The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

thanks fred , I might give that a try?

dromia wrote:Depends on the size of the media.

My angle cut cylinders are quite large and don't fully clean the pockets in couple of hours there is still a visible black ring in the pocket corner. If I gave it another couple of hours then it comes out clean. As I usually uniform the primer pockets each time it cleans the pockets anyway. If you don't uniform, what is left it the pocket doesn't make a difference on the target or effect performance.

To be honest Adam that's about the same, I get staining in there but not the usual tri armed crud mark.

Where could I get some to try mate?

I got mine about 20 years ago from the states, can't remember which shop.

Lapidary and metal finishing supplies should carry it.

If you were to hand you could borrow mine to try.

dromia wrote:I got mine about 20 years ago from the states, can't remember which shop.

Lapidary and metal finishing supplies should carry it.

If you were to hand you could borrow mine to try.

What exactly is it called A?

I am wondering if it would clean without trashing the case mouth chamfering?

Ceramic tumbling media.

I haven't noticed any case damage, but using cast boolits I don't chamfer.

Like all such things it will eventually wear stuff away it is the nature of the beast, I don't think the ceramic is any more aggressive than the pins.

Have a look here http://www.royson.com/index.html-it might be worth giving them a call and see if they ship to the UK. Failing that, try Guyson http://www.guyson.co.uk/aftersales as they may be able to help. I get all our blasting consumables from them and they can often find stuff that isn't a standard stock item.

I wash my Snider cses in warm soapy water when I get home, dry them off in the airing cupboard and tumble for a couple of hours with the usual walnut media. .

There is still some light staining however "the cases don't know they are stained" in other words the external surface discolouration has no effect on ammunition performance. You are reloading case to shoot, not to exhibit in a concourse d'elegance.

The reason I went wet with ceramic for my BP cartridges was not to get shiny brass but to make sure that the insides of my cases were clean.

In the past I was getting a build up of fouling inside the case that ordinary tumbling wouldn't remove, the fouling was cumulative I found my case capacity was getting noticeably smaller. I took to cleaning the inside of my cases with a bristle brush but life being too short and arthritic hands meant that that was a non runner so I sprung for a tumbler and ceramic media and never looked back and my case capacity stays the same.

It wasn't for the outside of the case that I went that way but for the inside.

I second the use of ceramic in a ROTARY tumbler NOT a vibrating one - painful learning curve there..... I shoot 50/90, 45/120, 40/65, 50/95, 56/50, 12x44, 44/40 (with black) & 12g brass hulls so a large tumbler is necessary. I use a Thumlers Model B.

Before putting the cases in there are 2 ways I prep them for it, I use either depending on how cruddy I've let them get (being lazy and not cleaning within a few days of using them). I decap before both and I do use a primer pocket cleaner. Anyway, the easiest is just dropping them in a container of water along with a dishwasher tab and let them soak for 24 hours. The more effective (smelly and costly way) is to buy a sonic cleaner big enough to take a good few cases. You can get the Hornady one over here, not badged and in pretty colours, a lot cheaper. I use ordinary malt vinegar in it and it really does remove the crud, even verdigris around the mouth of any case (I said I was sometimes lazy ). 20 minutes is usually more than enough.

In the tumbler I put sufficient water in to cover the cases, too little and you'll get marking and probably peening of the mouths. I add half a teaspoon of cream of tartar - NOT tartar sauce as one of our members did very messy...! A few drops of a good lemon dish washing liquid, a good squirt of dishwasher rinse aid and good squirt of lemon juice. Switch on and forget for 5 or 6 hours... The cases come as clean on the inside as on the outside, looking like new.

Sounds a bit of a rigmarole maybe, and setting up isn't that cheap. But when my cases can be £3 or £4 a piece IF you can get them in this country then I look after them as well as I can. My 45 x 3.25" are over 10 years old and showing no signs of distress (Shooting heavy loads with very dirty case interiors WILL make the cases stretch)

Or perhaps I'm just OCD....

C

thank you