Dollar General reloading products

[mike in co]

" The last time I saw corn cobs used was in my great grandpa's out house!"

Few here are "mature" enough, or "worldly wise" enough, to have any idea of what that means! Cob has a similar effect on our cases though.

If anyone can see cracks in shiney brass easier than tarnished he needs new glasses or better light.

Unlike aluminum oxide, brass oxide/tarnish is NOT abrasive so it's totally harmless to both sizers and chambers. ??

I know some really good auto mechanics who work in somewhat gritty small shops. I know a LOT of big repair shops that are largely incompetient but their shop bays look like surgery rooms. Their cleanliness sure doesn't translate into dependable quality work tho, instead it's more of an attractive distraction to those seeking good work. ??

I know of no one who uses carbide dies on bottle neck cartridges and, even if they did, it would still require case lube, pad or otherwise, so what does that mean. ??

Finally, few, if any of us, eat off our cases. That analogy is irrelivant so what does it mean??

I polish my cases because it's easy to do, I have the time and I like to do it but I don't sneer at those who don't bother, the high shine soon oxidizes anyway. My shiney ammo doesn't shoot any better than it did in the old days.

Appraising ammo quality by the glitter of the brass is as inaccurate and useless as choosing a new car or marrying a women based on how pretty they are. Loading skill is demonstrated at the target, period, all else is meaningless fluff.

Bottom line, shiney cases aren't a good or a bad thing, it's just superficial.

alot of noise, not much else.
"Few here are "mature" enough, or "worldly wise" enough, to have any idea of what that means! Cob has a similar effect on our cases though." what you think YOU are the only one that knows ??the average age on this site ....puts us in the age that knows....

no one said brass oxides were a problem...we did say dirty brass was...so why bring it up...just to hear one talk ?
who said we were ONLY talking about bottleneck , the reference was to the use of carbide dies...mostly used on pistol fairly straight wall brass.

i specifically said pad, not "or otherwise"....for a reason....i do have not ever used one..to me they are very old school, they work but there are better ways.

"If anyone can see cracks in shiney brass easier than tarnished he needs new glasses or better light."
if you honestly believe it is easier to see a crack in dark dull brass over clean bright shinny brass....i rest my case....just you wanting to listen to yourself talk.

a clean shop does not make a good auto tech, a dirty one is a sure sign of one that takes no pride in his work.

somehow it seems to me your are missing the real world, or maybe just common sense.

mike in co

[chuebner]

Bet you don't wash your car either.

If God wants the car washed, He can make it rain. I also use clean but tarnished brass.

charlie

[mold maker]

While I totally agree that the size of the group is all important, I take great pride in the fact that a clean and shiny weapon, did it with ammo, that was also shiny and brite.

[sundog]

I've got two comments to add to this discussion. First, all of my brass is cleaned as it is needed. Might be a wipe with a paper towel or three hours in the tumbler. Depends. I have a piece of 45acp brass on my bench that has a almost unnoticeable crack from mouth to web that never would have been seen if it had not been through the tumble. Would you trust that piece of brass to you wife? Girlfriend? One of your kids or grand kids?

Second. Me and another feller had to help another feller pound open his bolt a while back. Round shot fine, but bolt was being 'sticky'. Cases had so much crap on them it's wonder they even chambered. Never been cleaned we found out later....

Y'all do what you want, but this here shooter is gonna keep thangs clean. It's worked quite well for about..., well, I've been casting and reloading since very 70s. Shooting since mid-fifties.

Here's a head's up. I've been shooting Ly Moly lube and now exclusively Felix loob for a lot of years. Most often, the paper towel wipe off or couple hours in a tumbler do everything. The loob, especially the Felix loob, actually helps clean the brass with decent media.

Like I said, y'all do what you want. For me, I'll put clean brass and boolits in my guns.

[jcwit]

Pride cometh before the fall. So till the fall I'll take pride in my shiney and clean polished ammo, pride in my clean and polished rifles and pistols, and pride in my washed, waxed and polished vehicles, pride in the way I dress and the way I look to the rest of the world.

