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Primer Pocket Cleaning Question

5K views 30 replies 23 participants last post by  soundguy 
#1 ·
I haven't started reloading handgun ammo yet, but I've been reading and doing my homework. I've come across what seems like contradiction and I need your input.

The first step in reloading old cartridges would be to clean your used brass. Once clean and inspected, you can begin the reloading process. The first die in your press de-primes the brass and resizes it.

This is what I don't understand. The NRA Guide to Reloading describes a Primer Pocket Cleaner as an important tool to use in prepping your brass "because residue in the primer pocket can prevent the primer from seating fully, which can, in turn, lead to inconsistent ignition."

If you're using a progressive or turret press, it sounds like you're skipping the step of cleaning the primer pockets on your used brass. Just de-capping and re-capping your brass would have to skip cleaning the primer pocket. If it really is important to clean the primer pocket (and it seems to me like it would be important), shouldn't all your used brass be de-primed before you tumble it so that the tumbling process can clean the primer pocket? How can you even tell if a primer pocket needs to be cleaned without de-priming it first?

I know this might be a minor issue, but then again it might not be. I've been very confused by it. Any light you can shed on the topic will be much appreciated.

Forever Man
 
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#2 · (Edited)
first..Welcome to the Forum!

to answer your question....some do and some dont. some of our most experanced reloaders never have cleaned the primer pocket on some calibers. some clean every piece. Me? I fall into the sometimes crowd. I usually deprime and then wet tumble my brass. then I inspect the brass, including the primer pocket. some would say I "clean" every one. I do have the tool but seldom find a need to use it so far! if you use a dry tumble there are some good reasons not to deprime before tumbling. tumbler media can get stuck in the hole, so not depriming, before cleaning prevents that. the depriming of dry tumbled brass clears the hole in the reloading process. You have to determine if you need to use the cleaning tool on every pieceof brass or not.
 
#3 ·
It is not an issue to me because I deprime then wet clean with stainless steel pins and the primer pockets and flash holes come out clean as new. From reading the forums the consensus seems to be that cleaning the primer pockets of pistol brass is not required and I don't remember reading about anyone that does that. Rifle brass seems to be the opposite - every one seems to clean the primer pockets of rifle brass. I don't understand the difference, but since it is not an issue with me I've never asked why.
 
#4 ·
I reload for 30+ different cartridges, handgun to rifle, on my Dillon RL550B progressive press. Here is how I do it:

Pistol or straight walled cases

I throw the fired cases into a vibratory cleaner with Walnut shell media (it cleans better than corn cob media but leaves a more matt finish on the brass). I then run them through the Dillon without cleaning primer pockets. I NEVER clean those primer pockets and some cases have been loaded way more than a dozen times.

Rifle shouldered brass

I throw the fired cases into a vibratory cleaner with Walnut shell media. I test size a random sample of five out of the lot I'm reloading and if any measure out beyond the Max case length I trim the whole lot (you must size before determining if your cases need trimming). Lots that don't need trimming are directly progressively press process. Those that do need trimming are passed through station one of the press (sizing/depriming station), trimmed, neck chamfered, primer pockets cleaned. I then remove the sizing die and do the full progressive reloading (without the sizing because it was already done).

My way of keeping track of "lot" of ammo is not very rigid and if I have mixed brass from several sources I trim them all. The default is to trim if there is any question about the lot of brass.

The bottom line is I clean primer pockets if the opportunity comes up but only then. I have been doing reloading this way for 25+ years with no problem with primer pocket residue affecting ignition of the primers. If I was competing in long range rifle shooting I would clean the primer pockets every firing just to assure absolutely everything was as perfect as it could be.

Hope that helps.

LDBennett
 
#5 ·
Thank you all for weighing in on this question. I appreciate your help.

I took the plunge and placed an order for my reloading rig last night. As a first-timer, I chose a Lee Classic Turret press. After much reading and shopping, I determined that this one would best meet my needs.

I also made the decision to go with wet tumbling with SS media. Quieter, faster, no dust, and gets the brass spanking clean. I bought a kit from STM. Cost three times as much as my new press, but I'm one of those "buy quality the first time" kind of guys.

Stay tuned for many more newbie questions. I have no friends who reload.
 
#9 ·
Some do, some don't.

I load on a single-stage, and I clean every pocket of every case I load. Always have. Rollin' up 40 years now.

Lots of folks don't. They say it don't hurt nothin'. Their choice. Mine is to clean 'em.
 
#10 ·
Lee was the last place I looked as I was shopping for my first press. I would agree that both the low end and "high" end of Lee's product line are of dubious quality, but I believe their Classic Turret press to be the real bright spot.

I considered all the major players and ruled out a progressive as being too ambitious for a first-timer. There are a lot of good choices in a single-stage, but a single-stage is not an enjoyable option for handgun reloaders. That pointed me toward a turret press. There are some decent options in that configuration, but one for which I kept seeing rave reviews from actual users was the Lee Classic Turret. You'll have to look long and hard to find a user of the Classic Turret who has any significant issues with the system. It's the only turret that I found that auto-indexes, and you can easily remove the indexing rod and go single-stage if you need to. I expect to upgrade to a progressive in the future, but I know that I'll always have a use for a solid turret press.
 
#11 ·
Forever Man:

You screwed up, Man!

If a progressive is in you future you should have bought this Dillon NON-Progressive BL-550 that is later upgradeable to a full progressive RL550B:

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/25792/catid/1/BL_550_Basic_Loader

It is the heart of the RL550B without the progressive part. It too is a turret press. While it is not auto-indexing I think that an advantage having owned presses both auto-indexing and not auto-indexing. Oh well, too late now.

I sure hope you did not buy LEE's other equipment. Most of it is pretty crude but it does get the job done, I suppose. Good tools help a craftsman and bad tool hurt him. Just my opinion having "been there, done that".

