Any thoughts on how "clean" the inside of brass should be?

[bozo699]

Doc brings up a good point. I load and then shoot. Most ammo is only loaded a short time. If I was going to load up some for storage long term. I would clean brass better on the inside to prevent any chemical reaction
over the load term. Pistol especially because it usually rolls around on the ground.

All doc said was hth?… that’s a good point?
Wayne

 

[DocBII]

All doc said was hth?… that’s a good point?
Wayne

Wayne,

My comments appear to be attributed to Rainbow1, which is not the case. Just some weird editing results from trying to reply to his post.

DocBII

 

[CJ6]

I'll ask this question..... For those that anneal, do you remove the carbon in the necks ? or anneal with what carbon is there ?

 

[GetReal]

Looks like a speckled trout....

 

[dcali]

The residue left is extremely thin. If it wasn't black, I don't think people would even notice it. People will debate the merits of leaving it in the neck, but I haven't met anyone who thinks it matters that it's present anywhere else. It certainly hasn't mattered in my experience. I don't clean brass at all and the only downside I've noticed is that the brass is... dirty and I get powder residue on my hands when loading.

 

[209jones]

I'm inclined not to do stuff that adds extra work for no obviously practical benefit. I check my cases as I lube them, if I see one with crud on it, I wipe that off first, then lube. I've owned a tumbler for probably 20 yrs, used it maybe 10 times, it's nice if clean cases mean something to someone, not so much to me, once in a while I look and OK, let's toss these in the tumbler. Temp in the case during ign is about comparable to baking a DPF in my mind (may be wrong there), what's left isn't worth worrying about for, me.

 

[David Eberts]

This is probably one of those areas that cannot be quantified but I was interested to know if anyone found a level of crud where it appears to affect things. This is a photo of the inside of a piece of brass that was supposedly 4 times fired then I cleaned it in a wet tumbler with stainless steel pins and cleaning solution. I don't know if or how it was cleaned prior to this state. The outside looks great, just wondering if I should continue to try added cleanings or this is not abnormal for load development/match outings.
View attachment 1504886

I have used a vibrator with a walnut media to clean my brass for many years. many calibers and never had an issue with dirty brass inside or outside. I change media often.

 

[MisterHelix]

While I understand that it may be of no practical value regarding absolute accuracy, I enjoy cleaning my cases with stainless chips and citric acid. The cases come out practically perfect. In straightwall pistol cases, I can see the reflection of the powder after the drop. Primer pockets are usually spotless. The resulting ammo looks good. I trust it. I like it.
Does it matter? No.
Is it nice? Yes.

My shot process has to start somewhere.
For me it starts with clean brass cases.

 

[Straightshooter1]

The residue left is extremely thin. If it wasn't black, I don't think people would even notice it. People will debate the merits of leaving it in the neck, but I haven't met anyone who thinks it matters that it's present anywhere else. It certainly hasn't mattered in my experience. I don't clean brass at all and the only downside I've noticed is that the brass is... dirty and I get powder residue on my hands when loading.

I was a little surprised to find that the residue left on the neck didn't build up as I thought it would. From testing 5 .308 cases fired 7 additional times without cleaning and measured the thickness of the case mouths after each firing, I could find no discernable change in neck thickness which included that residue left on the necks.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

While I understand that it may be of no practical value regarding absolute accuracy, I enjoy cleaning my cases with stainless chips and citric acid. The cases come out practically perfect. In straightwall pistol cases, I can see the reflection of the powder after the drop. Primer pockets are usually spotless. The resulting ammo looks good. I trust it. I like it.
Does it matter? No.
Is it nice? Yes.
View attachment 1505330
My shot process has to start somewhere.
For me it starts with clean brass cases.

Purdy!

 

[DiRTY DOG]

Cracks me up how some pride themselves in the superiority of not cleaning their brass. But it turns out many of those guys actually DO clean their brass, they just do it one piece at a time with a rag. Or rub the necks with steel wool. Or rinse in acetone and dry. Wipeing the sizing lube off one piece at a time with a rag... what a tedious chore and waste of time. Just throw them in a dry media tumbler for 30-60 min to get the lube off and clean them up.

Wet tumbling is awesome for dirty range pickup brass, like 556 or 9mm that has been laying in the dirt and mud and gravel etc (that's where I get all my blasting brass). Wet tumbling easily gets it sparkling clean like jewelry! Dry tumbling will never clean off that corrosion and grime, and takes many hours just to get it decent looking, and makes your media really dirty. Wet tumbling rules for bulk range pickup brass, it's a no brainer.

