Deprime before or after cleaning

[stev32k]

Is there any difference in reloaded cartridges if the case is deprimed before or after cleaning? The difference would be in the primer pocket and flash hole. So I decided to try both ways. Below is a picture of the difference. The cases deprimed before cleaning are the top row - the bottom row are cases that were deprimed after cleaning. There is a very noticeable difference.

Not sure if the improved cleanliness makes any difference in the finished cartridge, but I don't like any variation in the reloading process. So I will deprime all cases before cleaning.

[gdmoody]

That is why I always clean before sizing/depriming!

[Fast Forward]

After doing it both ways I clean first then deprime, it,s faster and I don,t have to worry about my Cleaning media being in the flash hole doesn,t happen much with large primers but I just got done priming 250 9mm and found i had to clean a lot of stuck Walnut

[todd51]

I clean before I size and deprime. I want to protect the die from what ever dirt that would be on an uncleaned case. Yea, my primer pockets are dirty and I just leave them that way unless I am loading up something special and then I will take a primer pocket cleaner to them. I use corn cob media most of the time and with an empty primer pocket I occasionally would get some media stuck in the primer pocket so I went to cleaning before sizing/depriming a long time ago. I don't know that I have ever had a problem with firing reloads that had those normal dirty primer pockets. The bulk of my reloads are for casual range plinking. Your brass is cleaner than mine ever was. Is mine good enough? I think so. But heck this is a hobby so do your thing your way.

[rcairflr]

I deprime before cleaning using the Lee universal depriming die.

[ozo]

Simply...shoot them....
when the brass appears to be dirty,
tumble in white rice....
load them, shoot them.....
repeat.
Don't make an issue out of it......
unnecessary steps, even if adopted when you first
begin, fall by the wayside.....eventually.

[Bud0505]

I clean before depriming. Easier on my dies and saves time.

[Rogeritall]

I'll add another vote for cleaning before de-capping/ de-priming. Because on bottle neck cartridges I re-size at the same time I de-prime. I use a primer pocket cleaning tool right before I prime the cases. If needed...

[Appliancedude]

I deprime first, with my universal deprimer. Just don't skip the depriming step after you clean. Now your just depriming the media out of the flash hole. To me its faster, I don't have to clean the primer pocket.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I don't like scratching my dies, so I tumble-clean before sizing. And if I used a lube to size, I tumble a second time to remove the lube.

[stev32k]

Should have added that I use a universal decapping die. I also keep the pin in when resizing in case I missed any the first time. After wet cleaning and drying I give them (9mm & 40 cal.) a quick spray of Remington dry lube. That really helps with the resizing.

[howlnmad]

I, or I should say my grandson, deprimes mine before cleaning using a RCBS universal decapping die. I don't worry about media in the flash holes because every piece gets inspected and I keep a flash hole deburring tool handy to pick it out.

[m77user]

Originally Posted by Rogeritall

I'll add another vote for cleaning before de-capping/ de-priming. Because on bottle neck cartridges I re-size at the same time I de-prime. I use a primer pocket cleaning tool right before I prime the cases. If needed...

Same here.

[gdmoody]

Originally Posted by Kevin Rohrer

I tumble a second time to remove the lube.

I tried this one time, maybe I didn't run the tumbler long enough, but all I got was a bunch of gunked up brass with the media glued to it.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Two hours will do it. If not, you need to switch lubes or cut back on how much you use.

I clean them lube and deprime/ resize. Then mine go back in to the tumbler for a second go round to clean all the lube off of them.

[bustedmp]

It all depends on if my cases where picked up from a shooting table or the ground. My range brass that never hits the ground gets a neck brushing, lubed, resized/deprimed, then into the tumbler. The stuff that hits the ground get a quick tumble, lubed, resized/deprimed, then back into the tumbler for a good cleaning. I never run my cases into my dies without at least a quick cleaning.

[al45lc]

I too, deprime without sizing and then clean.

[mikld]

What is the "very noticable" difference?

[stev32k]

Originally Posted by mikld

What is the "very noticable" difference?

