, that usually leaves them
as clean as tumbled...if not, they get set aside and tumbled with the next batch to come along.
Jon

[wrench]

Revolver brass never hits the ground, so it doesn't get dirty. I just wipe them off with a rag before reloading.
Pistol brass is very dirty from the dirt (mud) ground at the range, it goes into the tumbler with corncob for an hour or two before reloading.
Very easy.
Before I had a tumbler, I used the wet cleaning methods for pistol brass. That worked fine, but seems to be more work to me.

[Junior1942]

I haven't tumbled in years. Shiney cases don't shoot any better than dull cases. I use hot tap water in a milk jug about 1/4 full of cases, a squirt of dish-wash liquid, and rock 'n' roll music--shake, shake, shake, shake your cases. Then rinse in cold tap water, dump in the sink, then spread out on newspaper, etc. If I need them soon, I place a small fan blowing over them.

[mold maker]

Pretty, shiny brass, is in no way necessary. On the other hand, it's a matter of pride. All my loads are better looking than new factory.
It is wise to make sure there is no grit, dirt etc, on your brass so as not to damage your dies. Other than that it is just a personal preference.

[mdi]

The first 20+ years I reloaded, I didn't even know tumblers existed.
I wiped pistol cases in an old bath towel.

If they were greasy or smokey from bullet lube, I wiped them with a shop rag damp with naptha.

Only if they were encrusted with mud did they see water.

I reloaded thuosands of them that way. I still have about 500 + of those same cases and they are still in use.

Summary:
In my opinion.
It is NEVER necessary to tumble them.
It is ALWAYS necessary to be sure they are clean of mud, dust, grit, carbon, and bullet lube.

That said, I now tumble every case every time. It is easier, takes less ( hands on) time. It makes 'em really purdy.

.
Wow, I agree 100%. I was gonna say the same thing, but you beat me to it! I only reloaded 12 or so years before I tumbled any brass. I used a rag slightly dampened with mineral spirits to wipe my brass as I inspected it. I memmer the old timers/reloaders at the range had kinda dark, dull brass and picked up all they shot (newbys and cops were the only ones shooting "virgin", shiny brass).

[HangFireW8]

Yeah, I can't put it any better than williamwaco, and I too like purdy brass. I had to give a little on this point when I started shooting a lot of cast 8mm since it is mostly reformed '06, and so has a blue dyed case head that my tumbler would take right off.

Funny how I used to spend big bucks on bug hole varmint rifles, and now I get my kicks finding out just how cheaply I can shoot 1MOA groups in a '93 Mauser bubba beater.

Back to handguns, shiny brass to shiny brass has a lower coefficient of static friction than oxidized brass to itself, making the latter a little harder to strip off the top cartridge, and likely moving the next cartridge forward a little. In a marginally feeding semi-auto this might cause problems. Better to fix what's marginal first, but for critical uses, you want every little edge in your favor.

HF

[ronbo40s&w]

Since I use a lot of range pickup brass, I like to FCD push through size it first and inspect it for cracks after that. I tried it without tumbling and there was a marked difference in the pressure needed to run the brass through the die. So I tumble them all now. Once i shoot them in my own gun, sometimes I feel like loading a quick handful as a break from shooting and they just get reloaded as is. After a full range session, I toss all the brass in the tumbler, rifle and pistol.

[dverna]

Like others I like to have nice looking reloads. There is no way I am going to hand clean cases so for me it means cleaning with with the tumbler or vibratory cleaner.

I have not done the testing to determine if there is any performance difference (like some of you?) but I figure "dirty" cannot be better than "clean" - but maybe I am wrong.

I have one of the big Dillon vibrators for doing a humongous load of brass if I need to. But I use the smaller one and a tumbler too for smaller batches. It is so simple to dump in the brass and a capful of polish (get the cheap stuff at the Dollar store) and tumble for a couple of hours that I view not cleaning as slovenly - LOL

When I see crappy looking reloads I wonder what other "compromises" the reloader is prone to but I admit this is "profiling" at its worst. And that is just SO WRONG!!!!!

Don

[olafhardt]

What is this cleaning stuff? I load it, shoot it, load it, shoot it..........

[BulletFactory]

I just toss 'em in the washing machine.

[Linstrum]

What's a tumbler? Sorry, but I just couldn't resist asking that because I just recently started tumbling brass after not going to any great effort to clean my brass for 48 years. It has its advantages and I mainly do it because nowadays most of my brass is range brass I pick up out of the dirt, and tumbling is the easiest way to get grit and water out. I don't do it to make it look pretty, a lot of my cartridges are Boxer primed steel and you can't make lacquered steel look pretty.

rl 1,144

[snuffy]

This thread is about normal for any discussion about whether to tumble or not. Stubborn older loaders that can't see any advantage to tumbling downplay any claims made by those that do tumble. Of course There's a true tumblers, both dry and wet, vibratory "tumblers", and simple dunking-stiring-and-shaking methods.

