Cleaning primer pockets?

[vonb]

I have always cleaned primer pockets with one of the small wire circular brushes. In watching YouTube earlier last week, a video mentioned to never clean primer pockets due to gouging and scratching the area where pockets seat hence ruining them. I have never heard this before.

Benchresters in my opinion have more data experience than any other shooting discipline. What says the forum? Clean or not to due to potential pocket damage?

 

[PopCharlie]

I clean mine with the uniforming tool. I always uniform the primer pockets to .124 for the small rifle primer pockets. After firing, I clean, decap, scrape the residue out of the primer pocket, then anneal. IMHO, I get a more consistent primer seat after cleaning the pockets.

PopCharlie

 

[Petey]

I second the primer pocket uniforming tool. Simple and easy.

 

[Bill Norris]

I clean primer pockets. Don't see how it can hurt.

 

[Chiquita]

I uniform them every time which also gets cleaned every time.
FWIW, I don't have any data one way over the other, I just get more shop time out of it.

 

[brandbr]

For years, I have used the Lee Precision Primer Pocket Cleaner with very good results.

 

[BigBolt]

I also second the primer pocket tool been doing it for 40+ years.

 

[Dimner]

I'm a fan of cleaning primer pockets. I think it helps, but I have no science to back it up. At the least, it makes me happy to see all those clean pockets ready to accept primers.

I do not think any primer pocket cleaning tool can hurt your pockets as long as you are cleaning it by hand. Meaning without a motor. I use a primer pocket cleaning tool that is a cross between a wire brush and a pocket uni-forming tool. That's the best I can describe it. With good brass it only takes a dozen twists to get clean brass again. I never try and clean all the way to the flash hole. There is always a little ring (maybe 1mm) of carbon around the flash hole. I stopped using the wire brush to clean the pockets because they only last around 500-1000 pockets before the wires start falling out.

I personally do not have the nerve to use a primer uni-forming tool as a cleaning method. I would for sure never use it with any high RPM motor. But that's just me.

This is the one I use:

 

[Ned Ludd]

Whenever possible, I use the appropriate primer pocket uniforming tool [by hand] to remove any residual carbon left in the "corner" of the pocket after cleaning. However, Alpha .308 Win SRP brass has a substantial bevel in the wall near/around the bottom of the pocket, making it almost impossible to realistically use a uniforming tool. Thus, I tried the "wire brush" type tool, also by hand. It worked...sort of. But I was also very careful/cautious not to gouge the inside of the pocket. I believe the appropriate uniforming tool does a much better job, without the worry about gouging the inside of the primer pocket.

 

[DaveTooley]

I haven't cleaned a primer pocket in probably 25 years. Nor have I uniformed one in 30 years.

 

[jimmymac]

I always used a K&M on a cordless. Lately I haven’t been doing anything to them and haven’t been able to see any difference on target.

 

[K22]

I used the RCBS wire brush primer pocket cleaner (by hand) for years and never had any performance issues with primer pockets having loaded thousands of rifle cartridges.

For the last 10 years or so, I have been uniforming the pockets for rifle with a Sinclair Tool, so I clean the pocket with that tool now. Not sure it is necessary to uniform the pockets, but I do believe there is value in removing the gross primer residue from the primer pocket to aid in seating the primers.

For pistol, I do not uniform the pockets, so I still use the RCBS wire brush tool. No performance issues at all.

 

[Eagle Six]

I use a wire cleaner lightly which provides a smoother more consistent primer seating.

 

[cwebster]

Ive been using these for years. They work better than anything Ive tried.

Amazon.com

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I purchased a Hornady ultrasonic cleaner on clearance, tried some brass in it. Distilled hot water, little jungle Jake cleaner. Two 480 second cycles, primer pockets(whole case) is clean. Rinse, dry.

 

[markm87]

I haven't cleaned a primer pocket in probably 25 years. Nor have I uniformed one in 30 years.

Agreed. Whatever the regular brass cleaning gets out is all that's gonna happen.

 

[Carl Edwards]

I always used a K&M on a cordless. Lately I haven’t been doing anything to them and haven’t been able to see any difference on target.

I, too, use the K&M primer pocket uniforming tool on a cordless drill. It works perfectly and effortlessly. The results are clean pockets of uniform depth.

 

[DaveTooley]

Agreed. Whatever the regular brass cleaning gets out is all that's gonna happen.

Regular cleaning. You gotta be kidding me. I wipe the necks off with a Scotchbrite pad. Roll between paper towels with brake cleaner to remove case lube.

 

[dgeesaman]

I use a PMA uniformer either by hand or by a cordless screwdriver.

Most brass, most of the time, it scrapes the crud out of the base of the pocket. Sometimes for stiff loads I see some brass cleanup, and I find that useful to know when brass is flowing from pressure.

I have a pocket brush that cleans the base of the pocket but you never what exactly is happening there.

I have no proof of reduced es or tighter groups or better seating. The points listed above are why I do it.

 

[D-4297]

Been using a Lyman tool for seven years now . Adjusted it with a piece of paper to go deeper to be able to "cut' the corner square on the bottom of new cases . Then only knock the crud out of fired cases and run through my cleaning process . Don't know what difference it makes in the grand scheme of things , but I haven't had a primer issue of any kind in five years . I switched to Rem BR 7-1/2's then , too .