cleaning brass everytime, is it necessary really?

[rockwind1]

it's not dirty, it is just once fired and is pretty clean really. i was simply getting input from experienced reloaders on the plus and minus's of saving a time consuming step, (cleaning). trying to figure out whether cleaning just makes stuff shiny or has some added benefit.

and if there is some added benefit, what is it and is it worth the time to me personally.

so the benefit of not cleaning and having"dirty" brass is extra time to shoot (assuming there is no other factors)

my goal here is to avoid going down rabbit holes and getting lost in the warren. this thread was about one of those possible rabbit holes.

i just want to reload approx 10-20 ES ammo as quickly, easily, and as drama free as possible and if i can do that by cleaning every 3 or 4 firing, then i will do that, along with any other step i can eliminate or reduce.


what are your thoughts on cleaning relative to time spent,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, keeping the above measurable goal in mind?

i mean, it is like any other process, i am trying to make it efficient for my needs.

honestly, i did wipe the brass down with some alcohol and i kind of regret that step, i am thinking if i just dump a bunch of brass in my ss media drum, it might be the fastest way cause i can do something else while it cleans. the time invested there is putting it in and then getting it out, arranging it to dry, because wiping down each case is not as efficient as that. so by experimenting, i discovered something. but i think the point of the internet and forums is that we pool our discoveries, experiences and resources to make our lives better.

and I want to thank everyone on there for sharing.

 

[Webster]

no, i use to work at gun shows. as many as 45 a year. so i have had the opportunity see a lot. your one set of good dies did not fix all the ugly one i have seen over the years. your sample size is small.

My experience may be a one off example but carbon either causes damage or it doesn't. It cannot pick and choose which dies to damage.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

it's not dirty, it is just once fired and is pretty clean really. i was simply getting input from experienced reloaders on the plus and minus's of saving a time consuming step, (cleaning). trying to figure out whether cleaning just makes stuff shiny or has some added benefit.

and if there is some added benefit, what is it and is it worth the time to me personally.

so the benefit of not cleaning and having"dirty" brass is extra time to shoot (assuming there is no other factors)

my goal here is to avoid going down rabbit holes and getting lost in the warren. this thread was about one of those possible rabbit holes.

i just want to reload approx 10-20 ES ammo as quickly, easily, and as drama free as possible and if i can do that by cleaning every 3 or 4 firing, then i will do that, along with any other step i can eliminate or reduce.


what are your thoughts on cleaning relative to time spent,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, keeping the above measurable goal in mind?

i mean, it is like any other process, i am trying to make it efficient for my needs.

honestly, i did wipe the brass down with some alcohol and i kind of regret that step, i am thinking if i just dump a bunch of brass in my ss media drum, it might be the fastest way cause i can do something else while it cleans. the time invested there is putting it in and then getting it out, arranging it to dry, because wiping down each case is not as efficient as that. so by experimenting, i discovered something. but i think the point of the internet and forums is that we pool our discoveries, experiences and resources to make our lives better.

and I want to thank everyone on there for sharing.

One tip ill leave you with. Do the exact same thing every time. Dont try to do one thing on the 3rd firing then something else on the 5th or whatever

 

[Bc'z]

One tip ill leave you with. Do the exact same thing every time. Dont try to do one thing on the 3rd firing then something else on the 5th or whatever

What he said! Repetition creates perfection.
Once you get your rhythm down it don't take long to prep a bunch of brass. Do large batches in a couple session's.
You take care of your firearms to the inth degree, but not what you feed it? Puzzling.

 

[retired]

you keep talking carbon. it is not the only dirt that gets on brass. the subject is cleaning brass, it is not cleaning carbon only.move on.

My experience may be a one off example but carbon either causes damage or it doesn't. It cannot pick and choose which dies to damage.

 

[Brians356]

What are the benefits of dirty brass ?

What are the benefits of cleaning cases to "better than new" and literally sparkling like jewelry?

One benefit of "dirty" brass is that the carbon residue inside the neck prevents the tendency of dissimilar metals to form a bond (sometimes referred to as "cold weld") over years.

Some on this forum also claim leaving the carbon inside the necks forms a natural dry lubricant, promotes more uniformity in bullet seating and neck tension, and can provide more consistent results on target. (Hold your fire, I'm not one of those claiming it.)
-

 

[Brians356]

you keep talking carbon. it is not the only dirt that gets on brass. the subject is cleaning brass, it is not cleaning carbon only.move on.

Fair enough. For my part, cleaning dirt (not carbon) off brass amounts to wiping the dirt off the case with a rag or paper towel, or even a shirttail as I pick it up after firing a round in the field. No investment in equipment is required to clean brass for reloading.
-

 

[retired]

"required ", no, "desired" depends on the individual.

as i was selling brass, the best looking brass is an asset.

Fair enough. For my part, cleaning dirt (not carbon) off brass amounts to wiping the dirt off the case with a rag or paper towel, or even a shirttail as I pick it up after firing a round in the field. No investment in equipment is required to clean brass for reloading.
-

 

[Brians356]

"required ", no, "desired" depends on the individual.

as i was selling brass, the best looking brass is an asset.

