michaelnel
Old and In The Way
We have lots of varied opinions about case prep for benchrest shooting. I imagine the short range guys, since they typically load at the range, don't do wet or dry tumbling or ultrasonic cleaning.
The long range guys typically bring their loaded ammo to the range, so I think this discussion mostly concerns thos LR shooters.
I am wondering about case cleaning, and in particular the carbon on the inside of the case necks. Various methods seem to be in popular use:
1) some folks just wipe the carbon off the outside of the neck with a Ballistol soaked patch or steel wool, then run a nylon brush in the neck interior. This likely involves some technique for scraping the carbon out of the primer pockets too. This method leaves the carbon on the inside of the case neck, which may well provide some consistent lubrication for bullet seating and release.
2) tumbling in dry media (walnut shells or corn cob, with or without polish). This generally gets the outsides very clean and shiny, but does almost nothing to the inside, neck, or primer pockets. It has the downside of leaving lots of dust residue on the inside, and frequently leaves media jammed in the flash holes.
3) tumbling in wet media, ie: stainless steel pins in a Thumler's Tumbler or FART along with water and a dash of Dawn dishwashing detergent and LemiShine. This results in cases that are very clean inside and out, with carbon removed from primer pockets, inside the case, and inside the neck. Because it is a wet chemical process, you have to spend time rinsing and separating the SS media from the brass, then you have to dry the brass. Occasionally SS pins will jam in the flash holes (although I understand now there are larger pins available that will not do this). Many report that the case necks get peened over due to the thousands of collisions between the pieces of brass during the tumbling. Some say that by doubling the amount of SS media from the normal 5 lbs to 10 lbs it offers a better buffering effect and reduces collisions, and therefore reduces the peening effect too.
4) ultrasonic cleaning in a chemical bath. The bath most often recommended is a water & 50% white vinegar solution, with or without a squirt of Dawn. I find this method cleans the brass quickly (15 to 30 minutes for the first stage), but not as well as the wet media tumbler. It does remove all carbon from the inside of the necks, but it seems neutralization baths in an alkaline solution are recommended to stop the action of the acid in the vinegar. This process stinks up whatever room you do it in because of the strong vinegar solution.
I am not particularly concerned with how shiny the cases get. I would like them to be as clean as is necessary for them to shoot well. Major concern is the inside of the case necks.
I am coming to the conclusion that the carbon on the inside of the case necks is likely a good thing, promoting easy seating and easy exit by the bullet, so I can see the benefit in not trying to remove that carbon. I have tried to simulate this when using methods 3 and 4 by using the Imperial Dry Neck Lubricant which deposits a film of graphite inside the neck, but I doubt it does as consistent a job as simply not removing the carbon at all.
How do you folks feel about all this? Having used #2, #3, and #4, I am leaning toward the ease of #1.
The long range guys typically bring their loaded ammo to the range, so I think this discussion mostly concerns thos LR shooters.
I am wondering about case cleaning, and in particular the carbon on the inside of the case necks. Various methods seem to be in popular use:
1) some folks just wipe the carbon off the outside of the neck with a Ballistol soaked patch or steel wool, then run a nylon brush in the neck interior. This likely involves some technique for scraping the carbon out of the primer pockets too. This method leaves the carbon on the inside of the case neck, which may well provide some consistent lubrication for bullet seating and release.
2) tumbling in dry media (walnut shells or corn cob, with or without polish). This generally gets the outsides very clean and shiny, but does almost nothing to the inside, neck, or primer pockets. It has the downside of leaving lots of dust residue on the inside, and frequently leaves media jammed in the flash holes.
3) tumbling in wet media, ie: stainless steel pins in a Thumler's Tumbler or FART along with water and a dash of Dawn dishwashing detergent and LemiShine. This results in cases that are very clean inside and out, with carbon removed from primer pockets, inside the case, and inside the neck. Because it is a wet chemical process, you have to spend time rinsing and separating the SS media from the brass, then you have to dry the brass. Occasionally SS pins will jam in the flash holes (although I understand now there are larger pins available that will not do this). Many report that the case necks get peened over due to the thousands of collisions between the pieces of brass during the tumbling. Some say that by doubling the amount of SS media from the normal 5 lbs to 10 lbs it offers a better buffering effect and reduces collisions, and therefore reduces the peening effect too.
4) ultrasonic cleaning in a chemical bath. The bath most often recommended is a water & 50% white vinegar solution, with or without a squirt of Dawn. I find this method cleans the brass quickly (15 to 30 minutes for the first stage), but not as well as the wet media tumbler. It does remove all carbon from the inside of the necks, but it seems neutralization baths in an alkaline solution are recommended to stop the action of the acid in the vinegar. This process stinks up whatever room you do it in because of the strong vinegar solution.
I am not particularly concerned with how shiny the cases get. I would like them to be as clean as is necessary for them to shoot well. Major concern is the inside of the case necks.
I am coming to the conclusion that the carbon on the inside of the case necks is likely a good thing, promoting easy seating and easy exit by the bullet, so I can see the benefit in not trying to remove that carbon. I have tried to simulate this when using methods 3 and 4 by using the Imperial Dry Neck Lubricant which deposits a film of graphite inside the neck, but I doubt it does as consistent a job as simply not removing the carbon at all.
How do you folks feel about all this? Having used #2, #3, and #4, I am leaning toward the ease of #1.
