Marathon decapping session pains.

[Sapperforward]

I recently got my wet tumbler up and running so I decided it was time to start cleaning all the brass I've been collecting for the last year or so.

I don't have a reloading setup yet. Just everything to process my brass. I also bought a cheap lee single stage press, shell holder assortment and a universal decapper.

I started decapping over the weekend. So far I've got about 1 five gallon bucket of .45, one of .40 and 2 five gallon buckets of 9mm decapped. My hands are fried. I can't make a fist with my right hands and my palm is kind of swollen. My left hand is stiff and sore. My lower back is screaming from sitting in a chair for hours on end and my head hurts from the sound of my tumbler going just behind me.

The more I write the more I feel like I'm doing a parody thread of that lib reporter who claimed ptsd and injuries after shooting an ar15.

Anyway I think I'm off the brass for a while. I can't pull that lever anymore with my right hand. Too much of anything can be a bad thing I guess.

I need to figure out a way to streamline decapping of bulk brass.

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[orangeusa]

Decapping is part of the Lee Sizing die. If decapping is tiring you out wait till you do sizing. For pistol 44 cal, 45 ACP, 45C.. it's HARD - works better with a lube.

Tumble, remove primer and resize on the press. MANUALLY install primers. THEN you are GTG with the rest of the operation.

Wait, are you decapping off the press with that goofy rod that Lee sells?


.

[Chapped Hide]

Dillon works the same way, de cap and resize with the same die. No reason to de cap pistol rounds before tumbling.

[SonofWWIIDI]

Small batches, in 1 hour or less increments. Rest for an hour, walk, mow the lawn, bang the wife ( ), anything that puts you in a different position using different muscles. Rinse, repeat.

And, it sucks to get old.

[orangeusa]

Dillon works the same way, de cap and resize with the same die. No reason to de cap pistol rounds before tumbling.

Yeah, I should have said ANY pistol sizing die (that I know of). Good point.

[ARog]

I do my reloading in half hour / hour chunks. I have 5 gallons buckets of sorted brass but I will only decap and work on 200 to 300 rounds at a time. Decap then tumble. Then at another time come back and resize and reload them. Don't feel like you have to do it all at one go. Find out what works for you. If something is causing you discomfort, stop and come back in a few hours or a few days. Just my 2 cents. Cheers.

[Citadelgrad87]

Yep. You can eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Pick a time rather than a quantity. Steady work for an hour, maybe twice Saturday and Sunday, and soon the output pile will be bigger than what you have left to do.

The worst thing is to make it into dread because you get sore every time you reload.

[ARog]

On my friends recommendation I decap pistol rounds before dry tumbling. It's a pain in the butt but his reasoning is the spent primer contains lead, that gets mixed with the tumbling media, and when then when sorting the brass from the media that fine dust / particulate contains traces of lead, that gets everywhere. So by decaping first then tumbling you are cutting the chances of lead coming in contact with your dry media. Don't know if it's that much of an issue but it's worth noting.

Dillon works the same way, de cap and resize with the same die. No reason to de cap pistol rounds before tumbling.

[Sapperforward]

I plan on decapping all my brass before I tumble in the wet tumbler. My understanding was this was normal procedure for wet tumbling.

I will have a Dillon 650 in about two months with all the bells and whistles. From my reading though it sounded like most people like to decap before they ran it through their progresive reloaders to keep their reloading dies nice and clean. Maybe I misunderstood the intent or execution.

From this point on im just going to set a goal of maybe a gallon and a half or so bucket of brass every day for the next couple weeks till I can get it done. I kind of just locked myself into it over the last couple days because I wanted to start by putting a dent in the pile and because I only just got the little lee single stage Friday night and was chomping at the bit to give it a whirl.

[SixPointEight]

How the hell are you decapping? Using a dentist pick and prying them out?

Do yourself a favor, buy a universal decapping die and either a lee hand press or the c press. Both are very cheap. Use one of those for your depriming and cleaning process

[SixPointEight]

On my friends recommendation I decap pistol rounds before dry tumbling. It's a pain in the butt but his reasoning is the spent primer contains lead, that gets mixed with the tumbling media, and when then when sorting the brass from the media that fine dust / particulate contains traces of lead, that gets everywhere. So by decaping first then tumbling you are cutting the chances of lead coming in contact with your dry media. Don't know if it's that much of an issue but it's worth noting.

You know all that black crap in the primer pocket after removing the primer still contains lead? I'd venture that you're adding more lead dust to your tumbling media by doing things this way

[ARog]

Well, I guess the only other plus is a clean primer pocket if anything...

You know all that black crap in the primer pocket after removing the primer still contains lead? I'd venture that you're adding more lead dust to your tumbling media by doing things this way

['ol shooter]

I use this, the Harvey tool.

I sit in my comfy chair watching TV as I decap. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, and the tool is easy on the hands once you get the hang of it.
I added caliber specific case guides that fit on the RCBS flash hole de-burrer, since the shaft diameter is the same as the tool. I file and sand them down a little so the case slides on more easily.

Together, they fit like this:

Been using it for a couple years now, really like it.

[Whiterabbit]

How the hell are you decapping? Using a dentist pick and prying them out?

Do yourself a favor, buy a universal decapping die and either a lee hand press or the c press. Both are very cheap. Use one of those for your depriming and cleaning process

Almost.

Buy the universal decap and a Lee pro 1000 and outfit it with a case collator and case feeder.

That solves the left hand problems. Nothing you can do about the right within a reasonable budget.

Pro tip though, put a couple extra bucks in and get the load master, and you can set up extra plates for 45, 40, and 9mm easily, and have all the progressiveness you need for a very reaosnable price.

Or do it cheap with the pro1000 and just decap, that's good too.

[Sapperforward]

How the hell are you decapping? Using a dentist pick and prying them out?

Do yourself a favor, buy a universal decapping die and either a lee hand press or the c press. Both are very cheap. Use one of those for your depriming and cleaning process

That's what I'm using at the moment. It's slow going though.



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