Range brass reloading

v35

Till now I've reloaded my own fairly clean brass but lately have bought grade 3 380, 9mm and 223 in bulk.
I'd rather wash deprimed brass first so as not to put grit into resizing dies and don't want to put unnecessary operations into the reloading operation. The brass can be dark or discolored.
What is the most efficient order of operations to go from grade three brass to loaded ammunition?
What's the best wash and can I escape tumbling ?

sandwarrior

V35,

No you can't escape tumbling. Not only does it polish up the brass, it knocks out minute little bits of corrosion on the cases.

I would start by {edit: washing (Iosso) and drying then tumbling} then sizing. If you have a hand priming tool that step goes much faster than with a press. Find a load using ball powder because it meters so well. That way you can develop a load near max and dump powder in the case without having to weigh every load. As long as you pick the right powder, whatever bullet you choose shouldn't be an issue.

jonk

Lots of methods for washing. THE most effective, better than tumbling, is ultrasonic cleaning but for that much brass I wouldn't bother. A bunch of methods were discussed here recently but for me, a solution of 1 bottle of coffee pot de-calcfier plus one gallon of hot water works well. Drop the brass in, swish it around, let soak about a minute, then strain it out. It is mildly acidic so I finish up with a similar treatment of 2 tbsp of baking soda in another gallon, then rinse. It will slightly discolor the brass but it makes it pretty clean. Unless you have really thick crud.

HandLoad

I'm interested in the Ultrasonic cleaning process. With what cleaning colution? What power cleaner?

jonk

http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html

Good article on the process and solution options. I've not used a powder cleaner.

v35

Jonk- Do you deprime before washing?
I think it would result in cleaner brass but I don't want to screw up
my sizer-decapping dies. That's really the question.
Lyman used to sell four die sets to allow decapping without sizing but as I recall the dies were so loose the decapping pins didn't center and broken pins and enlarged flash holes resulted.

v35

I just bought a Lee universal decapper die and will give it a try on range brass prior to washing.
Hopefully, the extra operation will justify in cleaner brass interiors and no grit in the sizing and loading dies.