The dirty weekend

Not all of my weekends are dirty ones but I have my fair share of course. I thought it would be cool to show you some pictures and explain some of what happens when the weekends are dirty, so here we go.

Below I very basically explain and show the process used to clean handgun brass. As always, this is not a training document, just a bit of an idea on how it all rolls out.

When a round is fired from a gun the firearms' firing pin strikes the primer which ignites and explodes into the flash hole in the base of the case, right into the powder which also ignites. The expanding gases force the projectile along the path of least resistance, the barrel and out of the muzzle to head downrange. The case, or brass, is left empty of projectile and propellant (gun powder), and dirty. It is that which is reloaded and used again later.

Before reloading the cases must be cleaned which is done to make them easier and cleaner to work with and to keep one's reloading equipment, the dies for instance, in good condition.

When I do this job the cases are wet-tumbled in a stainless steel media although there is dry media available; I just prefer the wet. I use the Rebel 17 tumbler and a solution of water, dishwashing detergent and Lemishine detergent-booster combined and tumble it altogether for a few hours or so; Longer for rifle cases. When done it's rinsed and dried.

Below I've photographed last nights tumbling session which was 9mm brass and added a few notes for you.

Above are the dirty 9mm cases, the Rebel 17 tumbler base and drum and the stainless steel pins, or media, which helps clean up the brass.

Here above, the elements begin to come together. The cases go into the drum with the detergent-booster, a squirt of dishwashing detergent and is then filled with water to almost the top. The seal and lid is screwed down and it is all placed on the base to tumble which you can see happening below in a little video I took last night.

After tumbling for a couple hours it's time to open it up and rinse the cases as above. You can see how clean the brass comes out. I use a paint strainer bag to strain out the water which in the lower left you can see is very dirty. After a thorough rinsing they're all contained in the mesh bag and ready for sorting.

I use the STM media separator which you can see above. It's a plastic cage with handles that one uses to turn it. The small stainless pins are flicked out and into the grey tub where they are collected for use next time. Of course, this is done with the lid closed so they don't flick all over the place.

After a minute or so the stainless media is all separated out and the cases are ready for drying. Above lower left is the cases with the media in them prior to the spinning process and to the lower right the end result - No stainless media.

To dry them I use a dehumidifier that one would use in the kitchen for food. I set it on the hottest temperature and leave it for a half hour after which time the brass is very dry.

After this is done I go through each piece and make sure it's all the same calibre as sometimes when picking up brass after I have shot them a stray one may get collected. In fact in the image above you can see a .38 Super case mixed in with my 9mm. Second tray up, right in the centre. The .38 Super is a longer case than the 9mm.

Here's the clean and dirty brass compared with the clean on the left obviously. You can see also that the stainless media gets into the case and cleans inside and out. You'll also note the primer is still in the cases; It is removed in the reloading process although with my rifle rounds I remove the prior first. The sharp-eyed folks will also notice another .38 Super case, the very right case in the cleaned pile.

So there you have it, the process of cleaning spent cases ready for reloading.

I make thousands of handgun rounds in various calibres each year; It's something like 15,000-20,000 rounds all up. I tend to shoot a lot in practice and competition so need the rounds and I like to have a stockpile.

The cleaning and reloading process is a constant thing for me, both rifle and handgun rounds, and it's rare that a week would go by in which I wasn't doing some element of the process. I enjoy the reloading process though; I just find it relaxing to make ammunition.

Anyway, that's about it; Thanks for scrolling through and reading if that's what you did. I'm happy to answer any questions if you like, so feel free to drop them below.


Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.

Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209

This is not designed as a training document or exhaustive text on the subject and the information contained here should not be relied upon. You are strongly advised to do your own research on the subject matter.

H2
H3
H4
3 columns
2 columns
1 column
83 Comments
Ecency