Worriedman

I have been running the SS media for several years now. My suggestion is to fill the tumbler to within an inch of the top when loading with water. I start with hot water too, seems to work better. I also have better results with Ivory dishwashing liquid than others. I built a larger drive unit, but still use the Thumler's drum, as the weight of the larger unit I constructed is considerable, and the smaller Thumler's drum is more user friendly. I reload a lot, and would not ever go back to vibratory cleaners, this method just cleans too well to not spend the extra time.

If one is going to load a lot of .223 and .308, it is nearly a necessity. That and an annealing machine.

Big fan of the "S" dies here. Lets you change up the grip needed to hold bullets with varying brass.

I load 43.5 gr. 748, CCI BR primers, 168 gr. Sierra Game King Bullets, light FC as a finish. Works really well for me.

Being patient, I have purchased enough mags so that I should never have a problem. Having run all of them, I am satisfied that there are no issues with the Armalite mags, at least the ones I own.

Did not have a .308, always wanted one. After working up a couple of rifles on the semi platform in 5.56 and .204 that are insanely accurate, decided that I could satisfy the .308 craving in a rifle I was basically familiar with. Being an add on junkie, I have changed out the parts and pieces on my Armalite till I have what I want. It is not a light weapon, but it sure is accurate, and it gives me several advantages over a bolt action, in my mind anyway. As a handloader, it is a dream to work with. I simplify when I can, settled on the 165 gr. Gameking Sierra, now if they would just make more of them...

Not being a fan of two stage triggers, I ordered and installed a JP Enterprises Fire Control System w/speed hammer. Wish the weather was more conducive to shooting this afternoon, I would love to try it out and see how it functions.

Careful, they start out all neat and organized, but this is what happened to mine:

Let us know how well that works. If dry media works as well as the liquid solution, it would remove a step.

I can save you the trouble of the attempt in a vibratory cleaner with the SS pins, you will notice no difference than with standard media, except that you will score the interior of your cleaner.

Have no clue, as I have never tried it by itself. The soap is necessary as a medium to "hold' the carbon that is "brushed" off the brass. The Lemishine aids in "softening" my hard water and aids in holding capacity of the solution. I personally do not see the difference in the "steps" between a vibratory cleaner and a tumbler. You put the brass in a media, be it liquid or dry, you have a certain run time, then you separate the brass from the media. I guess drying IS an extra step, but the difference in quality is worth the extra time, to me any way. I uniform the primer pockets, and ream the flash holes of every piece of brass I load. That is anal. The brass cleaning is just a little eccentric.

For one thing, I can not get the same results using the LemiShine and standard tumbling media. It takes an aqueous solution for the LemiShine to work at all. The SS pins will last forever, and they clean far better than a vibratory cleaner will, or can. I was not trying to insinuate that this system is the only way to clean brass, but, if you are running a large number of cases, it will give the best results with the least amount of expended labor. No corncob stuck in the primer holes either, as well as no dust. Like you, I like my brass clean when it hits my dies, and I like the baked on primer residue really gone. Simply offering the benefit of experience.

To bring back an older thread. I have been fighting case cleaning for a lot of years. A friend of mine turned me on to this system, and it generates the best, cleanest brass, inside and out, that I have ever been able to produce. I am in no way affilitated with the gentleman that sells the stainless steel pins, actually purchsed my first batch of media from my friend when this guy was just getting started. Big pluses are, that there is no hardenend primer residue going down the barrel ever again, primer pockets are immaculate, and the inside of the case is as clean as the outside. Here is a link to the site where it is all explained, and where you can get the media. Stuff never wears out. http://stainlesstumblingmedia.com/ A small batch of multifired .243's run with this sytem.

I wanted to use the Burris Zee Signature rings, I have a great deal of like and respect for them. You can pre-zero the scope, and they impart no stress, and they will never leave a mark on the tubes.

Redding Full Length Type S dies allow you to swap out bushings for the neck portion of the resize operation. If you are like me, I use several different brands of brass, and the Redding lets me custom fit the die to various neck wall thicknesses. Worth every penny of the price for my use. I picked up 1000 pc.s of LC then came upon 1000 pc.s of Hornady TAP once fired. My Dillon dies worked fine on the LC brass, but did not constrict the neck of the Hornady enough to hold the bullets securely. The Redding allowed me to change out the bushing and use the TAP brass.