For precision rifle, dry tumbling is definately more gentle. Nothing wrong with wet tumbling for 30/60 minutes. Micro peening of the necks is not an issue if you trim/chamfer every load (many do). Removing some/all neck carbon is not an issue if you lube necks for sizing (many do).

Some guys just like really shiny brass. I do. I also load with nitrile gloves and have never had cold welding. (?)

 

[bozo699]

While I understand that it may be of no practical value regarding absolute accuracy, I enjoy cleaning my cases with stainless chips and citric acid. The cases come out practically perfect. In straightwall pistol cases, I can see the reflection of the powder after the drop. Primer pockets are usually spotless. The resulting ammo looks good. I trust it. I like it.
Does it matter? No.
Is it nice? Yes.
View attachment 1505330
My shot process has to start somewhere.
For me it starts with clean brass cases.

I looked everywhere for a jump up and down for joy button or even a woot woot!.. button but couldn’t find that either….. sorry…. But the thoughts what counts right?…
I bet that purdy brass will out shoot any dirty old brass
Wayne

 

[searcher]

I'll ask this question..... For those that anneal, do you remove the carbon in the necks ? or anneal with what carbon is there ?

I run a brush in and out one time before annealing - just knocking out the loose stuff. Hypothetically, to get the brass as close as possible to being the same on every loading - one would have to mechanically or chemically remove all carbon prior to annealing before each loading. And always start with a shiny clean case. I don't see the benefit of doing so on my targets, either because I don't shoot well enough to see it - or because I shoot most of my match ammo with moly - so it is a mute point for me.

 

[Wottchitt]

Back when Ultra-Sonic case cleaning swept our range, I was told that the insides were cleaned too. That turned out to be correct and primer pockets were a lot cleaner too. Mind you, they were 223 cases. Anyway, the really significant thing about those times and me, was that I formed the opinion then, that pressures would be constant if case internal volumes were constant. At the time, my loads were on the edge of being very hot in order to produce the velocities consistent with stable elevation at 1000 yards. I reasoned (!) that if the insides were not cleaned, then pressures would increase owing to decreasing internal volume, owing to carbon build-up inside my cases.
Well, I never had pierced primers or Difficult bolt lift after firing but I now think that this discussion has blown my hastily formed theory out of the water

 

[AlNyhus]

I'll ask this question..... For those that anneal, do you remove the carbon in the necks ? or anneal with what carbon is there ?

I stress relieve my 30BR cases somewhere between 7-9 firings. Knock the primers out, clean the primer pockets, one pass in the neck with a nylon brush and they're ready to get treated. After that's done, they get rinsed in acetone, full length sized and they're ready to rock for another 7-9 firings.

Routine loading is a pass inside the necks with a nylon brush, 0000 steel wool around the necks, f.l. size, clean primer pockets with the primer pocket uniformer, prime, add powder and seat bullets. Rinse and repeat until my last target of the tournament is fired.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[lotech]

Busy work, but if you enjoy doing it, it probably hurts nothing.

 

[JMayo]

Last year after season was over,
i ultrasonically cleaned every pice of brass i have really really well.

This year i have not and maybe I'll question all my non x rounds i suppose. Or maybe I'll get over it quickly....
Did i see a noticable difference last yr ....NO.
Maybe I'll clean them as a bunch after i start shooting. I do not want some clean and others not.

I don't clean inside of necks at all. One shot (blk can) fl bushing, no mandreel, size,
wipe off outside & reload.. i shoot thousands of rounds a year. 30br, 6ppc, 6bra

 

[Texas Solo]

I figure my tumbler with walnut media does well enough.

 

[Bojohn]

I use Dawn and Lemi shine in my wet tumbler. Does anyone have a better recipe for wet tumbler?

 

[David Eberts]

This is probably one of those areas that cannot be quantified but I was interested to know if anyone found a level of crud where it appears to affect things. This is a photo of the inside of a piece of brass that was supposedly 4 times fired then I cleaned it in a wet tumbler with stainless steel pins and cleaning solution. I don't know if or how it was cleaned prior to this state. The outside looks great, just wondering if I should continue to try added cleanings or this is not abnormal for load development/match outings.
View attachment 1504886I have reloaded many different calibers since I was 12 years old I am now 80 so I have some expieriance with reloading. I use a vibrating tumbler and walnut media and have NO issues with the iINSIDE or outside of any case. the media turns gray when it wears out so change it.