Do clean primer pockets matter

[Marco Califo]

I think the only reason to clean Primer pockets is because they hold Primer residue, which contains ground glass and lead residue, that is toxic.
Removing toxic compounds from a home hobby is all the reason I need. I think that is rather important, to decontaminate once fired brass in my home.
But I do not care whether you do or not.

[rclark]

to decontaminate once

Seeing you are in California I understand your concern... Up here, washing hands is sufficient after a loading session (or shooting session) . Ha!

[44 AMP]

Clean primer pockets don't matter, until they do.

Who decides that? You do. If you never clean them and never have any problems then it doesn't matter. IF you don't clean them, have problems and cleaning them solves the problem, then I'd say it does matter.

I've never had any issues, and since I do clean them as a matter of course, its not a relevant matter for me.

[kilotanker22]

If I am metering charges I can load 100 per hour as well. When I am weighing every charge and doing brass prep, there is no way I could do 100 rounds an hour. Of course I clean, size, clean, clean pockets, trim every loading, debur and chamfer, seat primer, weigh powder and seat bullet. Weighing and trickling powder takes up a considerable amount of time.

[kilotanker22]

I apologize, my last comment was meant to be a reply to post #21 by MarkCO.
I forgot to hit the quote button.

[Marco Califo]

Ignorance is bliss.

Seeing you are in California I understand your concern... Up here, washing hands is sufficient after a loading session (or shooting session) . Ha!

https://thefiringline.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=526424

[44 AMP]

It appears I am blessed (or cursed) with a different sense of the value of my time than many people here. I've been reloading since the early 70s and never once in my life has it been any concern of mine how many rounds I produced in an hour (or any set time period).

For me, the task has always been to produce X number of rounds correctly, and to the best of my ability, and the time need was what ever it took to do that.

Everyone has different priorities, mine are mine alone.

I clean my primer pockets by hand with a twist tool, if that means it takes me 5 minutes more to load a batch of ammo than it takes you, it is of no concern to me.

[rclark]

Ignorance is bliss.

Lets just call it practical/'common sense' instead of tin-foil hat paranoia when it comes to the toxicity of lead . Way over blown. Mercury on the other hand is a little different ... even though dad did let a drop roll it around in our hands at least once as kids when we got to talk about gold and silver mining and extraction of such.... We are still alive today... So it goes. And by the way, I did take chemistry and in high school and in college where we learned all kinds of things about the nature of the elements and how to properly handle them .

[Marco Califo]

Yeah, Roman's invented lead plumbing. We used to put lead in gasoline and paint. Let me buy you a shot of Malathion, with a DDT twist.

[44 AMP]

"EVERYTHING IS POISON WHAT VARIES IS THE DOSAGE"

A very old quote but still true nonetheless.

However, fear of toxicity has reached hysterical levels about some things.

I fault no one for being prudent but banning lead because it is lead is past prudent and into hysteria.

Restricting or banning ATVs because they have lead in their paint and lead acid batteries has been proposed (not sure if it actually passed anywhere)

Are children going to eat the paint off an ATV?? Unlikely, I think.

Lots of things are regulated to some degree, but its not consistent and not always smart. Silica dust is a listed hazardous material, but only if your workplace buys it for use. Silica dust that blows in off the desert is not.

Table salt is composed of hazardous chemicals, but is not a listed chemical hazard in the workplace, its a "food". (it may be a "health hazard" but that is a different list )

Even water is hazardous under certain conditions.

No, I don't lick my fingers after cleaning primer pockets, why go looking for trouble??

[Recycled bullet]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

"EVERYTHING IS POISON WHAT VARIES IS THE DOSAGE"



A very old quote but still true nonetheless.



However, fear of toxicity has reached hysterical levels about some things.



I fault no one for being prudent but banning lead because it is lead is past prudent and into hysteria.



Restricting or banning ATVs because they have lead in their paint and lead acid batteries has been proposed (not sure if it actually passed anywhere)



Are children going to eat the paint off an ATV?? Unlikely, I think.



Lots of things are regulated to some degree, but its not consistent and not always smart. Silica dust is a listed hazardous material, but only if your workplace buys it for use. Silica dust that blows in off the desert is not.



Table salt is composed of hazardous chemicals, but is not a listed chemical hazard in the workplace, its a "food". (it may be a "health hazard" but that is a different list )



Even water is hazardous under certain conditions.



No, I don't lick my fingers after cleaning primer pockets, why go looking for trouble??

IF and WHEN I see "FEAR" being given as the excuse to write bad legislation, then for some reason my heart wants to go looking in the simplest direction and an easy explanation.

Who is selling the legally mandated alternative?

[44 AMP]

As I see it, "fear" can be a valid reason to create legislation, under certain circumstances, but there is no reason to write bad legislation other than ignorance, laziness, incompetence or the desire for someone specific to profit from it.

so, yes, "follow the money" is something to be concerned about with ALL seemingly needless regulations or indeed, all regulation in general.

[RC20]

You can actually drink too much water and kill yourself.

It appears I am blessed (or cursed) with a different sense of the value of my time than many people here. I've been reloading since the early 70s and never once in my life has it been any concern of mine how many rounds I produced in an hour (or any set time period).

For me, the task has always been to produce X number of rounds correctly, and to the best of my ability, and the time need was what ever it took to do that.

Everyone has different priorities, mine are mine alone.

