Do some people never clean brass

[WhelanLad]

? wondering if anyone else is like myself an never cleans brass, not any more than say giving a twist and twirl in a rag, clear the neck of any debris and hav at her!?

Common?

[Barnard]

guilty as charged.
i clean them with a rag.
that's about it.

[juststarting]

If they are not shiny, I find that they don't shoot well. And my groups seem to tighten, the higher GU readout I get from my gloss meter. True story.

[deye243]

most comp shooters don't tumble

[AusTac]

I get any crusty stuff out of the primer pocket? Chuck em in some dish washing liquid toss them, air dry and then a wipe with some metho, works fine for the ole' .303, as long as they go bang i'm happy, that's all my reloads are there for

[Oldbloke]

Just a basic clean in soapy water and vinegar recipee.

Clean or dirty, they shoot the same.

[bladeracer]

Never cleaned my brass other than maybe wiping down anything that's particularly dirty.
But I also don't hurl it about the place when I'm shooting so it rarely gets dirty.

[TheDude]

But if you don't clean they won't be shiny

[Sumo]

When I shoot fullbore target rifle out to 1000 yards (914m) in 308, I only hand clean the necks to protect my dies, and I clean the primer pockets for a better "feel" when seating. Other than that the rest is for looks only.

When I am shooting f-class to 1000 yards with a much smaller target size and "neck tension" is now a thing, a clean neck internal is important among a heap of other thing, so a full body clean is the go.

Cheers,
Ryan.

[bigfellascott]

Depends how I'm feeling LOL

[on_one_wheel]

I'm afraid that if I polish my brass the tiny little genies might escape.

[Wylie27]

Throw my 9mm brass into a Tupperware container, white vinegar, dish soap and hot tap water. Shake it for 30 seconds and let sit for a couple of hours..

[Gwion]

I use 0000 steel wool to tidy up the primer pocket (if needed) and any crap in and outside the neck. Thinking i need to get a tumbler because after quite a number of firing i'm starting to think there might be accumulated crap inside the case affecting case capacity. May or may not be the case but i suspect if may have a bit of effect over time.
For this reason, i occasionally run a brush in the case to get out any loose crap. I do this while watching telly. Probably a waste of time but it makes me feel like i've done something useful.

I keep thinking i should make a stainless tumbler but then think about the process of re-weight sorting my target brass and get over that idea pretty quick.

[Manimal]

Always tumble.

Just seems like inviting more mess / inaccuracy down the road skipping it to me.

[wrenchman]

i just tryed the vinegar and water with some old brass and it worked fast and cleaned brass i would have tossed out it was my late father inlaws brass

[Gamerancher]

Cleaning primer pockets ensures that your primers seat properly. I've seen a bloke having misfires and junking perfectly good brass that the only problem was all of the built up gunk in the pocket after multiple reloads.

Hey Sumo, neck tension has always been "a thing" for refining accuracy.

Looking after your brass will lengthen it's lifespan as well as looking after your dies. Ejecting it willy-nilly at the range and having it bounce around on the concrete is not real good for it.
Same goes in the bush. Keep it out of the dirt, refine your technique by ejecting into your hand.

It is also a lot easier to detect any faults in clean brass.

[in2anity]

Just a basic clean in soapy water and vinegar recipee.

Clean or dirty, they shoot the same.

Yep me too - swish them around in the old NRA recipe for 10mins, then leave them for a couple of days to dry. I also only trim when I have chambering issues, which probably doesn't lend itself to optimal accuracy. But then again I'm no benchrest or F-class shooter, so accuracy variance primarily comes from me (rather than the rifle).

[Noisydad]

Yep. I have .222 brass that's 36 years old and never been cleaned.

[bigpete]

I rarely do

[juststarting]

You filthy savages.

[Noisydad]

You filthy savages.

You slick, sweet talker - flattery will get you everywhere!

[juststarting]

lol

[Oldbloke]

You filthy savages.

Mmmmm.... I just can't get those chop sticks out of my mind.

[RoginaJack]

I'm afraid that if I polish my brass the tiny little genies might escape.

Ha, so that's why I can't hit the Target! I've cleaned and polished the brass and let the Genie out...