Decapping

[1Shooter]

Who decaps before tumbling? Who decaps AFTER tumbling? Why?

[lyonch]

I tumble, then decap, then tumble again to get the lube off. The main reason i tumble before i decap is to get some of the residue out of the kneck of the case and anything that might have gotten on the case off as well; so it doesn't scratch or affect the dies too much.

[xdeano]

i tumble then decap.

Reasons,
1.tumbling will clean the necks/brass before running it through a FL sizing die.
2.If you decap first you'll be resizing then tumble, you may have some dinged up necks when you get them out, inconsistency.
3.decap first and you'll end up with media stuck in the primer hole. pain in the ass to get out.

So i tumble first then decap, then clean out your primer pockets, cut for length, chamfer the necks, prime, powder and seat and you'll be good to go.

xdeano

[Tim Anderson]

I resize then tumble to get the lube off and clean the brass. I clean the holes out with either a dental pick or -O-ring pick..

[Optimax90]

I tumble, then decap, then tumble again to get the lube off. The main reason i tumble before i decap is to get some of the residue out of the kneck of the case and anything that might have gotten on the case off as well; so it doesn't scratch or affect the dies too much.

Started doing this last year after you made the same post chris, works great.....

[leadbiscuit]

I resize then tumble. My tumbler is out in my shop so I just use compressed air to blow out the flash holes. I've never had any problems with scratching my dies but that might change with time.

[Tim Anderson]

I used to do it the way some of you do it but had some cleaning media hang up inside a case and cause me to bend my decapping rod or break the decapping pin... I know if I changed the cleaning media more often this would'nt be a problem but at times its difficult to tell when it should be changed so I just decap first then clean off the sizeing lube and don't care if the cases are shinny or not...

[Coyotehunter]

I don't tumble anything anymore. Not to say I wouldn't, if I felt the need but for most of the time for me it is just an extra step.

[Tikka09]

Most of my stuff is neck sized only. First is cleaning the outside neck with one or two turns of a scotch brite pad. Next is the inside of the neck which is cleaned in about two seconds with a bore brush mounted in electric motor. I put them all in the loading block for a shot of Hornady's One Shot and I'm ready to resize/decap. with no need to de-lube only pocket cleaning. I suppose it's more labor but I don't trust tumbling to get the inside of necks sufficiently clean and I can usually get them ready in less time then waiting on the tumbler. Besides, I enjoy the solitude of my man cave. Don't we all ???

[Coyotehunter]

I just got tired of all the mess.........they do look good when your done though.