How often do you clean your brass?

[Lyn]

I was just wondering when and how you guys clean your brass. My nosler brass has been fired twice and i am getting ready to load them for the third time. I was going to go out and get a tumbler but I thought I would check with you guys first. Thank's.

[Verminator2]

I started using Hornady's one shot lube when resizing and when you wipe them off the black stuff comes with it.

[WrzWaldo]

I use an ultrasonic unit on mine after every firing.

http://rugerhunting.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2658

[skipper]

I tumble after every firing.

[Vartarg]

I tumble after every firing.

[.204 Sniper]

When I'm done with a box of 50 reloads I toss them in the tumbler at night..................and let them tumble until I get home from work the next evening.
Yeah - they are in there for a long time, but I only use untreated corn media (RCBS #2). I tumble them for so long to get the INSIDES clean!

I don't have an ultrasonic setup like some lucky people on here!

Clean them after every firing.............it will also extend the life of your reloading dies.

[Lee C.]

I tumble my case's after firing them for 3hrs. then agine just befor i start to load them up.

[Bergcrane2]

I wash mine in the washer with vinegar after each firing. I put about 20 cases in a sock and tie it closed.

[Rick in Oregon]

Mine gets tumbled in Lyman walnut media after every firing. I do batches of 100 to 200 at a time....saves those expensive Redding dies from excessive wear.

[Iamsignal3]

Every time, vibra and anneal every 3rd reload

[Bergcrane2]

Every time, vibra and anneal every 3rd reload

On a side note, have you done any kinda research with annealed vs un-annealed? Just curous. How many times resizing before neck splits? BTW-GO BLUE!

[rayfromtx]

I have the ultrasonic unit and used it after each firing. I find it interesting that since getting into competition Benchrest shooting, I no longer clean them at all. No one that I know in benchrest cleans their brass. We load the same set of brass between matches. We will shoot the same brass 10 times in a day of competition. The dies we use typically size the brass to .0005" smaller than the fired case in each dimension. With this little movement, we could shoot our brass more than 50 times but most discard them after 15-25 firings to keep neck tension more consistent. Imperial sizing wax will protect the die from wear. When I go back to reloading the 204, I doubt I will go back to cleaning between firings. If it's not needed in benchrest, why would it be needed in hunting loads?

Accuracy is not affected at all by cleaning brass. My gun will shoot 1s all day in the vertical component. The horizontal is my problem. With the wind and mirage, I can agg under .3. That's 10 five shot groups shot with a timer, in the hottest part of the day. Shiny cases are like shiny guns. They look nice but don't prove beneficial at the target.

Can anyone show me a reason I haven't thought of?

[Vartarg]

When I handload, I"m doing all that's reasonalby possible....some maybe not always so reasonably ......to make quality ammo. I can't prove that "clean" brass has anything to do with accuracy, but for me, in my own mind, it's important to strive for cleanliness, consistency of process and quality components....and for me, clean brass is part of that equation. Another question: are dirty components a matter of indifference? I doubt it. My $.02...YMMV!
George

[skipper]

Dirty components are a worry. If that dirty brass is scratching your dies, think of what it does to your chamber. The tarnish on my brass comes off on my concentricity gauge and I have to stop to clean it. I guess it all depends on your application. If you are going to hit the PD patch it probably won't matter.

The brass I use for the Postal Shoot will be hand polished. I don't have any hard evidence but I feel that clean components perform better. Maybe it's all just my perception but they do wipe fingerprints off jet fighters because the pilots say they can feel the difference.