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cleaning live primered brass

6K views 33 replies 10 participants last post by  BerettaGuy 
#1 ·
I have 100 or so 30-06 brass that have live primers in them, my father did them. My problem is that after he chamfered the neck he put the primers in without cleaning out the brass left behind from the chamfering. My question is can I clean out that brass in a safe way with a live primer in it or should I just load the brass in a rifle to fire the primer and start over. I hate to waste that many primers. Can I just load it with powder etc with the brass filings left there?
 
#4 ·
Thank you. I will just tap them out. I wasnt sure how touchy primers are. Not match rounds I was more concerned about seating the bullet and scratching or it getting in the die some how. I havent reloaded anything yet so I am having that lack of knowledge jitters LOL
 
#7 ·
To tag onto this post, as it seems the OP has some good answers, what about cleaning full live rounds? I have several dozen 5.56 rounds that are seriously dirty, and will most likely cause loading issues. Any thoughts on how to clean them, besides going one by one with a paper towel?
 
#8 ·
one by one is fine, so too is tumbling them IMHO.
 
#11 ·
I have 100 or so 30-06 brass that have live primers in them, my father did them. My problem is that after he chamfered the neck he put the primers in without cleaning out the brass left behind from the chamfering. My question is can I clean out that brass in a safe way with a live primer in it or should I just load the brass in a rifle to fire the primer and start over. I hate to waste that many primers. Can I just load it with powder etc with the brass filings left there?
I have chamfered and deburred the flash hole for 40 years and have never had to do more than turn the case over. If you tumble it you will have to look down inside every case to be sure the media did not work its way into the flash hole. Plug the hole and you will get hangfires.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Thank you all I will give them some taps or use a cotton bore cleaner to clean it out.
As far as tumbling live rounds I just did a bunch (400) of old loaded 30-06 rounds with no problems. I read somewhere else that after you finish loading you should tumble it to get the case lube off so I put my fingers in my ears and tried it with no problems!
 
#13 · (Edited)
In 25+ years of shooting and reloading I have done it several times for different reasons and from brass bought bulk tarnished or given to me
and didn't had one single issue.
I have tried many types of media, conventional and unconventional. This includes expensive media used in restoration of expensive
automotive parts that you can get with different abrasive grades and it is designed to perform w/o creating too much dust or any debris
that might obstruct expensive parts.
Also from the unconventional media, reptile pet bedding, rize, tartan, etc... even biodegradable airsoft balls and simply 22LR washed clean cases.
I never took pictures of this so today I went downstairs in order to replicate this process. I found a good bunch of old already cleaned
22LR cases and some once fired very dirty brass.
I think I am a tad short on the 22 brass as media but I have it in the tumbler now to see if this time is any different and will post the results here.
Of course I would not try to reload for match loads like this but also didn't find the already primed brass that went through this process to have any huge inconsistencies assuming it is properly resized and prepared like any other brass.
There might be some minor dust but nothing to be worry to be stuck anywhere. All we need is a clean dry towel after this. We'll see.

Washed 22LR "media"


Media in the tumbler.


Some nasty brass in the lot...






All together brass to brass, in a nice healthy tumbler without any powders/solvents or chemicals of any kind.


BTW toss in there some small clippings of paper towels. They will catch up most of the dust. Stay away from the dryer sheets that only make things worse.
 
#19 ·
Here is how the same cases cleaned out. You do not want them to run too long...

No debris to worry about. Simply rolled them all on a dry towel ... ET VOILA!!!...





.308 win cases...





.223 cases...





It might not be the shiniest brass you have ever seen but also not too bad and perfect to reload anyway.
These were fired primed cases but I have done the same many times in the past with live primed cases and has worked great.
Some 22LR fall inside the 308 cases and clean them inside as well as the outside. They also clean pistol cases very well and in the .223
they cannot fall inside due to the rim. I would not suggest this as the main media as it can chew more on the brass that is why you
do not need to run it too long. But in an exception like this you do not have to worry about harsh chemicals or debris messing up
the primers.

I hope this helped.
 
#23 ·
Just keep in mind that many folks are obsessed with shiny brass. The brass doesn't have to be all shiny like the sun to be 100% perfectly functional.
It has to be well cleaned and consistently sized and cut. If it comes out a little darker who cares.
The looks do nothing for accuracy.
 
#25 ·
The color does nothing for the dies neither. I am talking about perfectly cleaned brass that is a tad colored from heat itself and not from any dirt or debris. In order to get the shiniest brass sometimes we have to dig into the brass using abrasive chemical and mechanical methods to get under that coat that might be simply cosmetic. if you take annealed brass it looses its color but then we do not worry about that then. Same thing when we fire it. Bringing up the shiniest brass is not necessary. The risk is that some people over do it and it does more harm than good.
Overworking the brass during cleaning as well as preparation and reloading are neither necessary nor good things.
So if it comes out more shiny great but if it comes out less shiny great too as soon as it is 100% clean.
 
#28 ·
no problem. Just don't over do it. And as varmint said after cleaning the cases you are also ready to produce some home made 22cal or 6mm bullets
if you want. Never scrap any brass. If you are done put it in the recycling bin at the club as it is sold to help with the expenses.
 
#33 ·
I use Corn cob from the local farm supply store for pistol . ($15/50lb) & Lizard bedding for rifle. Prime both with a couple of cap fulls of NuFinish & I get *SHY-NEE BRASS*.. Me like SHY-NEE BRASS. I change media as often as I change my socks! I'm a cheap bastard & I don't have the patience to run an ultra sonic cleaner!
 
#34 ·
I use walnut but I slap on a plastic glove, get it saturated with Brasso run the casings through by fingers as I place them in the tumbler.
It works very well.
I also have a buddy that never cleans his brass.
We all rib him a little but it doesn't seem to bother his loads.
Tapping out the media doesn't bother me, just another inspection as I de prime first and then clean as it takes all the gunk out of the primer pocket.
 
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