If you LIKE the natural stained look of cases that are never tumbled, then don't use one. If, however, you like shiny cases, then consider some type of car wax as added to corncob media as a way to extend the shiny look of the cases. Nu-finish is one used by a lot of people.

Handling cases with bare fingers WILL get them tarnished in a hurry. "Geeze, my handloads looked so good when I put them in those boxes, now they're all cruddy"! Fingerprints and natural oxides occur over time.

I loaded for many years without a tumbler. I tried to make one that I copied from one for sale in a gunshop. I used a 3 pound coffee can for a container, but without paddles, it didn't work well.

About ten years ago, I got a midway tumbler as part of a molly imbedding kit. I tried some 44 mag brass in bare corncob, I was amazed at how clean they were. I then read about some type of media additive, so I tried some flitz metal polish. WOW! Glitz and glamor, what's not to like?

Now days, I know that finding brass in the grass at IPSC and IDPA shoots is easier if they shine. I DO believe that they pass through carbide dies easier with that tiny bit of wax on them. Also, if they're clean, cracks and other defects are easier to see.

I almost never run any ammo that the brass has NOT been tumbled first.

Before;

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/terrysoops/websize/image3_3.jpg
After;

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/terrysoops/websize/image4_3.jpg
whats not to like?

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/terrysoops/websize/image5_2.jpg

[1Shirt]

I tumble every thing that I shoot, but it is mostly a matter of habit I admit.
1Shirt1

[BulletFactory]

Before;

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/terrysoops/websize/image3_3.jpg
After;

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/terrysoops/websize/image4_3.jpg
whats not to like?

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/terrysoops/websize/image5_2.jpg


Showoff......







Just kidding.

[kenyerian]

I bought a tumbler back in the late 80's and have tumbled every since. makes them look like new plus you can spot problems easier.

[warf73]

I tumble every thing that I shoot, but it is mostly a matter of habit I admit.
1Shirt1

Same here, the guy who got me into reloading metalic tumbled everything so I thought that was part of the process of reloading so I've never stopped. And now it's just 2nd nature to tumble everything that is going to get reloaded.

[MBTcustom]

I am so glad I read this thread!
Car wax? Never heard of that, but I am going to try it!

Honestly, I don't give a rip what the brass looks like. I want it clean, but the most important place is the primer pocket and flash hole, followed by the inside of the caseneck, followed by the outside of the brass, followed by the inside of the brass (it says right here in goodsteel's comprehensive reloading techniques, vol 12, chapter 3, pg. 254, paragraph 7.[smilie=l:).
The thing is, that tumbling takes care of the outside of the brass really well, but doesn't clean the inside much, and the primer pocket is virtually untouched.

What I mean is that a dull finish does not mean an inaccurate surface. Just look at our brass molds!
Not only that, but growing up I would get in trouble for cleaning things till they shined. Mom used carbon steel knives which were cleaned by hand in soapy water with a cotton rag. They maintained a brown color that was never to be scrubbed off. The same goes for the cast iron skillets and cookware. It was drilled into me that if it rusts or tarnishes, to use that to my advantage and to work with it to make the objects last forever.

I tumble pistol brass for about 30 minutes in a vibe tumbler with lizard bedding (crushed walnut hulls), take em out and reload them. They look dull, but they work fine.

I am much pickier with my rifle brass, although I still don't care about the looks of them. Most of the work on rifle brass is done by hand.
I clean the primer pocket and flash hole with tools I have made to do that, I clean inside the necks with a bronze brush, and I swipe the outside of the necks with 000 steel wool. I don't worry about the inside of the case at all.

Anyway, back to pistol brass, the only reason I tumble is to remove dirt or crud from the outside of the brass, so that it's not going up in my sizer. Other than that, I let it ride. I figure the brass is trying to protect itself from the elements by forming that dull surface, and trying to always keep that off seems like rollerskating uphill.
That's why I am so interested in the carwax idea! That is the first suggestion I have ever heard that actually replaces the natural "seasoning" on the brass! I'm gonna try it.

[RobsTV]

Went straight to UltraSonic cleaner when I started reloading way back in 2011 (modern equipment for modern times?). Cases still come out like brand new after dozens of reloads.

A range officer once stated that he looks at cases to see what sort of reloader someone might be, and if they use nasty looking cases, he watches them much more closely than those with new looking brass. To him dirty cases mean reloader does not care about the finer details, and problems would be more likely.