LDBennett
 
#12 ·
I tumble all brass in a corn cob/walnut mix-Sorry folks,this whole anal retentive "my brass has to be shiner than the sun"is humorous to me-BUT,if YOU like-do it(that's why some like choc and some like vanilla....I have never cleaned a handgun primer pocket yet and I still am using .45acp brass I bought in 92.....Rifles-yes I clean every one...mainly because I go for very accurate loads out to 600yds...does it matter??Choc/vanilla:)
 
#13 ·
Some do, some don't.

I load on a single-stage, and I clean every pocket of every case I load. Always have. Rollin' up 40 years now.

Lots of folks don't. They say it don't hurt nothin'. Their choice. Mine is to clean 'em.
I agree. I relaod single stage and I clean all primer pockets.

I know there will be 50% that do and 50% that don't.
 
#14 ·
Been reloading pistol/rifle calibers since 1975 and also... like Alpo & Soundguy...I'm a bit anal I guess... I still clean every primer pocket...I have a Forester hand crank primer pocket cleaner mounted on my bench. Now whether it makes a difference or not, that's a matter of opinion...and I still use a Lyman turret press for all my reloading...it works for me and I'm just too stubbern to change at this point.
 
#15 ·
i got lazy. my first primer pocket tools were lyman hand tools. I now have their motorized case prep center and love it... than and the motorized rcbs pro trimmer.. ;) love em. next big expendature will be a powderdispensor / scale combo..
 
#17 ·
i use the LCT press for 9mm and .45 acp and I don't clean the primer pockets as a general rule. The exception is when I notice a lot of corncob media stuck in the pocket around the spent primer. I'll decap and then on the downstroke of the ram, I'll pull the case off, clean it, then put it back on and seat the new primer. The other exception is when I'm having an exceptionally hard time trying to seat a primer. Other than those two situations, I never clean the pockets.
 
#18 ·
Been reloading pistol/rifle calibers since 1975 and also... like Alpo & Soundguy...I'm a bit anal I guess... I still clean every primer pocket...I have a Forester hand crank primer pocket cleaner mounted on my bench. Now whether it makes a difference or not, that's a matter of opinion...and I still use a Lyman turret press for all my reloading...it works for me and I'm just too stubborn to change at this point.
100% agreement......Been reloading since 1965 and feel each has their own opinions on what works best for them. Reloading to me is an enjoyable hobby that supports my other hobby, shooting. I find it difficult to understand why some try to convince others that their way is the best way. Some like progressive presses, and some don't. I have progressive, turret, and single stage presses and they all have a purpose. I do a lot of trap shooting and have two progressives set up just for that purpose, for rifle/pistol reloading I use the others....oh yes, I also clean primer pockets prior to seating new primers (rifle/pistol), part of my SOP
 
#19 ·
As you can see from all the answers, yes you need to, no you don't need to. It's down to what you want to do, as there isn't enough proof either side of the discussion. I started "pre web" and didn't clean a primer pocket for 8-10 years, and then when I did (read somewhere about bench rest shooters doing it so my .38 Specials should benefit from it too, right?:p), I very often forgot, and finally dropped the step. So, if you don't mind the little extra case prep, do it. If you are trying to keep it as simple as possible, then don't...;)
 
#22 ·
For those of you that use a case tumbler with corn cob media, how long do you run the cases on average in the Tumbler to get them clean. I just started to tumble my brass in a tumbler with corn cob and after 24 hours, the cases still did not look shinny. The corn cob media is still clean, am I doing something wrong or do I need to tumble longer?
 
#23 ·
For those of you that use a case tumbler with corn cob media, how long do you run the cases on average in the Tumbler to get them clean. I just started to tumble my brass in a tumbler with corn cob and after 24 hours, the cases still did not look shinny. The corn cob media is still clean, am I doing something wrong or do I need to tumble longer?
For stubborn brass, I use ground walnut shell; it produces a brushed brass appearance, rather than a shiny, polished finished. I usually turn the tumbler on at bedtime, turn it off in the morning, but that's merely a result of my work schedule. When I'm cleaning up new brass fresh from a trip to the range, a couple of hours is all it needs.

Both walnut shell and corn cob are readily (and cheaply) available in the pet supply section of Walmart, by the way. The walnut is sold as pet litter for rodents and reptiles, IIRC. For the corn cob, Arm & Hammer cat litter is great, and makes the brass smell really nice.:D
 
#24 · (Edited)
Cleaning time depends on how dirty/stained the brass is. Just like your hands; takes longer to clean your hands if you have been working in your Peterbuilt, than just reading the newspaper. If you already have ground corn cob blast media, perhaps you're overloading the tumbler. Another hint a lot of fellers use is a bit of auto polish in with the media. A better all around cleaner is crushed walnut shells, aka lizard litter. At a pet store, look for the dark, coarse grind crushed walnut shells (the "desert blend", a lighter colored, fine grind litter doesn't work as well). Walnut will clean your brass but won't put that "virgin" shiny finish on your brass, which is just fine with me.

Normally, with standard grind (#14?) corn cob blast media, and 100-125 .44 Magnum cases, my Lyman 1200 will get the brass good and clean with an even "matte" finish in 2-3 hours, if they aren't too tarnished/stained/dirty...
 
#25 ·
Count me in with those who clean primer pockets if needed by observation. I use single stage with a Forster and RCBS. However, I think the flash hole is more imprtant than the pocket. Depending on the cleaning method, I make sure the flash hole has absolutely no obstruction. You should be able to shine a flashlight into the primed brass and see the glimmer of the primer thru the flash hole. When time permits, I debur the flash hole on the inside of the case. May be overkill, maybe not.
 
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