sauer14

2 quick questions, one is probably dumb but here goes, how important is case weight? I take care to make sure every thing is exactly the same, case length, exact powder charge, same type of case, same primers but recently measuring the weight of the cases with an electronic scale there is a quite a difference in weights of the individual cases. Should I sort them by weight?
I shoot a production rifle at standard distances,100-200 yards, 30cal does it matter at these ranges?
Now for the dumb question, I prepped a some cases and put the primers in, is it possible to tumble them some more in dry media to get them cleaner or would this ruin the primer?
Thx for any answers guys, I have gleaned a h#ll of a lot of information on this web site.

redgreen

30 what, and how much difference in weight are we talking about. I don't worry about a few grains with my magnum cases. With the 222 I keep them within a couple grains. Yes you will contaminate your primers if you tumble them.

sauer14

30,06 and 308 is what I shoot, some of the cases can be off as much as 1.5 grain. I dunno maybe that is nothing, as far as the cases with the primers in them, thx for the info, I will not tumble them again.

alleyyooper

Don't worry about case weight it is volume that matters unless you want to be a persnicity bench rest shooter then there is a whole bunch of stuff to worry over.
For just hunting you have nothing to worry about.
Tumble the brass long enough after depriming to clean it to start with.

Al

redgreen

Nothing to worry about with that small of a difference. More than acceptable for hunting loads.

Nomercy448

I like to create a "best batch" set of brass within a given lot, but mostly only to make myself feel better, and test how much accuracy I can squeeze out of a given load. So I might pick 10 or 20 out of a given batch that match the best for weight, then volume, then do my final load work-up with that set. Often doesn't make much difference, but it at least makes me feel better.

EDIT: I neglected the 2nd of your questions - You should never tumble after priming, for several reasons. Any time you're tumbling or ultrasonic cleaning, the cases should be empty and de-primed. 1) You miss the opportunity for the tumbling media to clean your primer pocket and flash hole. 2) You can contaminate your priming compound. 3) You might plug your flash hole or stall your anvil with media.

buffybr

Many years ago I sorted the cases for my .30 Gibbs by weight. For general hunting, I found that it was a waste of time. I now only sort my various rifle loads by brand of the cases. This also helps to identify the cartridges if they are loaded with two weights of the same bullet (ie, 168 gr and 180 gr TSX bullets loaded for the same rifle).

I would NEVER tumble clean a primed or loaded cartridge. I think some folks take cleaning too far. Cleaning should be done to take any dirt, etc off the case that would scratch the reloading die or the chamber of your firearm. As long as the cases are clean, a slightly tarnished case will not shoot any better than a shiny case.

Any residual sizing lube can adequately removed by wiping the cases with a clean cloth.

bronko22000

If you saw how cases are made you would think that there is no way they could get their weights as close as they do. Check this out.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...E37326575396C0

Finepoint

When I was young and always in search of the "red line," weighing cases could be important since weight correlates with internal case capacity and therefore to the surface area subject to the pressure of the combusted powder gasses, hence PSI. I am a few decades older and a bit wiser now.
Some brands will consistently weigh more and run higher pressures with a given load, most notable some Remington, PMC and military brass. I weigh them initially and they will sort out nicely at 8-15 grains more than my "benchmark" Winchester and Federal brass (using 308 and 30-06 in this example). I put them in a different pile and work up separate loads for them, usually 1-2 grains less. Interestingly, I've never found a significant variance in any belted magnum cases.
For practice ammo (the standard 30-06 load of 150 gr bullet at 2700FPS using IMR 4895) none of this matters. the pressure variance goes down with pressure, so becomes irrelevant at the GI standard 47-50,000 PSI. Go to 60-63,000 PSI and things can change a lot.

Hummer70

All the above is right about tumbling after you prime cases.

If you want absolutely prestine cases the only way to do it in a hurry is stainless steel pin tumbling in a Thumlers Tumbler Mod B.

Now days a new Thumlers, 5 lbs of pin media and the wash pans and filter screen is going to run about 225.00 range but the good news is the cases can be made to look BETTER THAN NEW and remove absolutely all the carbon and primer residue.

I have two Mod Bs and run 1 oz of Ivory Dish detergent and a 9MM case full Lemishine and 100 308/30.06 size cases at a session. Four hours should make them very fine looking indeed.

http://i.imgur.com/HCLAISBl.jpg

43 Mauser cases as received.


http://i.imgur.com/3gLrlNMl.jpg

43 Mauser cases just removed from Thumlers cleaned with Ivory and Limishine