I accurized my savage 11 in 300wsm and am in the process of working up some loads. I have 120 once fired cartidges that I resized full length die and cut, camfered etc to size. I set my headspace with a once fired resized case and get a no-go on the bolt @ .010 shim. MY question is I do not have a brass tumbler and am wondering does the inside of the used brass really need cleaned. I already worked up 40 shells of various loads and landed on 66.5 gr of R22;with a 178gr Hornady A-max. and Winchester nickel plated brass and Fed#215 primer. Gets me 5shots .75 @100yds.
I want to keep using once fired brass versus new brass due to the bolt face is slightly concave by .004". I didnt notice this till I had the gun reassembled and was micing the brass and then reconfirmed with a guage on the bolt itself.

I'd apreciate any input on the case cleaning issue , or if it even matters to do so.

Thanks

Unless you're wanting absolute control of all possible variables, just the inside neck should be brushed. NOT polished! You want a bit of grab for the neck/bullet junction. In all my years of reloading, never worried excessively about the residue inside the case. After sizing, I will tap the mouth on a wooden block or shelf top to get any loose particles out, but that's it. When they get the occasional tumbling, then the insides are scoured. The cases may get tumbled every 10th firing or so.

Just check the inside of the case to make sure there's nothing in there. Bugs, twigs, pocket lint, etc. If you want to clean the inside of the necks, one pass with a dry barrel brush, no more. If you get the inside of the necks surgically clean, you may run into cold welding, where the case and bullet bond. That will cause pressure spikes you most definitely don't want. New commercial brass has enough surface oxidation from annealing to prevent cold welding.

Bye
Jack

You can use the washing machine to clean brass. Tumbling plated cases takes the plating off. The way I do it is takes a good amount of sized brass, about 50 for rifle, and wrap it in an old towel. Take whatever detergent you use and put it in the towel with the brass. Then use an electrical tie to close up the end of the towel. Wash normally with a full load of towels. The plated brass comes out looking like new. You can let it air until dry or put it in the oven at 225 degrees for 15 mins or so. I really hate wiping case lube so this works for me.

Oh, my goodness. Not even a Jewish Dutchman would aspire to clean the INSIDES of a fired case!!!

Even the most anal of reloaders don't pass beyond cleaning the primer pocket, and many of the fraternity think that's a bit overboard. (I sure as heck do!)

Wipe them if you choose. Tumble them if you must. But for the love of Snickers bars, please refrain from trying to clean the insides of brass cases!

Rocky's Rule #117: Cleanliness is next to godliness - and next to impossible, too!

Shoot 'em. Reload 'em. Shoot 'em again. Clean ammo impresses nobody; itsy-bitsy groups do!

Rocky and kdub and Jack about nailed it. Up til a couple of years ago I never cleaned brass except to wipe it off or spin it in a Lee case trimmer with a little steel wool on the outside for extremely cruddy cases. I've been stuffing them for near 50 years now. I now have a tumbler and tumble clean all the cases that go thru my dies, but there's not one whit of difference in my groups sizes.

Yep,I agree with the other posts.Inside the neck and the outside of case all that needs to be free of crud.That should keep your dies clean

I agree that shiney brass shoots no better than crudy looking brass but if you want an easy, fast way to cut the tarnish off give this a try: I put all my cases in a container that has an water tight lid, pour plain white vinegar over them and a couple of shots of dishwashing liquid, agitate, let sit for 30-60 minutes, agitate again, rinse throughly and then dry. They come out shiney but not super polished looking. You can also speed up the drying process by rolling them around in a large towel and then spreading them out on a large cookie sheet and placing in the oven at 150-200 degrees. This really works well for me since I don't have the patience to wait on a tumbler or the desire to have highly polished brass. BTW this was not my original idea someone posted it on here a long time ago. I think it works well, give it a try and see what you think.

Thanks everyone for the advise. Its the answere I was hoping to here.:D I had posted a time back about noticeable blemishes in my throat area of the factory Savage tube. It seems it doesn't affect accuracy to much.