• You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.

Have a Coke?!?

DXman – Excellent point. I should have been clearer and you are absolutely correct about the difference in brass prep for a bolt action rifle.

For bolt action rifles I clean the brass individually by hand with a rag and use hand tools to clean primer pockets and inside the case just like DXman seems to. 7mm RM is my go to bolt-action rifle caliber and I don’t think I’ve ever ran any of that brass thru a tumbler.

From the Factory there is a very thin layer of varnish on the brass casings. This is enough to protect the brass for several firings when cleaned by hand.

Thank you DXman for pointing out my omission. I take reloading very seriously and try to get as many people involved as I can. I pride myself on giving sound advice to new people that are interested in learning the hobby and one of the first things I always say is to get as many books on the subject as you can and learn them. Don’t just skim the pages, but actually take the time to learn the material. What DXman just mentioned and what I mentioned earlier are in various reloading manuals.

One more thing. If you ever come across an old reloading manual, grab it if you can. Over the years the information has changed – especially load data. The information in the old manuals though is just as relevant today as it once was. For example, I would have never been able to get that 7mm to shoot right if I had followed a new manual because the charge weights were several grains lower than in an old manual. It was in an old manual that I found the sweet spot on charge weight that a new manual said was way overcharged. We can thank lawyers for this extreme abundance of caution from the manufacturers.

Anyway, just do your homework on this stuff. Reloading accidents are extremely rare and I hope it stays that way.
 
Well HBW it seems we are both on the same track. I too am very serious about reloading and have learned a lot from the pages of the magazine "Percision Shooting" back in the 90's.

My Rem. 7mag has been with me since I purchased it back in 1977 while working in Anchorage. Although it does sport a new barrel and muzzle brake now, it really drives the Barnes X bullets with pretty good accuracy.

I still also use one of the old manuals - Hodgdons 26, got it in 1992.

If interested - I have 10 yrs of the P.S. magzine all in binders for sale.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 357magnum
Good to know, Larry. I leave the brass in the vinegar/water mix for fifteen minutes and then neutralize w/baking soda. Just came back from Harbor Freight and bought the ultrasonic tank - which is the same as the Lyman at half the price.

The active ingredient in the Caseys/Birchwood is phosphoric acid. It isn't too much stronger than a Coke has. To net the same effect, it just takes longer in the Coke than the Casey's does. Considerably cheaper too. Coke solution pours out and looks near black from knocking the crap out of the brass.

Just getting into reloading, as I am doing 9mm auto and 30-06 for my brother's Garand and my Springfield. He needs 150gr/Hornady SST's and IMR 4895 and I use the same powder but use the 165gr/Hornady SST's. Both with Winchester primers. Need to do 7mm Mauser(7x57) and 250 Savage after I make enough rounds of the other stuff first . . .
Awesome! I'm considering getting into reloading myself.

Those SST's are some damn good bullets.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 357magnum
Quick, cheap, and easy way to clean brass/steel pistol and rifle cartridges for reloading?

Requires no:
...Tumblers
...Sonic Cleaners
...Expensive chemicals

Got some Coke?

That is right; common/full strength/undiluted can of Coke and 1/2 tspn dishwashing soap, mix together, let your brass stew in it for an hour . . .

Then remove, soak in water with a little baking soda to neutralize, rinse again - and voila! Must rinse well; will not remove any lacquer/sealer. Maybe it will, if soaked for longer periods. Works a little better if you heat up the Coke in the microwave before you give the shells their 1 hour bath. Remove the spent primers first, and it will clean out the flash hole too. No live or dud primers - a must!

I can of Coke = 50 9mm pistol cartridges (for my Taurus)

Anyone tried this yet? The mild level of phosphoric acid found in Coke is the trick here. Be interesting to see how it works with an ultrasonic tank; gonna try that soon too . . .

