Guns & Outdoors Forum

So, I’m about to start this again after a very long Hiatus. Think I’m gonna start with .308. To make sure I remember things correctly -

1. Clean the brass
2. De-prime the brass
3. Re-size the brass
4. Prime the brass
5. Powder the brass
6. Put bullet into the brass….

Miss anything?

Yeah, you left our some brass prep steps. Here's a quick read. When the cleaning occurs (before or after deprime) is certainly up for debate...

https://ultimatereloader.com/2012/03/16 ... ep-basics/

Yes… forgot pocket prep for the new primer. And, now that I think about it. I don’t remember seeing that tool with my stuff. I wonder if my brother had it.

I don’t think I’ve de-burred unless I could visually see the need.

I'm in the clean first camp since I use a tumbler with corn cob style media. I hate cleaning that crap out of primer pockets (if you deprime first).

Trimming for correct length is the biggest step you omitted.

Not checking length will work fine, until it doesn't!

Depends on what you are reloading for. Plinking ammo, hunting ammo, or ultimate accuracy?

Don't forget a little lube on the brass before you resize or you run the risk of a stuck case (bottleneck cases).

2.5 - primer pocket & flash hole uniforming and/or cleaning, if you're into that.

2.75 - annealing necks, if needed.

3.5 - trimming to length (if needed) and chamfering case mouths.

6.5 - maybe crimping the necks, depending on your process.

Nobody mentioned the hardest part, finding components!

Since I wet tumble as my cleaning method I re-size and pop primers before I clean. This removes grime AND resizing lubricants from my cases. That also means I don’t have to clean or prep primer pockets. I prime right after cleaning and store clean primed cases in bulk in ziplock plastic bags for later use.

I have never wet cleaned. Hell I didn’t even know that was a thing.

I've been thinking about getting the stuff to do it just to compare.

Wambli Ska wrote: ↑Sat Jul 01, 2023 11:13 am Since I wet tumble as my cleaning method I re-size and pop primers before I clean. This removes grime AND resizing lubricants from my cases. That also means I don’t have to clean or prep primer pockets. I prime right after cleaning and store clean primed cases in bulk in ziplock plastic bags for later use.

Please explain wet clean and not cleaning primer pockets

I resize and deprime first and them throw all the brass into a rotary tumbler with water and about a teaspoon of dawn dishwasher soap. Leave running for a few hours. Rinse brass well with hot water and spread on a towel and let dry. That’s what commercial reloaders do except they use a small cement mixer. Brass is now clean enough to reload. If you like your brass polished to brand new add steel pins to the tumbler (Midway and Brownells sell them) and before the rinse pick up all your pins out if the mix with a strong magnet also sold by Brownells and Midway. You’ll never buy “media” again and a bottle of dawn will last you years.

Now, if the brass is super dirty and gritty (outdoor range pickups) I’ll give it a light wet clean by hand switching it around in a bucket with water and soap (this takes about a minute) rinse THEN resize and deprime and THEN give it the full wet cleaning. Keeps the dies cleaner that way.

Im 100% on board with the wet cleaning. Some will say it’s a hassle to dry, deal with water, blah blah blah. and that’s ok.

Enjoy the dusty dirty media, and picking it out of primer pockets. Or cleaning pockets if you don’t deprime first.

Yep, since starting the wet tumbling I’ve never looked back.

There’s a place here locally that does used brass. It’s a crazy setup. They have something like 24 cement mixers that they do a bulk wash in, water and dish soap. Then they have a large shaker with fans to mostly dry the brass. Then it goes thru a giant self made sorting machine. The sorting machine is crazy/amazing, they just dump buckets and buckets of mixed brass in. lol and it’s incredibly loud. Once sorted they do a final polish in I believe corn cob media. Then bagged and sold. The guy told me they only polish cause people like the shiny.

I anneal then deprime while FL resizing in a small base Redding die. I clean with crushed walnut shells. Yes, I have to check the flash holes, but since I clean the primer pockets with my PMA tool, it's not a big deal. I trim/deburr/chamfer after cleaning with my Giraud trimmer. I have tried various tools for primer seating and have now settled on the Frankford tool; it's adjustble and seems to work really well.

I have a Autotrickler v4 to load powder and I seat the bullets with a Redding competition die. There is some prep work with the components, but we won't go into that.

@Centermass If you want to discuss components and so on, I've a little bit of experience with the .308 Winchester.