In other words I'll try to show neatness, cleanliness, and professionalism with myself and my possessions.

Now if I only could take pride in my handgun marksmanship.

[felix]

JCWIT, why not take pride in your marksmanship? Comparing your last statement to the others in your post illuminates a personal conflict, and one definitely can be solved by substitution with any one attribute in the previous sentence. ... felix

[John Boy]

So I had to buy a bottle (spray bottle- $2.00!) to try it.

And I buy the Castrol Super Clean Tire Cleaner at the auto store ... one gallon for 6 bucks was the last price I paid!

[jcwit]

JCWIT, why not take pride in your marksmanship? Comparing your last statement to the others in your post illuminates a personal conflict, and one definitely can be solved by substitution with any one attribute in the previous sentence. ... felix

Well the problem with my pistol marksmanship is that in my early teens I had polio, and it left me with a major shake. This was 53 years ago, I was lucky to survive. Over the years I have been able to overcome the problem with regards to a rifle, at least to my satisfaction.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not crying about it or wanting sympathy, its just a fact of life and I believe I'm blessed in having lived the fulfilling life I've had. However, believe me, my handgun accuracy is nothing to write home about. hehe

[jcwit]

BTW, I'm all lower case!

jcwit

[Charlie Sometimes]

To get back on track......

And I buy the Castrol Super Clean Tire Cleaner at the auto store ... one gallon for 6 bucks was the last price I paid!

You put your cases in this to clean them?
How long does the gallon last?

Got to check this one out, too, I guess.

[jcwit]

And I buy the Castrol Super Clean Tire Cleaner at the auto store ... one gallon for 6 bucks was the last price I paid!

Is this the stuff that they recalled?

[dbldblu]

A question for those of you that think that cleaning cases saves dies and firearm chambers; where does the grit come from that is causing the damage? The case has been in a set of dies, a firearm chamber and a clean container in between. Just when and where and how does it pick up grit? Do you believe that burning gunpowder creates grit? Also, if grit gets imbedded in the brass by some means why do you believe that washing it or tumbling brass removes this imbedded grit?

[jcwit]

Right and don't forget that if using carbide dies the grit must be extreamily hard as carbide is one of the hardest materials known to man. I seriously doubt that ordinary sand is doing much damage to carbide dies.

[Ekalb2000]

I only wash because I am in no hurry. Plus, to me, any lead contaminates that is in my solution gets washed down the drain, and not hanging around in my garage.
I thought I read somewhere that carbide dies actually benifit from the grit.

[Charlie Sometimes]

A question for those of you that think that cleaning cases saves dies and firearm chambers; where does the grit come from that is causing the damage? The case has been in a set of dies, a firearm chamber and a clean container in between. Just when and where and how does it pick up grit? Do you believe that burning gunpowder creates grit? Also, if grit gets imbedded in the brass by some means why do you believe that washing it or tumbling brass removes this imbedded grit?

The grit is not imbeded in the brass. The case lube is what picks it up. Yes carbon has abrasive properities- everything does. Diamonds are formed from carbon. You get the stuff on your hands, and it gets in the lube, and then in a STEEL sizer die and WILL scratch the die.

Now, RCBS told me that some of what scratches cases inside sizer dies is BRASS build up left in there from not being cleaned well. I thought WHAT? I had picked up a set of dies that had scratches in the sizer, so I did as they said- polish the inside of the die with very fine polish (I forget the exact instruction). I used a tight cotton bore wab and 1000 grit grinding compound in a battery drill to avoid dimension changes. It was gone after a few minutes of multidirectional rotational abrading. Bright and shiney new- go figure.

Corrosion on the surface of a case, and I'd venture to say tarnish, is abrasive too. Combine anything with oxygen and it has changed properties (tarnish). Aluminum to Aluminum Oxide; Silicon to Silicon Oxide (or Silicon Carbide); etc.

