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April 16th, 2019

Brass Cleaning Options — Tumbling, Ultrasonic, Chemical & More

cartridge brass cleaning tumbler tumbling vibratory Wipe Out

Shiny brass — it may not shoot more accurately, but it does make you feel better about your hand-loaded ammo. While it’s not necessary to get brass “bright and shiny” after every firing, it is a good idea to clean powder residue, grime, and grit off your brass before you run cases into sizing dies. There are many ways to clean cartridge cases. A quick wipe with solvent on a patch may suffice for recently-shot cases. Older brass with baked-on carbon may require lengthy tumbling. Ultrasonic cleaning is another popular option that gets your brass clean inside and out.

Sinclair International has a series of helpful videos on brass cleaning. These short “how-to” videos, hosted by Bill Gravatt, Sinclair’s past President, cover the various processes you can use — tumbling, ultrasonic cleaning, chemical cleaning, and cleaning by hand.

Video ONE — Cleaning Brass in Vibratory or Rotary Tumbler

TIP: Brass that has recently been shot will clean more easily than brass that has been sitting many days or weeks. If your tumbling media is fresh the job should be done in an hour or less. It’s your choice whether to tumble with primers removed or with primers still in the cases. If you choose to tumble with primers out, we suggest you deprime with a depriming die, rather that put dirty brass into your sizing die. Some people like to add a teaspoon of liquid polish to the media. This does work, cutting tumble time, and making your brass more shiny. However, if you add liquid polish, do that BEFORE you add the brass and let the tumbler run for a 15 minutes to get the polish completely mixed into the media. Otherwise you can else up with gooey gunk inside your cases — a very bad thing.

Video TWO — Ultrasonic Case Cleaning

TIP: There are many different types of solutions you can use. Soapy water suffices for some folks, particularly if you add a little Lemi-Shine. The Hornady and Lyman solutions work well, and can be used multiple times, provided you strain the solution to remove dirt and grit after cleaning sessions. Many ultrasonic cleaning machines have timers. Experiment with dwell time to see how long you need to immerse your brass. A very small amount of Ballistol in the solution will help lubricate your necks on the inside. This can make bullet seating go more smoothly, with more consistent neck tension.

Video THREE — Chemical Cleaners (Soaking without Ultrasound)

TIP: After using chemical cleaners, such as the Iosso solution, you need to water-rinse your brass thoroughly. A kitchen strainer helps with this (see video at 0:20). Also, don’t forget your brass in the chemical solution — follow the manufacturers recommendations and don’t exceed the recommended dwell time. Chemical cleaners work surprisingly well to remove grease and grime, and the solution can be re-used multiple times. However, if you want your cases to look bright and shiny (like new brass), you will probably have to tumble. [Editor: A very effective new chemical cleaner is the Brass Monkey product from the makers of Wipe-Out and Carb-Out. Add a teaspoon to a gallon of water then soak your brass for 20-30 minutes. It really works — the cases clean up dramatically].

Video FOUR — Manual Cleaning (By Hand)

TIP: Keep some oversize patches in your range kit. At the end of your shooting sessions, wipe off your fired brass with a patch dampened with a mild, non-corrosive solvent (once again Ballistol works well). Before the carbon sets up on your brass it is very easy to remove. For tougher jobs, you can use 0000 Steel Wool (as Bill recommends in the video). You may find that timely hand-cleaning lets you avoid tumbling altogether — or you may choose to tumble (or ultra-sound) your brass only after a half-dozen or so firings.

Permalink Bullets, Brass, Ammo, Reloading 3 Comments »
April 16th, 2019

Applied Ballistics Spring Seminar — Register Now and Save

Applied Ballistics Snowbird utah spring seminar ELR

The Applied Ballistics 2019 Spring Seminar will be held at Snowbird Resort in Utah on June 1-2, 2019. The Seminar Fee is $625.00. However, now through April 21st you can use Code ABWIRE for $75 off registration. Note — Seminar fees do NOT include lodging! However, through May 4, 2019, attendees can reserve rooms at the Center-Cliff Lodge at the special seminar rate of $145.00 per night plus tax.

