Clean The Inside Of Case Necks ?

A

abintx

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Do the majority of benchrest competitors clean the inside of case necks prior to reloading ??? Is it or is it not necessary ??? Thanks. Art
 
It sure can't hurt and may help insure more equal neck tension. When it comes to cases, clean is betten than not clean. Besides it gives you something to do in those long breaks between relays.
Bob
 
I use some

0000 steel wool wrapped around a 22 cal brush. Spin the brush with your fingers as you push it into the neck and remove it. I then use canned compressed air and give it a short burst into the case to blow the crud out.


Calvin
 
I spin a worn out brush wrapped with 0000 steel wool at low speed with a cordless screwdriver. It is no more aggressive than doing it by hand & a lot less painful on the fingers. I tried to use an old yankee screwdriver for a time, but didn't have quite enough hands.
 
Cleaning Necks

I just run a nylon brush in and out a couple of times. takes about one minute. Doen't hurt anything, but I really can't say that it helps anything either........jackie
 
abintx said:
Do the majority of benchrest competitors clean the inside of case necks prior to reloading ??? Is it or is it not necessary ??? Thanks. Art
Click to expand...

This is a question that comes up from time to time and I always feel obligated to tell others what I have found.

This is one of those things that falls into the category of:

"If it makes you feel better by all means go ahead and waste your time, but the truth is, it won't make any difference at all."

When I first started shooting benchrest over twenty years ago, I was one of those who cleaned after every group, brushed out case necks after every firing, cleaned primer pockets each time, etc., etc. Of course, that was one of the reasons Cecil Tucker started calling me 'Grandpa.' Seems that I was always the last shooter to the line at our club matches. Thru the years, I have identified those things that do nothing but waste time and have eliminated them from my routine.

With a ball mike, measure the case necks after ten or twelve firings and see for yourself whether or not fouling 'builds up.' It does not. If anything the little bit of soot left in the neck ID provides a bit of lubricant to help seat the bullets.

FWIW

Gene Beggs
 
I agree with all of that Gene

i only mention the annealing because it may be a way to get more people doing it. There is nothing like seating bullets in freshly annealed necks.
 
I think it depends on the load you are using.

In a weaker actioned 6PPC I shot a mild load with Benchmark. I don't normally clean inside the case necks (or outside for that matter) but with this load it was needed. After a few firings the carbon would build up a little and a very obvious increase in seating force was noticed. Some rounds would actually make an audible squark/screech as the bullet was seated. I guess some bullets pushed the carbon off while others seated with the carbon between the bullet and case neck. That would seem likely to mess up the tension on the bullet.

I can't say for sure if the hurt accuracy at a bench rest level but it certainly didn't seem like the right way to load ! I started brusing the necks with a nice stiff new 6mm bronze brush spun in an electric drill, problem solved.

In a stronger actioned rifle I use an upper window load of N133 that creates very little carbon fouling. I have some brass that has been loaded around 25 - 30 times with no inside neck cleaning and there is no sign of any carbon in the neck to clean out.

If you have the time and inclination it sure can't hurt but unless the load is a bad carbon fouler it probably won't help anything except your peace of mind.

Bryce
 
Gene ...

At a CTBRSA match held this last weekend, at Mr. Dietz's range, Frank Wilson told me pretty much the same thing you and Jackie had to say. For the record, What is your "no wasted time routine" these days ??? When it comes to prepping brass what do you consider absolutely necessary ??? Thanks, Art
 
I use Never Dull to clean the outside of the necks, then use the same piece and wrap it on an undersize brush and clean the inside of the necks. To me, seating a bullet is much smoother and better feel, but it's probably a "feel good" thing that makes no difference.
 
abintx said:
At a CTBRSA match held this last weekend, at Mr. Dietz's range, Frank Wilson told me pretty much the same thing you and Jackie had to say. For the record, What is your "no wasted time routine" these days ??? When it comes to prepping brass what do you consider absolutely necessary ??? Thanks, Art
Click to expand...

Prepping brass for the 220 Beggs .257 neck? None

220 Beggs tight neck? One pass in the lathe with the Pumpkin neck turner.

6mm Beggs no-turn, .274 neck? Expand up with 6mm mandrel.

6mm Beggs tight neck? One pass in the lathe with Pumpkin neck turner.

That's it! I don't even deburr the flash holes unless I'm prepping for a customer, then I use a Sinclair .063 tool because I know the small flash holes of the Lapua 220 Russian case will not accept most decapping pins. The decapping pins that come with the custom, Hornady 220/6mm Beggs dies are .055 diameter and will work perfectly with the cases just as they come from the box. Once in a while I'll use a WhiteTail carbide primer pocket tool, but it doesn't bother me to load several times without cleaning the pockets. The only thing to watch for is to be sure your primers seat completely and that the primer cup winds up slightly below the level of the case head.

After several firings, I trim the set of cases to the same overall length based on the shortest case. After that, I have never had to trim cases with either of my cartridges.

Gene Beggs
 
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