Deburring flash holes

[schreyer]

Good morning!

I have a question about the flash holes in the cases that I've been prepping for reloading. The brands that I used for brass are Federal and Hornady.

My question is to who here has experience with deburring the flash holes and finding if it makes a difference or not? I ordered a Lyman universal flash hole deburring tool so its on its way.

Just wondering if it makes a difference to deburr the flash holes or not?

Thanks in advance.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by schreyer

Good morning!

I have a question about the flash holes in the cases that I've been prepping for reloading. The brands that I used for brass are Federal and Hornady.

My question is to who here has experience with deburring the flash holes and finding if it makes a difference or not? I ordered a Lyman universal flash hole deburring tool so its on its way.

Just wondering if it makes a difference to deburr the flash holes or not?

Thanks in advance.

If I am not using Lapua brass for my match rifles I generally uniform and sort brass .
I don't seriously hand load anything but Lapua these days unless I need to .
Cat

[Fitscottn]

I’ve always just brushed them clean if there is still some gunk after a round or two through a sonic cleaner.

No issues for me in the last 6-7 years, but I certainly don’t shoot a high volume compared to some.

All my brass is reused from factory (federal/Hornady) as I am not nearly skilled enough/do any substantial long range to pay for the premium ammunition.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Fitscottn

I’ve always just brushed them clean if there is still some gunk after a round or two through a sonic cleaner.

No issues for me in the last 6-7 years, but I certainly don’t shoot a high volume compared to some.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cleaning is not the same as deburring however .
Deburring is normally done once when initially prepping brass, whereas cleaning happens on a regular basis.
Cat

[Dean2]

Some brass like Lapua, the flash holes are drilled, they don't usually need deburring. Most however are punched, and deburring helps. Once you have done a few and seen how much brass comes out you will understand why it helps. The tool costs maybe 15 bucks and a little time to use. You only need to do it once. I have seen brass where the flash hole is nearly blocked off from left over brass. Uniform ignition makes a big difference, people will spend hours trying different primers to that end.

[1100winger]

Originally Posted by schreyer

Good morning!

I have a question about the flash holes in the cases that I've been prepping for reloading. The brands that I used for brass are Federal and Hornady.

My question is to who here has experience with deburring the flash holes and finding if it makes a difference or not? I ordered a Lyman universal flash hole deburring tool so its on its way.

Just wondering if it makes a difference to deburr the flash holes or not?

Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure, but I do it to all my brass when I first buy it. Anything to consistently provide ignition has to be good. right??!!

[Dick284]

I do most of my brass, some brands have perpetually horrible burrs inside the cases, so I’d say anything done to uniform and remove variables has to be of some benefit.

[DLab]

I do, but with a tool that indexes on the inside web to correct the flash hole if needed and remove any burr that may have formed on the top of the web, which uniforms the area surrounding the flash hole at the same time.

http://www.xxicsi.com/flash-hole-debur-tool.html
This one.

[schreyer]

Thanks for the input! Very much appreciated guys.

[Au revoir, Gopher]

Yes, I debur. Sometimes I see lots of brass bits fall out, sometimes I see none. Does it help? Damned if I know, but it is a one time operation and it makes me feel better

ARG

[WinFwt]

Flash hole deburr all my brass during the initial case prep. Part of the routine I've gotten into over the years. Do it once and don't think about it again.

Can't say if it helps, but sure can't hurt given the amount of shavings I've seen come out of some of the cases.

[NW Tradegunner]

I just deburred about 120 cases (Winchester - once fired) in 45/70 and about half of them had good size burrs on the insides. It took a bit of effort to clear them off! The rest of them were pretty easy to put that slight chamfer on with a couple twists.

[aardvaark]

I read it in one of my reloading books several years ago that deburring is a must, unless, like Kat said the flash holes are already drilled. And it went on to say that with regular quality brass, this can be your single biggest step towards accuracy and consistency improvement.
If you look at them from the neck end when the brass is shiny and new, you’ll see that there’s burrs leaning over the hole. Those burrs deflect the primer flash to one side or into different directions, resulting in inconsistent ignition of your powder. Which causes inconsistent groups down range.
So I always do it unless I’m using premium brass, then it’s already done. I’ve found that nosler brass has good primer holes, whether they are punched or drilled I’m not sure. But I always check them first and very little if anything ever needs to be done to them.