deprime and clean or dont worry about it

[marknb]

ok i used to reload single stage rcbs reloader id be lucky if i could get 40 rounds in a hour lol, iam looking to get back in to reloading again after all these years everthing i owed is gone so now iam starting to look at presses and progressive press again. Also iam looking up how to reload again because it has been so long i have forgotten, so i have ar 15 bushmaster i can shoot 90 rounds through without breakin a sweat, also have a ak 47 i can do the same thing with easly, also have a 30.06 remmington and a few semi auto hand gun 45 and 9 mm. i would like to be able to turn out at least 400 or more rounds in a hour. i still havent decided on a press still torn between a rcbs pro 2000 and dillion 550b and 650 xl. ANY SUGGESTION ON THIS WOULD HELP AND REASONS WHY YOU CHOOSE THAT. Now getting back to the point i watch training films , i have seen people clean the brass without the primers and then dry and inspect and brush and rejust primmer size before putting it in thier progressive reloader which usally has a deprimer which is the cause of my confusion why do you need a deprimmer tool on a progressive if its already deprime and resized?? also some people dont lube and some people do even though they have carbide dies

 

[Old Fart]

I quit tumbling unprimed brass, most because my tumbling media kept getting stuck in the primer hole.

 

[acp]

I will try to answer a few questions for you. I quit using walnut/corn cob media long ago. I use a thumlers tumbler and stainless steel pins for media. I decap first, then clean. The brass comes out spotless primer holes and all. I used to tumble with primers in then just run them through the press. Nothing wrong with it, but sometimes there is lots of junk in the primer pockets. I will also use nasty old range brass and after decap/ tumble I insect it, this process works better for nasty old brass and will make it look new no matter how tarnished.
Presses, well I won't get into blue presses vs every other press out there. I have never used a Dillion and so I won't comment about them. However I just sold my RCBS progressive press and all the shell plates and went to a Hornady lock and lock AP. There are pluses and minuses for all of them. One of the nicest things about going from the RCBS setup to the Hornady is the size of the presses. The Hornady is a much larger diameter press and therefor you hands can get in there to work on things easier.



you can see the difference in the shell plate sizes, the RCBS is the smaller one.
After looking around I think the Hornady LNL press is the best bang for the buck. It is not as expensive as the blue presses and works just fine. I like it a lot better than the RCBS setup. Having said that I loaded thousands of rounds on the RCBS. Just my opinion. Unfortunately it is hard to get demos of all types of presses to see what works the best for you. If I understand the blue press numbers the 550 does not index itself? I am not sure but for me it kind of kills the purpose of a progressive press. The Hornady has one outstanding feature and that is the dies go into quick change bushings on the press. I just got done decaping 1k 45's and I just used the decap die in the press and it was very fast, they are tumbling now. It takes seconds to change dies or remove them, or the powder measure. I would say the best thing you can do is get on youtube and check all the presses out there. Tons of videos to watch of them all.

And yes, even though my brass is sized and cleaned before I put it on the auto press to load I still run it through the decap die just to make sure there is nothing stuck in the primer hole and make sure that a piece of brass that was not decaped doesn't get into the press and cause a jamb when you try to force a primer into a full hole.
Good luck with it.

 

[Maverick1911]

I personally run spent casings in my lyman tumbler....I did the research on tumblers and it seems to me that when we are talking dry tumbling they are all the same. Difference is the price. You can get the Dillon CV2001 for $190 or the Lyman pro magnum 2500 for like $70-$80. Very happy with my lyman. As far as presses, all the companies make great stuff. It's user preference. I really like my Hornady Lock n Load progressive....easy change of multiple calibers out of the press, great construction, and fantastic tech support. You get one of like 3 people (Gary is my favorite) who know the products inside and out and will walk you through any problem you are having.

This prep might help you.....1-2 hours of tumble of spent cases. I use 60-70% walnut and 30-40% mix of corn cob. Buy a big bag of lizzard bedding at a oet store. its cheaper and the granules are smaller yo get into the case. This removes all the junk so it won't get in your dies. Lube...I use the spray...just easier. Deprime (Lee universal decapping die is the best $10 you can ever spend ). Resize....trim (Dillon trimmer attaches to a Hornady progressive and makes life easy). Now you will have a dirty flash hole and some burrs around the case and the cases will be a little dirty from the lube, etc...put your cases back in your tumbler...add 1 capful of Nu Finish car polish and a used dryer sheet cut into 2-4 pieces and run the tumbler 4-6 hours. Take the cases out and they will look like gold bars. Sometimes media gets in the flash hole but that's solved with a shot of air or poke with a dental tool. The burrs should be mostly gone as well as the majority of dirt in the flash hole. Of course you need to inspect every case during every step but it will save you hours! Now add your powder and slap a bullet on top...factory crimp if you have a cannelure or running semi autos unless your bullet seating die does that...

 

[458 SOCOM]

I decap my brass and then tumble before I run them through my sizing die.

 

[ssgrock3]

I only decapped and then tumbled once. I hate cleaning primer pockets in 9mm brass. Tumble and then deprime for me.

 

[ragsflh]

decap then tumbler

 

[xtremepilot]

I found that I had media getting stuck in the primer cup causing issues with my Dillon, so i just clean and polish with the old primer still in.

 

[WessonOil]

Tumble with primer still in, and I used crushed walnut.

In handloading hundreds of thousands of rounds in my lifetime, I've never had a primer fail to seat because of debris in a primer pocket, nor have I had a primer fail to ignite my powder.

Only time there's an issue with seating a primer is when there's an undersized primer pocket.

Any walnut that might be lodged in the flashhole is removed by the decapping pin.

 

[MyMonkey]

I am a newb but I find tumbling then depriming works well enough for me.