Have a Coke . . .
You can purchase watered-down phosphoric acid at Home Depot. It works great as a rust neutralizer on ferrous metals as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 357magnum
I'll stick with my tumbler. 40 years of re-loading, and this method for me works just fine. In fact I have cleaned and re-loaded many, many, many .223 rounds for my AR, and to date never had a single problem. We do routinely have fun doing 30 rd Mag dumps. If a cartridge is not up to snuff it will rear its ugly head during this exercise. So far so good. I guess I was taught well.
In fact I'm always finding brass that I missed after my range day. Some of this brass is black from weather. Yep, I clean those too. They don't come back 100% but they still cycle and go Bang!

0207171130.jpg 0110171409_HDR.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 0207171130.jpg
    0207171130.jpg
    2.8 MB · Views: 231
I am absolutely OCD when it comes to reloading. De-primer all brass, run in the tumbler for 45 minutes, and weigh each and every powder charge. I also set the bullet length according to the SMUDGE test minus .003 of an inch.
All brass is measured for neck thickness, over all length, and scrutinized under magnification before any other procedures are done.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DXman and Slowmover
I just started reloading 3 months ago , 380acp,38/357mag,45acp,303 British & 8 mm 1916 German Mauser for now . Looks like a found a new use for my wife's Ultra Sonic jewelry cleaner !;) My homemade belt tumbler broke again yesterday , having a hard time finding the right belt & O-Rings don't last !:LOL: Off to HF to buy a tumbler . I use a cut up dryer sheet w/ Mothers liquid leaner wax ( shot glass ) , I got the corn cob media @ Walmart that they use for animal bedding , cheap & suits mine needs . I also got a recipe of Youtube for case lube , lanolin & 100 percent rubbing alcohol , put the cases in a baggy spray , let them dry & it works well on the cheap . Lanolin is a little $ but you don't use much . I still use my RCBS case lube pad on occasion . Here's a question , anyone got a recipe using 148 gn cast lswc's using HS-6 powder ? I have a bunch of Hs-6 & 1000 rnds of Wc's . Iv'e check all over & can't find anything . I know it's not the right powder but I already loaded 1000 rnds of 38 spl's in different powder weights & want to load some of these Wc's in 357 & really don't want to buy more powder . But might end up buy some 231 or Unique because of the burn rate of HS-6 . But it shoots awesome in 38 spl .
 
Tall , OCD ? You & I are the same ! I clean inside my case w/ a Dremel tool & wire brush attached , cheaper than a case prep station & I had it & better than that little hand brush . My loads shoot good & look good . I have too much time on my hands !:LOL:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tallman
Tall , OCD ? You & I are the same ! I clean inside my case w/ a Dremel tool & wire brush attached , cheaper than a case prep station & I had it & better than that little hand brush . My loads shoot good & look good . I have too much time on my hands !:LOL:
The FAA has the "Sterile Cockpit" rule for when pilot, copilot, and engineer are going through the checklist. When I am reloading no conversation with anyone not involved in the processes. No TV or radio of any kind. When you go from one step to the next it is too easy to get side tracked.
Especially when you are dialing the loads in for a particular firearm. That's how you can get the accuracy at 200 yards so that you can cover a five shot series with a quarter.
 
Thanks Fog , I need to but some different powder(s) . Ralph ( S&W357 ) told me to get Unique when I started . They were having a sale @ a local GS & powder was 50 percent off . By the time I got there all that was left was Hs-6 ,was a bad choice on my part but I wanted to get started . Did some research w/ Ralph's help & came up w/ some recipes to suit my needs but using a Mag primer as Hs-6 burns slow & a tad dirty . Just wish the powders were still $15 a lb !:whistle::LOL:
 
My favorite reloading manual is the Speer #8. I think the date in the front is 1970. That’s about when I started reloading. o_O

Interesting reading in thread but I’ll just keep tumbling along. Nice to learn there are so many reloaders on WWDX.

.35 Whelen is my favorite rifle caliber to load and .38/.357 my favorite for handguns.

I still have the S&W 19-2 .357 with 2.5” barrel bought in 1968. Plus others of course. :cool:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 357magnum

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • dxBot:
    Tucker442 has left the room.
  • @ BJ radionut:
    LIVE 10:00 AM EST :cool:
  • @ Charles Edwards:
    I'm looking for factory settings 1 through 59 for a AT 5555 n2 or AT500 M2 I only wrote down half the values feel like a idiot I need help will be appreciated