Forgot to clear tumbling media from flash holes

[NorCalMikie]

Any job worth doing is worth doing right. That's especially true when it comes to reloading. Be safe.

Consider this. Checking flash holes for media is just another step AND, another chance to inspect your brass for problems/defects BEFORE to get on the firing line.
In my learning days, I had to pull down over 100 rounds of .308 for my M1A.
One step I didn't know about was checking the OAL of the case?
When you have to beat the bolt open more than once, you learn real quick. Hands WILL heal over time. Nothing like a too long of a case stuck in the chamber and a short handled op rod to make you remember that step in reloading.

 

[Minshooter]

As proof I sometimes have too much time on my hands, I once did that test.
I picked out ten .223 brass with FH nicely plugged by corncob.
Loaded them, and also ten not-plugged FH with a typical 55gr 4895 load.
The target, fired primers, and chronograph couldn't tell the difference.
But, though I don't worry much about it now, with all unprimed brass:
I still use a decap rod in station one, just to clean the flash hole.

 

[Artisan]

Just something to consider, if a small rifle primer can drive a 75 gr Hornady bullet into the lands of an AR requiring a rod to to pop it back out through the chamber, I’m not convinced that a tiny kernel of corncob (that won’t even register on my digital scale) will offer any quantifiable resistance to ignition.
In this particular incident I was a a spectator at a reduced distance HP match. The Gentleman was an accomplished Handloader/Shooter, but somehow missed adding propellant to this cartridge. First shot of the Match in Offhand and a “pop”, called RSO over and they made rifle safe and withdrew from the line to evaluate the situation.
With no confidence in his ammunition, he called it a day and assisted with range duties.
As DivingIn states, a small concretion of corncob (or even walnut) and polish stuck inside a case can indeed impede/prevent ignition. I failed to run my vibratory tumbler for at least 5 minutes once when refreshing the polish prior to adding the cases. My haste cost me the onerous task of digging out the compacted media/polish “clumps” with a dental pick from my .218 Bee cases.
I wonder, has anyone tested just firing a primed case with said cob kernel in place in such a way as to try to “recover” or discover if said kernel would/could survive (intact or otherwise)?
GotRDid.

Good post. When I add an additive to my media, I'll let it tumble for 30-45 minutes, without the lid on. This lets any moisture evaporate and escape. Clumps develop in the first 5 minutes and dissipate as the minutes go by. If moisture is still in the media, it will show, on the clear lid, I'll then tumble without the lid until media is dry enough. I always throw in a handful of large cases (breaks up any small clumps), after 30 minutes, let tumble for 15 minutes and this takes care of any media, deciding to hitch a ride.

 

[MSS]

I deprime after tumbling and then use a primer pocket brush. It only takes a few seconds and makes seating more consistent IMO.

 

[358WCF]

Is that popcorn I smell?

 

[Artisan]

I deprime after tumbling and then use a primer pocket brush. It only takes a few seconds and makes seating more consistent IMO.

Dear MSS, why not deprimed first, all the expelled residual left in the primer, the added benefit, getting the pockets exposed, removes burnt-on primers turds, left on the bottom of the pocket.
I have a custom, scrapper, it's convex, because all the pocket bottoms I clean are concave. That'll open a can of worms.
My tool spun at high-speed (cordless drill) with no pressure, will remove the baked on material and leave a mirror finish without brass remove. Shavings that do come off, are microscopic, I have seen the gold-dust. Who doesn't like a pretty hole.
PM me, I'll send you my unused brushes.

 

[Richard Coody]

Yep
I bet I shot a.lot of reloads back in the day with media in the flash holes before I realized what was happening. What I did was just add a step where I use a Wilson inline seater decapping rod to run through the flash holes and make sure they are clear. It has been years since I tumbled any brass but I still run that decapping.rod.through my flash holes.

 

[FNSafari]

So, I normally size my brass and then tumble it for an hour or so in corn cob media to remove the lube. I usually follow a checklist to make sure I don't miss a step, but I was making up a small batch of 25 rounds to have for match spares and didn't follow the checklist. After I loaded the rounds I realized that I'd neglected to check the flash holes for any media lodged there.

Based on what I normally see, I expect that around 50% are likely to have a grain of corn cob media lodged in the flash hole. So what would you do with these? I hate pulling down loads so I'm tempted to just shoot them for practice - definitely won't shoot them in competition. Any risk to doing it?

I use a very small allen wrench(that fits through the primer pocket hole, to poke the offending kernel of cob out.

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

I also de-prime after tumbling, my life is to short to sit there and pick little pieces of corncob out of flash holes.
I use a 21st century primer pocket uniformer to clean the primer pockets afterwards anyway so I actually save time doing it this way

 

[AckleymanII]

I don't know if it would matter, Real World. However, people's opinion of a clogged flash hole maybe hard to change.

Opinion is that a clogged flash hole is just as bad as a clogged toilet.

 

[MikeMyers]

What is the reasoning for removing the old primer before tumbling? If done in the opposite order, any media will drop out when the old primer is pushed out?

That's the only way I have been taught to reload.

 

[jelenko]

There is corn cob media that is small enough to never get stuck in the flash hole or primer pocket.

Just saying.

 

[radford56]

Thought I'd update this post (I'm the OP) just for closure. I thought about pulling down the loads, but I needed a good practice session so I used these rounds for that purpose. No problems noted at all. Everything went bang just as expected and accuracy was no better or worse than usual.

While I'll make sure not to repeat this it was interesting to see the results. I guess a grain of corn cob in the flash hole really isn't a major problem.

 

[mousegunner]

Easy, tap the case upside down and sometimes it pops out otherwise a dental pick and a tap on the table will get it out of there.

 

[Richard Coody]

Well in my early days of reloading, way before the internet, I tumbled brass and never gave a thought about plugged flash holes. Sometimes ignorance is.bliss.