cleaning primer pockets

[Buckfever]

I just finished cleaning some 30-06 brass with a RCBS small round brush that works nice in a drill.  I was careful to just use a slow speed and limit to a minimum time.  It cleaned them great.  I was not trying to get shiny brass  just the carbon off.  Am I doing any good or is this just  busy work?

buckfever

[corbanzo]

I do it, but find it to be just busy work.  If you look in your primer pockets, as long as the flash hole is clean, then there is nothing that is going to do anything to take away from your ignition.  If you have a LOT of build up, then that may in fact start to cause some small changed in ignition, but that would take a hell of a lot of firings to do.  I think the reason I do it is just cause....  well, just cause.  I guess it makes it look better, and I feel like my brass is "finished" before I load it. 

[Questor]

I don't think it's helpful for the kind of shooting I do, but I know several people who do it for their rifle and silhouette pistol ammo because they want the best cartridges they can make. They enjoy the process of making the ammo, and that's part of their hobby.

[LaOtto222]

I clean all my primer pockets. Some reloading manuals mention cleaning pockets, some don't. I know some primer/powder combinations are especially dirty and some are not all that dirty (leave carbon deposits in the pocket area). I do not think it takes that long to clean the pockets, especially if can power the cleaning head some how (I use a RCBS Trim Mate). It is like cleaning cases, you absolutely do not have to clean cases to make a quality reload. It does make it easier to inspect cases for defects. And then there is the pride thing - that your reloads look as good as factory fresh ammo. It just shows the care you take in reloading and the attention to detail. Same with primer pockets, cleaning them helps in the inspection for a clogged primer hole or an excessive amount of build up. I personally like to see a nice clean pocket when I look in there; again it is the attention to detail thing; no one knows but you, but isn't that what really counts - but again that is a personal thing.

[charles p]

I clean mine sometimes but not every time.  I always debur the flash hole on new brass.  Just makes me feel better. 

[warrior1]

rifle,clean after each firing. pistol,no set time for cleaning. dan

[Graybeard]

For the most part I look on it as busy work really. I definitely don't clean primer pockets on all of my brass after every firing even tho I have the RCBS Trim Pro or whatever the heck that tool is called. It's been so long ago since I bought it I've forgotten the proper name. It has stations for brushes to clean case mouths, primer pockets and to deburr/chamfer case mouths as well as one to ream primer pockets to correct depth.

When I clean the primer pockets it is usually with this tool but that's a long way from every time. On straight wall handgun rounds it's darn seldom and on hunting ammo I'll do it every 3 to 5 firings perhaps. Even on target/varmint ammo for guns capable of shooting 1/2 MOA I don't do it at every firing and have yet to notice any effect it has on accuracy one way or the other. I've never seen it prevent proper primer seating either. Thus to me it's mostly just busy work for when there is nothing better to do and believe me that's darn seldom.

[beemanbeme]

Busy work. Use that time for something productive, like polishing the underside of the kitchen sink.

[EVOC ONE]

I do it as a matter of consistency. 

I treat it as busy work, but I do every case.

I use bad weather days and/or late evenings/early mornings to complete case prepping.  This allows me to keep planned and impromptu range days free. 

I like to keep a few hundred cases of each caliber prepped for a quick load session should the need arise.

Keeping cases trimmed to recommended lengths, primer pockets cleaned, flash holes uniformed allows me to maintain a bit of consistency.

There are exceptions to the trimming I do, however.  That would be .38 Spl. and .357 mag cases.  While I do clean the pocket's, I do not trim as I do with rifle cases.  I do make periodic measurements but I cannot recall ever having to trim either caliber before the case mouths began to split.

I know fellows who only maintenance their cases when necessary and they seem to do fine with their results.  I think that as long as the reloader regularly inspects the brass and conducts maintenance when needed, the level of tediousness depends upon what makes the reloader feel better. 

 

[flyboy]

Busy work. Use that time for something productive, like polishing the underside of the kitchen sink.

Would FLITZ work for that?

[huntswithdogs]

When a new case gets it's first going over, I square the primer pockets with a tool I bought years ago. They'll get cleaned again after 3-4 firings. I use the same tool for both jobs.
I used to do the flash holes but my other tool seems to have grown legs and walked off. This sort of thing happens when your teenager helps out.


HWD

[nodlenor]

I have always cleaned the primer pocket. That's just the way I was taught. I now have an RCBS TRIM MATE and the 'busy work' part is gone. It only takes seconds to do the job now. If you do very much reloading I highly recommend one of them. They work great.

[Buckfever]

Huntswithdogs, use to drive me nuts chasing down my tools especially when they ended up at their buddies house.  However, when they go away to school or a job gets real quite at home.  Guess I take buying a few tools.   Buckfever