CLICK HERE to Register for $550 with Code ABWIRE

Primary speaker Bryan Litz will present material from his books, the Applied Ballistics Lab, and his experience shooting in various disciplines. Additional speakers addressing ballistics and long-range shooting topics will include Nick Vitalbo, Doc Beech, Alan Barnhart, Mitchell Fitzpatrick and other industry experts.

Seminar attendees will receive multiple Applied Ballistics products, all included in the registration fee:
1) Full library of Applied Ballistics Books and DVD set, valued at $275.
2) Applied Ballistics Analytics software, valued at $200.
3) Binder including hand-outs, articles, and worksheets.

Applied Ballistics Snowbird utah spring seminar ELR

Seminar Topics Will Include:

1. Trajectory Buildup – Baseline Trajectory, Gravity Drop, Vacuum Trajectory, and Aerodynamic Drag

2. Trajectory Features – Zeroing, Point Blank Range, Danger Space, and Uphill/Downhill Effects.

3. Sights – Tall Target Test (Sight Scale Factor and Cant), Aperture Sights, Turrets vs. Holding Reticles, and Extreme Adjustment for ELR.

4. Drag Modeling – What is a drag model, how is drag measured, how is a drag model used, and standard drag models.

5. Ballistic Coefficients – What is a BC, G1 and G7, Curve Fitting Challenges (averaged BCs, segmented BCs), and Estimating BCs.

6. Wind – Nature of wind, Mechanism of wind deflection (velocity scaling, lag time, wind deflection), near vs. far wind, wind measurement, terrain and vertical wind, competition Wind strategies, Wind coaching.

7. Basic Stability – Gyroscopic Stability Factor, Twist Rate Effects (muzzle velocity, precision, and BC).

8. Advanced Stability – Gyroscopic vs Dynamic Stability, Limit Cycle Yaw, Twist rate and Stability Effects in Transonic Flight, and Spin Decay.

9. Secondary Effects – Spin Drift, Coriolis, Aerodynamic Jump, Secondary Effects in Ballistic Solvers.

10. ELR Shooting – Transonic effects, Secondary Effects, Critical Nature of (Ranging, MV Measurement, Drag Modeling, Wind), Equipment Currently Being Used and Bullet Selection.

Applied Ballistics Snowbird utah spring seminar ELR

11. WEZ Analysis – What is WEZ, Confidence Environments, Precision (Wind, Range, MV), Accuracy (Sights, Trajectory Modeling, Secondary Effects, Calibration (Trueing)).

12. Ballistic Solvers – Components (Interface, Solver/Simulation, Model), Potential Accuracy, and walk-through of use with technical explanation of inputs.

13. Other Topics – Technology, Laser RangeFinders, Non-Linear Divergence, and Much More.

Permalink Shooting Skills, Tech Tip No Comments »
April 16th, 2019

Get S&W Pistol and AR15 Complete Lower for $379.99

Palmetto State Armory S&W Shield 9mm pistol AR15 AR AR-15 complete lower assembly

With this insanely good deal from Palmetto State Armory, you can get a pistol AND half an AR rifle for just $379.99 with FREE shipping. The deal is for a PSA AR-15 complete lower with Magpul stock PLUS a M&P Shield compact 9mm Pistol. This is an incredible deal. As Ammoland.com notes: “Compare that price [for pistol plus AR lower] to $430.00 for just the S&W M&P Shield 9mm Handgun elsewhere online.”

Smith & Wesson’s M&P Shield is a concealable, striker-fired polymer pistol with 3.1″ barrel. Overall legnth is 6.1 inches and unloaded weight is just 19 ounces. The Double-action-only (DAO) trigger break consistently at about 6.5 pounds.

The PSA AR-15 Complete Lower is the Magpul MOE Edition that features a quick-adjusting Magpul stock. This PSA lower will accept all AR15 magazines, however, no magazines are included. This quality, reliable lower assembly is reviewed in this video:

Permalink News No Comments »