Depriming Dies

[Tokarev]

I have a gang of brass to process. I have a FART so I like to deprime before I tumble. I bought a Lee Universal depriming die which I hate. The friction lock keeps popping loose and the pin has to be retightened.

I looked around the web and I found a place (Mighty Armory) that makes a fancy universal depriming die , I looked at reviews on youtube and some other sites and it seemed pretty positive. I sent the store owner an email asking which one of his dies he recommended for a 550B. He quickly responded and recommended the Shorty Bull die. The die comes with two removable hardened steel pins and I ordered an extra shaft and a small pin decapper.

I got it in the mail earlier today and put it in my spare toolhead and cranked through a 3 gallon bucket of .38 Special brass. So far it is working really well.

Attachment 64562
Attachment 64563

Why not size your brass while you deprime? You're handling it anyway so why not combine the steps?

I tumble rifle brass for about an hour just to get the range grime off. I then lube them with homemade case lube and size/deprime them. After this they go into the wash to get the lube off. Afterwards I have sized and cleaned brass that's ready to prime and load.

I did the same with pistol brass but quit mostly as a time/convenience thing. I didn't see much benefit, other than cosmetic, to washing pistol brass since there's no lube to wash off.



Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[willie]

When I started reloading a little over 50 years ago, a high volume shooter was a guy who fired 3000-5000 handgun rounds a year. Many used steel, non carbide size dies. Dirty brass tended to imbed sand grains in the steel dies which then scratched brass. I would clean brass by wetting it with charcoal lighter fluid and then rolling it around on a beach towel. Also I would wash it by boiling in hot soapy water. That was too much trouble. Later I bought a tumbler. Depriming first and then using a citric acid bath is one good way to go. But I skimp a bit on technique and use a towel wet with alcohol to clean small batches and don't worry about primer pocket cleaning for some ammo.

[LittleLebowski]

It is.

If I was purchasing a light again I would get the KMS UFO light instead. I don't think it was around when I bought this one.

That’s what I have, the KMS. I’m very happy with it.

[Super77]

No pins. You think the pins are doing an amazing job until you try the Armorall soap and citric acid method and get nearly the same results sans pins.

I should know this, but what is the armorall citric method again?

[LHS]

I should know this, but what is the armorall citric method again?

I too am curious, having had good luck with pins, but hating the cleanup involved.

[mmc45414]

I should know this, but what is the armorall citric method again?

I too am curious, having had good luck with pins, but hating the cleanup involved.

Armorall soap and citric acid

It is so easy a cavemen can do it
Seriously, you get some of the car wash soap that you can get anywhere, including Walmart, and you can buy Lemishine at a grocery store (also works great for cleaning the lime in the dishwasher...) or the bulk LL linked is same-same.
I have never measured how much, you need enough but is probably less than you would think. For the soap you can put some in and start it up and see if you see suds through the clear end of the FART. Probably like only an ounce?
For the citric acid, no more than like a tablespoon, probably a teaspoon is more like it. If they are not shiny like my pictures use a little more, if they start looking pink then use less. Like working up a reload I was start low and work up. ETA: You probably cannot use too much soap, but you can use too much critic acid and discolor them.
I let them run for two hours (they are probably done sooner) and they look like the pictures I posted upthread.

Unless you require the primer pockets to look like new the pins sure create a lot of work. I bought some 9mm cases a while back that were a "bargain" and when I got them they were so nasty I almost didn't use them. Using the pins made them look like they were new and never fired. But other than that you will probably be satisfied with the results of not using them.