Taking Primers out before cleaning

[LordScythe]

Hey does anyone on here user your resizer and deprmining die before you put your cases into clean or do you clean them before you deprime them or would it damage your resizer die if you deprimed them before cleaning them.

 

[winmag]

In theory you could damage your dies by not tumbeling the ''grit'' off first.
I only have 1 die I use for de-capping. Its a universal de-capping die from RCBS. All my other dies are Redding. If you use it carefully and with the propper shell plate it does quite well. But I dont de-capp and resize at the same time with dirty brass.
I have my own system. De-capp with RCBS decapping die, scrub primer pockets, tumble, Re-size with Redding sizing die, wipe excess lube off, check propper crush fit, trim, de-burr, LIGHTLY champher, LIGHTLY vld champher, tumble again, Scrub inside case/neck, and inside the brass flash hole with a nylon brush on a screw gun, then box and label Trim length, date done, and how many times brass has been loaded.
Works well for me.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I rarely clean my cases so that solves that little dilemma.

If you tumble cases in media then you should leave the spent primers in. This way the decapping pin will (when you re-size) clear the flash hole of any media particles that may get caught in that area during tumbling.

Just my opinion - lots of acceptable ways to deal with fired cases.

 

[TheHardWay]

I like to de-prime, clean the primer pocket, and then run the cases through the tumbler. I then take compressed air to each case to make sure the media is expelled, and that the flash hole is free and clear.

 

[J E Custom]

It is just a matter of preference how you do them.

Every one has a way that works for them and I'm no different.

I like to Tumble, and then solvent clean to remove "ALL" media and use compressed
air to dry. Then I full length or neck size depending on intended use, De-cap and clean
primer pockets (The tumbler does not clean the pockets very well so I don't de-cap
until they are tumbled and cleaned of media) Then I trim and de-burr if nessary, after
sizing I clean the sizing off of the cases and I am ready to go.

If you use a de-capping die you can alter the sequence.

The reason for cleaning the media off before you size is to prevent excessive ware to
your dies.

The reason to clean the sizing off of the brass is to keep foreign objects (Grit)from
sticking to the brass and damaging the chamber and possible primer contamination,
also if there is any sizing (Wax or Lube) left on the brass even though it feels clean
it will foul the chamber and increase the bolt loading because the chamber cannot grip
the brass as well. This is why I use a solvent to clean with.

If your brass is in good shape(Clean) you can size and de-cap before you tumble but as
Varmint Hunter said you will leave media in the primer pockets that will have to be
removed by hand, and if you leave the sizing on the brass you will contaminate the tumble
media.(The reason I clean Twice).

The main thing is to protect the dies and the chamber by making sure that the brass is
clean at all times.

J E CUSTOM

 

[whitely]

For my .204, I found that if I tumbled prior to decapping, I wound up breaking my decapping pins. I was using corn cob media, and the little pieces of corn would get wedged in the top of the flash hole, and this caused the decapping pin to slide off to the side, and then break on the bottom of the case.

Since I like to get all the resizing lube off of my cases, I now tumble after resizing. I wind up having to check each flash hole for little bits of corn, but it really doesn't take too much time.

 

[Boss Hoss]

It is just a matter of preference how you do them.

Every one has a way that works for them and I'm no different.

I like to Tumble, and then solvent clean to remove "ALL" media and use compressed
air to dry. Then I full length or neck size depending on intended use, De-cap and clean
primer pockets (The tumbler does not clean the pockets very well so I don't de-cap
until they are tumbled and cleaned of media) Then I trim and de-burr if nessary, after
sizing I clean the sizing off of the cases and I am ready to go.

If you use a de-capping die you can alter the sequence.

The reason for cleaning the media off before you size is to prevent excessive ware to
your dies.

The reason to clean the sizing off of the brass is to keep foreign objects (Grit)from
sticking to the brass and damaging the chamber and possible primer contamination,
also if there is any sizing (Wax or Lube) left on the brass even though it feels clean
it will foul the chamber and increase the bolt loading because the chamber cannot grip
the brass as well. This is why I use a solvent to clean with.

If your brass is in good shape(Clean) you can size and de-cap before you tumble but as
Varmint Hunter said you will leave media in the primer pockets that will have to be
removed by hand, and if you leave the sizing on the brass you will contaminate the tumble
media.(The reason I clean Twice).

The main thing is to protect the dies and the chamber by making sure that the brass is
clean at all times.

J E CUSTOM

This is pretty much the way I do it as well----compressed air does wonders when making sure the media is out of the case!!

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

Hey does anyone on here user your resizer and deprmining die before you put your cases into clean or do you clean them before you deprime them or would it damage your resizer die if you deprimed them before cleaning them.

If the brass is excessively dirty, I wash and tumble them so they don't damage the resizing die. Having written that, I just dedicated and old Herters C press for decapping only. After washing I might decap, then tumble; but then again, I might not.

If the brass is clean, I tend to decap/resize, THEN tumble to clean off the lube and shine them up for final reloading.

 

[mmmooretx]

I use the Lee hand press with a universal decapper, wire brush pockets, then tumble, and air blast for residual media.