Perplexed about de priming brass...

[VariableRecall]

In my reloading efforts so far, I have deprimed before wet-cleaning my brass. Most of the gross stuff is in the primer, so keeping them out of my wet cleaning kit (Just a 1qt mason jar) is a good idea.

I spurt in a little Hornady One Shot in the quart bag that I picked up the brass in, shake it around a bit, then size/deprime.

After I collect the spent primers, I dump them into the mason jar with hot water and citric acid and shake it around a ton until my arms get tired. Then, I re-fill the container with just water, shake some more, drain, and dry them overnight.

That has worked quite well for me so far.

[David2011]

Agreed, moisture. Could have been brass that was shot outside and sat on the ground for a while.

Maybe. About 10 years ago I bought 3000 pieces of mil surp 5.56. They had clearly laid out in the weather a long time as it all had a dark brown patina but none of the primers were stuck.