I clean my primer pockets by hand with a twist tool, if that means it takes me 5 minutes more to load a batch of ammo than it takes you, it is of no concern to me.

Agreed I don't process re-loads based on time though sometimes I move up the pace to get some done when I am ready to go shooting and the day is right for whatever reasons and I did not get in gear soon enough.

So as noted, less what others think though there is a certain pride in the comradery of the shooters that appreciate well done re-loads (and the shiny part is a visible representation of it though it certainly is not required for quality reloads.

I have never been able to tone myself down to not doing my best though at times time is an issue and you have to do your best in the time you have (and more than one crisis so it was whatever works now to breath latter)

But I certainly like the looks of shiny brass and am willing to go to some lengths to have what tickles my fancy without condemning those who do not have it as a level of process for reloads.

I like I am respected at the gun range and others are willing to ask question because they perceive I am knowledgeable.

but like a lot of things, there are many aspects to that and shiny brass is one that might do that and those who are less knowledgeable may benefit from that as an indicator.

I put my brother above me as meticulous, so its not just the shiny part but all he puts into it.

I had one guy who knew metal work and appreciated my home made base for my Labradar, crude as it was (he was deep into metal work) he appreciated the tickle factor to take a plate and turn it into a base and how I managed the 1/4 inch threaded part (free turning 1/4 inch bolt by cleaning the upper threads off).

Pretty crude all in all (or to look at it) but functionally beautifully done. In that case it tickled my funny bone to not have to pay for the short trip pod for it.

Its an interesting area as there are more than one good way to create quality reloads. Attention to the right details is the key. Now, if someone could just come up with a list of the right details and what percentage those have on the re-loads!

[44 AMP]

Now, if someone could just come up with a list of the right details and what percentage those have on the re-loads!

There are lists. LOTS AND LOTS of lists. Trouble is deciding what is "right details" and how much, if any they matter. Basic list of "right details" is found in every reloading manual. Beyond that, things diverge rapidly with different people's opinions.

people have different opinions about everything, some folks consider their wants to be basic needs, and some recognize there is a difference between them.

I actually loaded ammo for nearly a decade before ever getting a tumbler. Any cleaning or polishing done was done by hand with some 000 steel wool. Nothing but new bullets and primers were bright and shiny, brass was clean, but dull and even stained, but it WORKED just fine.

You don't need shiny mirror finish polish, but you want it, I get that. It is lovely to look at. To paraphrase an old saying, "beauty is skin deep, functionality goes to the bone".

If you're willing to put in the effort, you can have both. Just remember its a want, not a need thing.

Which brings us back to cleaning primer pockets. I do it, every load cycle because its obvious that if you never do it, you might get enough ash/crud build up over time to create a problem with seating or ignition. While there are many, many things in my life I don't fix until there is a problem, with ammo, I do the PM steps so there won't be the problem.

For me, its quick, easy, and painless. I was very impressed in my youth by something Capstick wrote, which I found quite apt.
"the most terrifying thing one can hear is not the crash of a shell or the blast of a bomb but the sound of "click" when you expect "bang" ! (or words to that effect)

If a couple twists of my wrist keep that from being a possibility, I consider it effort well spent.

[RC20]

No disagreement about sorting out need to from like it that way. I worked mechanical/electrical for 35 years (got to it later in life) and I always made sure to separate out how I liked to do things vs you have to do it this way.

So the shiny brass is a like. I reloaded a lot of pistol ammo with just the basics and did fine. I got good enough I aced a Practical Police Course (I forget if I was 3rd or 4th in the Instructors group but it was up there which had them dropping their jaws)

I had some serious advantages, shooting a 41 mag N frame and they had 357 N frame and the ammo was 39 wadcutters. It was like shooting a 22 and my reloads were accurate enough I could shoot 1.5 inch groups at 25 yards (sure can't do that now). Their armorer and my eye were the same and the target was bigger.

But what else do you do after work in the wilds of AK but re-size and clean up by hand cases? I did have a scale so the powder load was accurate.

[akinswi]

I stopped running my new brass thru the resizing die. I just make sure they fit in the case gauge. I actually stopped trimming them too. I sat down one evening and sampled 100 cases from the same lot the shoulder bump and the case length were no more than 2 thousandths difference.

I just size the necks with a Mandrel type die. My best groups and scores came from doing this so I didnt mess with it.

There is nothing like Handloading Virgin Brass, If I could afford to only Handload I would

[44 AMP]

I stopped running my new brass thru the resizing die.

If that works for you that's fine. I still run virgin brass through my sizers, I consider it the first step in its loading life and it ensures uniformity.

Most virgin brass is perfect and ready to go, but sometimes, its not all that way.

Loose packed large caliber cases such as .45-70 are particularly susceptible to dented /out of round case mouths. Smaller round and bottle neck cases much less so, but it still happens from time to time.

back in the 70s new brass came in the same kind of packing loaded ammo did. Packed the same way, Rifle brass had individual compartments for each case, Rem pistol brass came in the styrofom trays, Win pistol was packed tight in the box alternating base up, base down. Nearly impossible to damage during shipping.

Today (and for the last few decades the brass comes in plastic bags. Certainly cheaper for the maker, but more prone to shipping and handling damage, so visual inspection prior to anything else is prudent, these days.

[darkgael]

Cleaning primer pockets?
Life is too short.