Deprime then tumble or tumble then deprime?

[HuntMeister]

Just curious how everyone does it and why?

[Badnews Bob]

I tumble then deprime, I don't like running dirty cases up my dies and I hate picking the media out of the primer pockets.

[Luckyducker]

"ditto" what Badnews Bob sail

[ButlerFord45]

Yep, both reasons

[Cheesehead]

Tumble-deprime. I have tried it both ways. Tumbling deprimed cases offer no advantage to me, the primer pockets are no cleaner. The media sticks in most flash holes.

Cheese

[tc scout]

I use a universal die to deprime, fits all calibers and doesn't touch case walls.

With primer out at least you get some of the crud out of the pockets,less to clean afterwards.

[MZ5]

I de-prime first, then tumble.  I use either the Lee hand tools or Universal de-priming die.  I de-prime first because I want as little of the lead styphnate dust & residue in my media as I can get.  It also sometimes helps clean the primer pocket a touch.

[Lloyd Smale]

I tumble then size and prime and tumble again to get the lube off the case. Handguns i just tumble before.

[cwlongshot]

Well for range or really dirty brass, I tumble first as most will. It keeps the junk out of your expensive dies!!

But I tumble for other reasons, like to remove case lube, that's done after resizing. As noted, you must be careful to get the kernels out of the flash holes. I deburr flash holes (1st time) and clean pockets every time, so for me there is no additional time handling the brass.

Neither way is wrong, as long as you remember to watch those flash holes.

CW

[OR-E-Gun Bill]

Deprime first with the LEE Universal Depriming and Decapping Die, brush inside the case mouth, then into the tumbler.
The walnut media I use doesn't stick in the primer pocket, rarely sticks in the flash hole and never packs inside small bottleneck cases such as the .223 Rem.

Bill

[quickdtoo]

I'm with Bill and the others that deprime with a Lee universal decapper, I use Hornady One Shot lube, so there's no reason to tumble again. 

Tim

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2006/tworeloadingtools/index.asp

[LaOtto222]

I tumble first, then knock out primers with a Lee universal. It really does not matter that much; if you tumble first or de-prime first, it is just a personal thing. I de-prime after so I make sure all the media is out of the case and flash hole. But is more than likely a throw back to the old days when I tumbled first, then knocked out the primer when I resized. Old habits can die hard. I did not re-tumble then and do not now. Good Luck and Good Shooting

[Glanceblamm]

Ditto on the Lloyd & CW posts.

[AtlLaw]

I tumble with walnut media then size/deprime.  Then I tumble again with treated corn cob media.  Never really thought about why I do it that way,    Probably because I'm the anal type and also like shiney brass!   

[HuntMeister]

Thanks to all who replied, I suspected it was a case of just personal choice. Tim, thanks for the link, good reading! I think I would like to get a universal decapping die and deprime 1st.