Opening and closing your bolt on a firearm polishes (abrades) the surfaces. Not cleaning your firearms chamber can cause a case to seize (unburned powder or residue?), and dirty rounds will do it too. Carry the rounds in your pocket, and I bet they pick up something that you don't want to put into your firearm. WHY? Because it don't belong in the firearm, or on the case!

I don't live in a bubble (maybe some of YOU guys do), so I plan on continuing to clean my cases and take pride in that fact, because I am an ammo crafter.

Clean, or not to clean- THAT is a question!

[mauser1959]

I do not know what kind of abrasives that would be on dirty brass. However it is of interest that Aluminum Oxide, Tin Oxide, Iron Oxide, and Cerium Oxide is used are polishes, aka abrasives, but I do not know if Lead Oxide, Copper Oxide or Zinc Oxides are abrasive, though the one would tend to think that they are. And it is true that Carbon is what makes a good steel hard, so I am not sure that I want that in my dies.

I had some very very tarnished brass that I cleaned this morning, it was probably not dangerous but it bothered me for ascetic reasons. I looked here last night on Cast Boolits, and came up with my solution, 50% vinegar (by eye), a bit of dawn dish soap, and then 50% water. Looks like it will be the trick for me. Vinegar by the gallon is very cheap.

[dbldblu]

Charlie,

A bubble? Just a little bit condescending don't you think?

Look, if someone wants to polish their brass because they prefer that look, no one can argue with that.

As far as all these claims of damage to dies and firearms, I will say this. I have been reloading since 1966 or so. For most of that time I did not own a case tumbler. I currently do, used it some, seems more trouble than it is worth. I currently load for 12 handgun cartridges and 13 rifle cartridges. I have never ruined a die or a firearm. None of my dies leave scratches on cases. I have no trouble finding split necks; it is easier to feel a split than to see one. There are companies out there manufacturing reloading tools that will make all sorts of claims to sell us something. It is called marketing.

[Three44s]

When someone write '.... gets my cases clean and pretty' does that mean clean and shiny or clean and still grungy looking. To clean a few cases and make them shiny clean, try 'nevr-dull'. Should be able to get it at a good hardware store. I have a friend who gets it at walmart in aut department.

I use Never-Dull ....... a few turns on the drill press and then a clean rag.

I like Shotman's idea about Simple Green too!

I sure like to look at clean ....... really clean brass.

BUT I sure don't look down my nose at someone saving time.

Simply put, I don't clean every firing ...... not even tumbling!

Three 44s

[mauser1959]

From what I read, it seems to be that the biggest issue on this debate is what kind of rounds do you load. It appears that most who reload hand guns shine up the cases and a number of people who reload mostly for rifles do not. I clean every bit of brass that I run through a press, but then again, I only reload hand gun brass... so far. I would also tend to believe that guys who are reloading for semi auto rifles would also polish their brass, though I would think ( but no basis in fact) that clean brass would be better to trim up ect. This is a good thread, but there is no need to let egos or other issues cloud what we are all trying to achieve. Seems to me that our main objective is to reload , with cast bullets, and to each their own on how we like those rounds to be.

[xringshutr]

As long as were on the subjuct of saving money:

Liquid lanolin mixed with 99% Rubbing alcohol makes quite possibly the best case lube I have ever used. I used to buy Hornady One Shot but this stuff is even better. I use the little 2 oz. fingertip spray bottle from Wal-Mart to dispense it.

Squeeze about a 1/3 of an inch of lanolin into the bottom of the spray bottle and top it off with the alcohol. I just spray a Cool Whip bowl full of cases, swish them around and respray. When you swish the cases just right, they stand up on end and you can shoot a light mist over the case necks. This makes them cycle over the expander really smooth. Tumble in corn cob media for about 15 minutes and they are good to go. You may have to push some media out of the flash holes, but way worth the effort. Quick production.

One little 2 oz. bottle will do about 1200+ 223 Rem cases.

Cost - $4.00 for the lanolin, $2.50 for the Rubbing Alcohol, and $1 for the spray bottle.

Here's a good link for the lanolin:
http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Lanolin.../dp/B00028MLKC

Try it, you'll like it.