progressive press and pistol primer pocket cleaning

[Rex]

How often do you clean your pistol primer pockets? What about if you are using a Dillon 550?

 

[Brad]

Depends?
If I am loading for 44 mag and will be shooting at 100 off the bench I clean every time.
For mass produced ammo fired at 25-50 yards loaded on the Dillon I do t usually clean them at all.
I have recently made a small change and have been depriming cases like 45 ACP and wet tumbling. This does clean the pockets pretty well. I don’t plan to do the same for 9mm as I don’t have the difficulty seating primers fully in that cartridge.

 

[Rick]

Every time with the Sinclair primer pocket uniforming tool using a power trimmer. Takes 10 minutes for an MTM 100 round box.

 

[462]

Every case after every firing, though I don't have a Dillon.

 

[fiver]

I do have a Dillon and I don't clean the cases let alone the primer pockets very often.
super clean cases just makes life miserable and you end up adding lube to the cases, and to the powder funnel from time to time to keep things moving along.

 

[Ian]

I loaded wheelbarrows full of .45 acp and .38 spl without ever cleaning a pocket, burt once I started doing it I can't go back. The stainless steel pins and wet tumbler finally solved the labor part for me, I end up washing cases most every loading now and if I don't the pockets get cleaned by hand. Then Rick told me about uniforming pocket depth and I can't not do that now....on rifle brass af least.

A tablespoon full of liquid car wax in the rinse water takes care of brass dragging on various dies in a progressive loading press.

 

[Cherokee]

I load primarily for pistol on a Dillon 650. Primer pockets are cleaned after every firing and sizing and priming are done off press. Rife cases also cleaned every time and all loading is on an RCBS.

 

[Will]

I never touch my pistol brass with a primer pocket cleaner. Fired brass all gets deprimed in a universal decapping die and then into the stainless tumbling media.
Primer pockets come out looking like new.

 

[waco]

I'm supposed to clean pistol primer pockets?...

 

[358156 hp]

I process my brass in large batches. Everything get some time in the dry tumbler to remove grit, dirt, and carbon, then everything gets sized & decapped, rifle brass gets trimmed at this time, then it's quality time in the wet tumbler to clean everything inside & out Brass gets dried after this stage, normally in the dry tumblers with ground walnut & NuFinish. Between the polishing and drying and everything going on at once, the brass comes out brilliantly shiny, and ready to load. Then I bag it in ziplocks for use another day.

 

[Winelover]

I've always cleaned primer pockets, even for pistol brass. Just as a precautionary step.......doesn't take much time. I usually load on a single stage, even my eight hole Turret is set up as a single stage for my rifles. Don't have to continually keep changing dies. If I had a progressive, I would decap, tumble, then do the primer pockets...........before running them in the press.