[Brasso]

I tumble mine religiously in corncob media. At the range, my brass and anything I pick up all goes in the same bag. Anything that hits the ground gets sand on it. I wash it and then tumble. One grain of sand will ruin a reloading die.

Sam

[HangFireW8]

I would think twice about the car wax thing.

Under high pressure, wax could act as a lubricant and increase bolt thrust. The systems we use today rely on momentary static friction between the brass and the chamber walls at the point of peak pressure. Under as much as 40K PSI bolt thrust can actually be zero if the case doesn't stretch enough to move back against the breech to compensate for the firing pin moving it forward. Even at 55KPSI, bolt thrust can be a fraction of the pressure against the inside of the case head, due to this static friction and the case being held against chamber walls.

Lubricating chambers or cases in any way increases slippage, bolt thrust, and wear and tear on the bolt lugs and receivers. That's why I keep my chambers clean and dry and devoid of lubricants, and I wipe all resizing lube off of cases. I think that is one of the reasons I enjoy such long case life.

HF

[MBTcustom]

Never heard of anybody wearing out an action by running oily brass (303Guy does it all the time), but I suppose case life could be shortened, especially if you FL re-size. We'll see.
I can't see how it would matter with pistol brass either.

[fcvan]

For years I didn't polish or tumble. I started tumbling about 25 years ago when dad bought me a Lyman 1200. I learned very quickly that depriming and rinsing keeps the residue from fouling the media so quickly. It wasn't until I joined Cast Boolits that I learned about rinsing with Dawn and a little lemon juice before polishing would cut polishing time by more than half. Then I read about the car polish thing about putting a light seal on the brass to inhibit tarnishing. I started using a small amount of Turtle Zip Wash in my media and the brass comes out very highly polished in even less time. It also tends not to tarnish so quickly after a day at the range. The most amazing thing was finding some 30 Carbine brass that was absolutely black and being able to bring it back to a bright polish without much effort just by using some of the tips I've learned here at this site. Frank

[ronbo40s&w]

When I see crappy looking reloads I wonder what other "compromises" the reloader is prone to but I admit this is "profiling" at its worst. And that is just SO WRONG!!!!!

Don



Lol. I actually laughed at this out loud. Seriously, If the guy has all his fingers and both eyes, i don't care what his brass looks like. I will listen to him...oops....I did it too...I meant to say...



If a guy/gal has all his/her fingers and both eyes, i don't care what his/her brass looks like. I will listen to him or her in case i might "lern sompin."

God Bless!

Ron

[pastor]

i have a home made tumbler which i used to do the wet stainless method, had some dud loads (didnt dry well enough) so i started using corn cob media

now when we get back from the range i just put my spent brass in the tumbler and after two or three trips there is usually 3-400 in the tumbler, then they get tumbled for an hour or two

i read about using turtle wax in the media about a year ago and i tried it, and was impressed, it cleaned very well and left the brass lightly coated with wax, brass seems to stay cleaner longer and clean up easier when it does get dirty, and i think it sizes easier

[MBTcustom]

I can actually tell a lot about a shooters character based on whether he allows the brass, that he has spent hours preparing, to ever hit the ground in the first place.
Personally, I catch my nasty, disgusting looking brass, look at it closely, and put it gently back in the box/loading block I got it out of (this keeps nosy folks from making judgment calls about the level of precision I use in developing my loads, based on the level of shine that I put on my brass.[smilie=l:)

[fecmech]

I didn't tumble my pistol brass for the first 30 or so years that I reloaded. I would occasionally rinse the alox off the cases with solvent when they got messed up bad. Since I went to the "dark side" (hard lubes) my cases stay pretty clean after firing and I only tumble after 4 or 5 reloads. Personally I look at the targets for results, there are some really "pretty" commercial reloads that don't shoot worth a darn.

[unique]

I guess I never understood the purpose of cleaning brass. Sure it is nice and shiny but I am not really attracted to shiny things and if I ever get a strong desire to clean something then my wife is there to point the way.

As I understand it, the residue left over after tumbling has a fair amount of lead dust which you have to be carefully with. Lee talked about someone being poisoned a result of being careless while tumbling. I know Hatcher made comments about it dirty brass lasting longer than clean brass in some tests he ran.

Tumbling is an extra step in the reloading process. Someone will say I need to wipe each brass individually before sizing and that is true but since I inspect each case as I reload it doesn't really add an extra step.

The consensus seems to be the reason people tumble is to have shiny brass.

[quack1]

If I have a bunch of range pick up brass or just plain gritty brass, I'll tumble it before using just to keep from scratching my dies. Other than that, my opinion is shiney brass isn't any more accurate than tarnished brass so I just shoot and load pistol and rifle.