For resale, sure, different equation, absolutely. But that's a different topic than this one.
-

 

[Hengehold]

getting different answers on this verbally with folks who reload. some are very concerned with carbon getting in their expensive FL dies, others that i know are more hunters will fire 2 or 3 times before or until the brass actually looks pretty bad. my once fired brass looks pretty good to me.

so question is, with uncleaned brass, even if you wipe the cases with a micro fiber cloth to get rid of actual dirt particles, does the remaining carbon really do that much to your dies?

is there another factor that is being missed here (by me)

has anyone on here who doesn't have ocd and has an experimental nature, taken a step back and tried it both ways to see what happens to your groups and es and stuff?

i totally respect ocd since i have it myself but I am trying to apply my ocd to MY PERSONAL end goal here which is shooting more but with still very consistent ammo. I LOVE SPARKLING CLEAN, PERFECTLY MACHINED AND CONSISTENT CASES but i also am willing to suppress my ocd towards sparkles, skip not so important steps (if so) that do not affect my style of shooting. non-competition, long range hunting and target shooting.

in fact, if the big concern here is ruining my dies after loading 5000 rd or something, i think i am willing to just do that and order new dies.

thoughts, thanks?

I shoot Palma (1000 yd competition) and my brass does not fly into the dirt. It goes from ammo box to the gun and back into ammo box. With that said, I reload my cases about 8-10 times before they are retired. I NEVER clean cases for LR competition. I have made about 10,000 rds on my 308 dies and they are not showing signs of wearing out. I am not sure what worn-out dies would do. I have never heard of it happening. I suppose it would leave deep gouges in resized brass or no-longer size the brass down to a small enough size. I have NEVER heard of anyone having either of these problems. Perhaps it could happen but don’t think it ever does.

When I shot in NRA highpower competitions out west my brass would land in the sand. I always cleaned that brass with sand/dirt on it because I did not want it to end up in my chamber or action lugs. Dirt/sand can gull your lugs so that could be a justification for cleaning brass if there is dirt rather than just carbon.

-T

 

[orbitup]

personally i wipe the outside of.the cases with a clean rag dempened with ballistol. i often do this at the range while others are posting targets or waiting for.my barrel to cool. put them in a ziploc and they are ready for sizing when i get home or right then at the range.

on the smaller.cases the ballistol makes a good sizing lube. just wipe it off with a clean dry cloth after sizing. leaves the carbon in the neck untouched.

The carbon left in the neck is enough to lube for the expander and bullet seating? Do you worry about getting a little Ballistol in there?

 

[Tesoro]

I keep my vibro tumbler full of corn cob concotion they sell in the big plastic jugs for 20 bucks. It lasts forever if you dont put in polisher. Dump in my fired casings turn on and let run overnight. They come out looking like 24ct gold.
I then deprime to save a step and to not put dirty stuff in my dies.

Imperial lube all the way!

 

[69mach]

Im ocd about trimming, cleaning flash holes, tumbling cases, and going over the case mouths after trimming. I do this after every firing. And it just pisses me off that my buddy can clean his brass once a year with stainless steal media, only trims his brass when it no longer fits his cheap no go guage, never touches a primer pocket and seems to shoot on par with me. So i can honesty say that over preparing your brass really dosent gain you anything but maybe piece of mind. Also, i have seen him run some really crappy looking brass through his redding comp. Dies and he has never ruined a die.

 

[SF-Guy]

getting different answers on this verbally with folks who reload. some are very concerned with carbon getting in their expensive FL dies, others that i know are more hunters will fire 2 or 3 times before or until the brass actually looks pretty bad. my once fired brass looks pretty good to me.

so question is, with uncleaned brass, even if you wipe the cases with a micro fiber cloth to get rid of actual dirt particles, does the remaining carbon really do that much to your dies?

is there another factor that is being missed here (by me)

has anyone on here who doesn't have ocd and has an experimental nature, taken a step back and tried it both ways to see what happens to your groups and es and stuff?

i totally respect ocd since i have it myself but I am trying to apply my ocd to MY PERSONAL end goal here which is shooting more but with still very consistent ammo. I LOVE SPARKLING CLEAN, PERFECTLY MACHINED AND CONSISTENT CASES but i also am willing to suppress my ocd towards sparkles, skip not so important steps (if so) that do not affect my style of shooting. non-competition, long range hunting and target shooting.

in fact, if the big concern here is ruining my dies after loading 5000 rd or something, i think i am willing to just do that and order new dies.

thoughts, thanks?

Hmm. clean brass is good. bright shiny, perfectly polished and mirror polished brass is not. The coefficient of friction is greatly reduced on highly polished brass and causes undo pressure on the bolt face so i recommend cleaning just enough to be "clean" and not going further. Commercial reloaders ( i am an FFL and Ammo Manufacturer too) need polished brass to be competitive because unwary buyers think that mirror shine is 'better'. Factory brass is clean and if you look at it closely it is not polished at all. there is almost a porous looking exterior. (very fine and small) heavy polishing removes metal as well. in a white wooden barracks at Ft Bragg years ago the copper water pipes were leaking because of the years past cleaning with steel wool and Duraglit! same with brass. there are lots of good comments on this about just cleaning and being happy with that.

 

[Jimmy James]

I tumble my AR (223 and 308) brass with treated organic media. My bolt gun brass gets 0000 steel wool on the outside of necks. Rotating bronze or nylon brush inside neck and thats it no tumbling. My 30BR mentor shoots dirty brass that he runs thru Wilson inline dies and then shoots bug holes. Go figure.