It's the black carbon ring in the primer pocket. Compare the top and bottom rows. Notice the clean looking brass primer pocket in the top row compared the black ring in the primer pocket around the flash hole in the second row.

[Bindernut]

Hi Steve,
I'll start out by saying that I clean my brass before I resize them. But I use corncob/walnut media too, not the SS pin setup that you're using.
With corncob or walnut media, you can and will get pieces of media stuck in the flash hole that will cause misfires if you miss one before you reprime/reload.

With the SS pin stuff It sounds like that problem is non-existent so if you like to deprime before cleaning, then it should be perfectly fine to do so.
I would definitely make checking that the flash holes are clear a step in the reloading process if you haven't already.

Originally Posted by stev32k

Not sure if the improved cleanliness makes any difference in the finished cartridge, but I don't like any variation in the reloading process. So I will deprime all cases before cleaning.

My next comment is unrelated to your cleaning procedure but by reading your posts here as you've gotten started in the reloading hobby I see that you do have an extreme close attention to detail.
Now...I might just throw you into fits by mentioning this, but if you're loading mixed brands of brass, as pictured above, you're introducing a whole lot more inconsistency than you'll get from your current reloading process.
Different brands of cases will vary in internal capacity, neck wall thickness and ductility of the brass (causing differing neck tension).
You might want to check into segregating your brass by brand if you're looking at another step towards making more consistent ammo.

Myself, I'm about as meticulous as you are (trim length, seating length, etc down to 0.0001") when it comes to rifle ammo, so I do understand your attention to detail.
But for the majority of my pistol ammo, I load mixed brass and tend to stick with somewhat looser tolerances since I'm loading and shooting a lot larger quantities and the time becomes a factor.
Don't take this as me discouraging you from your detail level...everyone develops their own preferences and "system" for how they load.
Note I didn't say anal-retentive...although that IS how I describe my rifle reloading procedure. There are quite a few times that I wonder why the heck I just spent 4 hours crafting only 50 rounds or less!

[stev32k]

Originally Posted by Bindernut

Different brands of cases will vary in internal capacity, neck wall thickness and ductility of the brass (causing differing neck tension).
You might want to check into segregating your brass by brand if you're looking at another step towards making more consistent ammo.

I'm just finding out how much inconsistency there is in the brass. I weighed 50 unsorted cases that were deprimed before cleaning and 50 that were deprimed after cleaning. The range of weights for brass that was deprimed before cleaning was 7.3 grains (highest weight - lowest weight). The range for cases that were deprimed after cleaning was 9.6 grains. So depriming before cleaning does reduce the variability some what, but the real variability is in the cases themselves.

I was surprised to see just how much the weight varies from case to case. Especially considering that 9mm cases are not very big.

I am now in the process of separating the cases by head stamp. I will determine the weight variation by brand to see if it is really worth the time and trouble to separate them before loading.

I have also measured case length and wall thickness and find about the same variation in unsorted as in cases sorted by head stamp. I could not find any real statistical difference between the sorted and unsorted groups. They all varied more than I expected.

[steve2md]

I use a universal decapping die, then clean. Even if there is no true benefit, it makes me feel better, so I do it. Confidence in one's reloading process will improve groups, since it's one less thing to worry about when you are behind the trigger. Plus, I tumble with ss media, so I don't have to worry about media stuck in flash holes or primer pockets. If I get a pin that gets stuck in a bottle neck case, I toss that pin. They should all be short enough to not bridge.

[norahc]

Originally Posted by howlnmad

I, or I should say my grandson, deprimes mine before cleaning using a RCBS universal decapping die. I don't worry about media in the flash holes because every piece gets inspected and I keep a flash hole deburring tool handy to pick it out.

Same here.

[aa1911]

normally clean first then deprime/size. but sometimes I'll pop em out first but either way, the pocket gets hit with the cleaning tool.

sometimes (like my hunting ammo or if I want to make it really puuurty) I will do two trips, one prior to sizing and one after. I also use a bore brush in the drill to clean the necks on bottleneck rounds mostly.