Case cleaning importance........

[Kayle]

I like nice shiny cases as much as the next guy but also wonder sometimes just how important it is. (And I'm lazy; I know, shame on me..) How often do you guys do a complete cleaning on your brass?? I'm into cleaning the primer pockets and touch the inside of the case necks up with a nylon bore brush and load again for 4 or 5 firings while my buddy likes to do a complete cleaning with steel media after each loading. Was just wondering what some of you have found to work...???

 

[savagedasher]

I like nice shiny cases as much as the next guy but also wonder sometimes just how important it is. (And I'm lazy; I know, shame on me..) How often do you guys do a complete cleaning on your brass?? I'm into cleaning the primer pockets and touch the inside of the case necks up with a nylon bore brush and load again for 4 or 5 firings while my buddy likes to do a complete cleaning with steel media after each loading. Was just wondering what some of you have found to work...???

I like shiny cases also and clean primer pockets.
But none of mine will see a sonic cleaner or steel media cleaning.
Corn cob or walnut shell . Larry

 

[tn6br]

I have used some liquid Cleaner and its not for me i use treated pecan shell with good results

 

[noload]

I like nice shiny cases as much as the next guy but also wonder sometimes just how important it is. (And I'm lazy; I know, shame on me..) How often do you guys do a complete cleaning on your brass?? I'm into cleaning the primer pockets and touch the inside of the case necks up with a nylon bore brush and load again for 4 or 5 firings while my buddy likes to do a complete cleaning with steel media after each loading. Was just wondering what some of you have found to work...???

I also do minimal cleaning, when I do clean with a media, I will anneal. But I do not think a super clean case shoots better than a semi dirty one.

 

[Shynloco]

My practices of thoroughly cleaning brass each and every time I shoot it, is linked to the ideals of "CONSISTENCY." From my readings of books by accomplished Benchrest Shooting experts, plus verbal discussions with those I've seen shoot who score highly in competitions, the notion of CONSISTENCY lends to having each load as close as another other load in that group. Cleaning brass, to me at least, is part of that notion of trying to have each piece of brass as identical as possible. Now I know you can't have each piece of brass perfectly identical as the next. But limiting and controlling "VARIABLES" is an important parts of succeeding in efforts of reloading to make your loads as close to each other as humanly possible. Hence, after shooting, I put all the fired brass in my tumbler cleaner and let it sit cleaning for 4-6 hrs before moving to the next step of resizing. Works for me and helps keep my chambers relatively clean as well.

Alex

 

[Highpower-FClass]

I stopped cleaning my cases all together

 

[Iowa Fox]

I de-prime wash and dry. All excessive cleaning does is beat up necks.

 

[jonbearman]

I tumble for about a half hour with benchrest brass and blow them out. If they are dirty like been in the grass or sand they get blown out and tumbled in walnut with rouge for about 2 hours. If they never touch the ground simply wipe off and blow them out with compressed air.

 

[Zilla]

I haven't cleaned brass in years.

 

[Jet]

Kayle

I clean the carbon off the exterior necks with 0000 steel wool, run a nylon brush inside the neck once in and out and clean the primer pockets.

Rich

 

[geordiesniper]

There is nothing wrong with having your brass nice and shiny and gleaming in the sunlight. However, I do not believe it will make any major difference to accuracy in reality. I just give the outside of the brass a rub with 0000 wire wool and run a nylon brush in the case mouth remove loose carbon. There is a guy who shoots with me at 1000yd benchrest, his cases are the dirtiest I have ever seen and I wouldn't put them in my chamber, but he shoots very very well and gets some exceptional groups with the cheapest bullets and cases. Go figure!

 

[Barlow]

I'm not a high volume shooter. I spin my cases with a drill and Sinclair holder using abrasive pads to clean the exterior, run a nylon brush in the neck while it's spinning, and clean primer pocket with a small screwdriver. I never clean the inside of a case. Barlow

 

[Scott Harris]

I haven't cleaned brass in years.

Dry tumble? wipe them? I'd love to not clean brass at all, but worry that the sizing die will get scratched.

 

[JBO]

I haven't cleaned brass in years.

Very surprising, do you anneal every time? What is your brass prep process?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Yall should weigh some and shoot em and weigh em again after a few firings. I use ss pins as much as i can once i tested the volumes and how inconsistent that inside carbon is. Nothing shoots like fresh brass

 

['Freak]

I’ll Krazy Kloth the outside and take a few swipes inside the neck using a nylon case neck cleaning brush. Primer pockets are initially made uniform and then cleaned using the same Sinclair pocket uniformer tool. All the above happens very soon after each firing.

 

[comagutsa]

i used to clean my brass all the time but now i dont , clean out the necks with a brush (in/out once), clean primer pockets and load them, they are actually better accuracy than clean ones because i get better seating of my projectiles compared to when the case is clean. when clean the projectile takes more force and you can feel it catching on brass

 

[BoydAllen]

I clean the powder fouling off of the outside of the necks with 0000 steel wool, run a worn out bronze bore brush in and out of the necks about twice, by hand, and clean the primer pockets with a pocket depth cutter set to just remove fouling without cutting brass. While the long range crowd may do it differently, in the short range game, this is pretty typical. None want to clean the inside of their case necks down to the brass, because leaving some powder fouling gives more consistent feel when seating bullets. I am always amused by shooters who spend so much time making their brass look pretty inside and out, but do not do some of the obvious things that would make their groups smaller, like using wind flags, having a mirage shield on their barrel, or tuning and loading at the range. Each to his own.

 

[fguffey]

I am always amused by shooters who spend so much time making their brass look pretty inside and out, but do not do some of the obvious things that would make their groups smaller, like using wind flags,

There is amused with and there is amused at; same goes with laughing. The only time I would need wind flags is when weighing powder.

I have the RCBS case prep canter; it is the first tool I remove from a drawer and then there is the feeler gage. R. Lee in his book covering modern reloading suggested case cleaning was not necessary; I disagree. I want nothing between the case and chamber but air. I do not want a lot of air but the air I do have must be clean.

F. Guffey

 

[JarheadAZ]

I tumble my brass in walnut, primarily to keep junk out of my dies. I wipe soot from necks with a shop cloth dampened in rubbing alcohol, purely for appearance sake. I wipe my completed rounds the same way to keep any residual case lube out of my chambers.

Greg