tumbling brass

[theduke]

Do you take out old primer before tumble brass or after tumble brass.  thanks

[AtlLaw]

No and yes... 

I don't take them out for the first round of tumbling in corse media, but after the brass is sized, and the primer punched out of course, they are tumbled again in polishing media.  I like pretty brass... 

[Land_Owner]

Either way; but if you deprime and resize the brass at the same time, your resized brass after tumbling will be deformed a bit and may cause other reloading problems.  Tumbling media embeded in the primer flash hole is one consideration for not depriming first.

[SHOOTALL]

NO ! cause i hate to pick cob out the hole . The rcbs flash hole cleaner works well after they are de-primed .

[calvon]

The problem is tumble media particles getting stuck in the flash hole. My usual practice is to tumble prior to removing the spent primer. Then to the sizing die which also deprimes. The depriming pin will punch out any stuck media particle at the same time it punches out the primer. Good practice will also include a look at each individual piece of brass before repriming just to be sure there's nothing in the flash hole.

Check and double check everything when you are reloading. That's Rule #1. The one thing you never want is a ka-boom where your firearm is put back into kit form.

[Dand]

One of my main reasons for tumbling my brass is to prolong the life of my dies. Second, I hate picking the media out of primer pockets and flash holes. I've had media stick in the flashhole enough to bend deprime pins. So I tumble, size & deprime, trim if needed, clean primer pockets and reload.

[drdougrx]

I resize, decap, deprime and tumble.  I don't do much high volume loading, so as I check cases for splits, I also check the flash hole.

[JustaShooter]

I run the brass through a universal decapping die, tumble, then put the brass into a normal reloading cycle including resizing with a standard die with decapping rod.  That way, any media stuck in the flash hole gets knocked out by the resizing die and it's good to go.

Just a Shooter

[Uncle Harry]

"I resize, decap, deprime and tumble.  I don't do much high volume loading, so as I check cases for splits, I also check the flash hole."

Me too but a little differnt sequentially. De-prime first w/a universal decapping die on an old Lee press set up just for that. Lube, size, clean primer pockets, trim as necessary then tumble. I use an ice pick to pop out any flash hole media, re-prime, add powder & seat bullet.

That's just the way I do it but it works for me to keep the routine standardized.

[LaOtto222]

I do not think there is a wrong way to do it. I tumble or vibrate, depending on how dirty they are, deprime in a cheap Lee press with universal die, clean primer pockets, size, reprime, load. Some of it done in batches like the vibrating and some are done one at a time; I punch out the primer and then clean the primer pocket on a RCBS prep center, then set aside for the next operation. There has to be dozens of combinations you can do; any of them will work.

[DANNY-L]

I deprime using a universal depriming die first then tumble,when they come out I use one of those small cheap or alot of time free screwdrivers which I ground to a point to poke out any media then move to the other stations

[Lloyd Smale]

i do it all kinds of ways depending on the volume im load but if its brass i just aquired and its filthy i will tumble it first. When i go to reload if im using a progressive i will size and deprime then take the brass to the trimmer and do that evil job. then it goes to the tumbler. When its clean i run it back through the progressive press using a backed off sizing die that has the decapping pin down far enough to punch out any stuck media and run it all the way through the progressive loading the ammo. this way works out well too if you have primer pockets to swadge as you can do it after you trim. Even brass im not going to load progressivly gets one trip around a progressive. Ive found it faster to take it all for the tumbler and set up a die to punch out the pockets and load it in the case feeder and go. Much faster then inspecting each case to see if there media in it and picking it out with a pick.

[Scibaer]

i tumble first, then deprime. no media in the flash hole and no residue wearing out my dies.
 then i check for damage to the case, which in my view is easier when the cases are clean.
 i do this , weather its 5 or 500 cases i'm working with

[huntducks]

I do it both ways if it's clean brass I deprime tumble, if the brass is dirty been sitting or what ever I tumble first, I have two Vib. case units one with a heavy corse Lyman media the other with corn cobb I like slick pertee brass.

Poking out a flash hole W/media takes a whole 3sec.

[SHOOTALL]

Not poking one out takes 0 sec.

[bilmac]

I size and decap first so the tumbling also removes the lube.

[drdougrx]

+1 LLoyd....trimming is evil work.......I hate this step the most! 

[SHOOTALL]

I just wipe the lube off with a damp cloth

[shakey]

If you use FINE walnut shell tumbling media, you can tumble with primers removed and get NO clogged flash-holes and the added benefit of clean primer pockets.  Well ...at least sorta' clean.

[Scibaer]

i normally dont clean the flash holes on my cases, unless they are really heavily crusted.
and i like my cases to be clean, before i resize them, so i dont wear out my die as quickly.
and i lose those extra steps, having to tumble 2 times.
ultimately, its whatever works best for the individual and what they are comfortable with.
example, cleaning flash holes is a whole nother topic,

[anweis]

I don't tumble brass. I wipe the brass lightly with the finest steel wool, brush the inside of the neck, lube cases, resize and deprime at the same time, clean the primer pocket with a cleaning tool (simple operation, especially after uniforming the pockets before the first re-load), and wash in very hot water with a drop of dish detergent to  remove case lubricant.

[gypsyman]

Depends on what caliber, and what press I'm using. If it's blamo ammo on the Dillion, tumble with the primers in. If it's more serious stuff and going to be loaded on the Redding turret, tumble with the primers out, and use a high tech bent paper clip to poke out the flash holes and scrape primer pockets. Usually anything on the turret has already had the primer pocket uniformed and the flash hole deburred. gypsyman

[PA-Joe]

You can go to the pet store and get corn or walnut media in the rodent bedding area. They have fine and coarse grades. This fine grade will not clog the primer holes.

[Old Fart]

I generally do it with the spent primer still in.
Deprime it and a quick spin with a primer pocket brush and off I go.

[Tn Jim]

I run the brass through a universal decapping die, tumble, then put the brass into a normal reloading cycle including resizing with a standard die with decapping rod.  That way, any media stuck in the flash hole gets knocked out by the resizing die and it's good to go.

Just a Shooter

Exactly!

[300HH]

I tumble my brass in fine walnut media from Sil industrial minerals, stuff work great doesn't stick in the flash hole, I just added some car polish to make them shine

[wncchester]

"Do you take out old primer before tumble brass or after tumble brass"

Sometimes I go left, sometimes I go right.  Sometimes I don't bother to tumble.  But I always de- and re-cap!