Sonic Cleaner
So, I decided to go against the likely good advice from my friend @Galenkp. I asked for advice on either buying a sonic cleaner vs. a dry media tumbler. I received good clear advice from him and a few others to go with a dry media tumbler. His claim and others was that the dry media does a better job cleaning spent brass that the sonic cleaners did.
Well, I ended up with this:
I decided against the dry media tumbler and went with the sonic for a few reasons:
- I really wanted the additional functionality to clean other things, rings, other weapon parts, garage stuff, etc. The sonic cleaner just seemed more versatile.
- I wanted the ability to clean larger objects, not just brass.
- The sonic seems to work much faster, working in 10-30min instead of hours.
- I hate manually brushing out primer pockets on brass.
- I just really can't get my engineering head to accept that dry media can get into those primer pockets and inside the brass as well as tiny sonic bubbles and water/cleaning solution.
- I just wanted to see if I could prove @Galenkp wrong. (I guess we'll see on that one).
This was not the cheapest sonic cleaner by any means, probably one of the higher end personal ones, but less than the commercial ones.
As you can see, my primer pockets are a bit nasty. Here is some .338 Lapua Magnum brass. These have been shot twice, once from the Hornady factory load and a second time from my custom reload recipe. The primer pocket was brushed out manually with a wire brush after the first shooting, but I have to admit not cleaned very well.
Next is the Brass itself. This is the same brass as shown in the primer pocket view above, just after full-length resizing and primer removal. Yuk.
I've never been one to clean or shine my brass after reloading before. Maybe I'm just lazy, but never really had the tools for it before either. I've heard some folks swear that the cleaner cases have improved their accuracy. That held some interest for me, I guess we'll see soon enough. I've got 40 rounds in the cleaner now, and will take a look at them tomorrow to see how they come out.
Of course, I was wincing just a bit when it says on the first page of the manual "The primary function of the Lock-n-Load Sonic cleaner is to chemically and mechanically clean a variety of items. It may or may not produce "shiny" brass. To create bright and polished brass, we recommend using the Hornady Case Tumbler." Lol, @Galenkp, the bet is leaning your way!
I'm not looking for as bright and shiny, the versatility is really what I was looking for.
Check back in a few days and we'll see how well it cleaned the brass. Then I'm sure I can find a really dirty slide, spring and barrel to drop in.
Enjoy!
@ksteem
I hope it works out for you K. As I said, I have both and my sonic sits there largely unused except for rings and gun parts occasionally
Just to clarify, the Rebel 17 isn't dry...It uses a mix of water, detergent and lemi-shine together with the small stainless pins. I can assure you it they get nto the primer pockets and inside the case.
Still, your point about cleaning other parts in the sonic is a sound one. I'm interested to see the results. If it does what you need it to then it doesn't matter what other people use. ☺️
Tag me on the follow up...don't capitalise the G. 😊
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Well, that is a great clarification. I was under the assumption that dry tumblers were truly dry. I had no idea that folks actually mixed water and other liquid in with it! That actually makes me feel better. I have to admit I was a little hesitant to put the brass into a cleaning solution / water mix, and then rinse it with the hose later... I suppose the key is making sure to dry very effectively and the quicker the better. I know some folks use ovens or even special brass dryers. Don't think I'll go that far, a good rag wiping while inspecting and maybe a blow dryer or compressed air before giving them a good time to dry is likely all I'll have patience for.
I use a $35 food dehydrator, like in my post.
Suomi mainittu! Kjehkjeh, I can’t translate that to English but it’s about Finnish people always getting super excited when even Finland is mentioned anywhere else in the world. Lapua is in Finland so that’s enough reason to be proud 😂
Even though the round itself was invented by a U.S company, Research Armament Industries (RAI), Nammo Lapua Oy in Finland was the first true mass producer of the round as we know it today. Congrats Finland! And Thank You for my all-time favorite rifle round!
You learn something new every day! Finland sends her regards.
Okay... complete gun dunce here... why do you need to clean the spent cartridges so well (you mention possibly accuracy, but are there other reasons... such as safety)? I guess you are repacking them to reuse... but why is important that they are really well cleaned, and not just a simply wipe down?
Well I used to do exactly that, just a good wipe down before reloading. Although would normally have to use a tiny wire brush to brush out the carbon residue from the primer pocket. Without cleaning, the residue is often heavy enough to prevent a replacement primer from even fitting back in properly. Even a little residue could cause minor differences in how the powder is ignited, resulting in different points of impact. Not really an issue for pistol distances, but think how much those minor differences are magnified at long distance. What may be only an eighth or quarter of an inch difference at 100 yards now becomes several inches at 1,000 yards or beyond.
Sounds like guns are as hot and dirty as car engines. My lawnmower got stuck. So, I had to put more oil in it, for example. Now, I say that to say that engines, machines, and now, even guns, can get clogged up like an old heart artery. So, I've not got around to learning how to hunt yet, but I am beginning to understand some of it. So, I just never really thought about this before, well, until now.
Welcome to the club! Yes, like other machines, firearms get dirty, need to be oiled cleaned and maintained to continue functioning properly. Not everyone goes to the level of handloading, but just like some mechanics enjoy building race cars, many firearm folks like to tweak the most performance out of their weapons.
Speaking of cars, I admire people like Jay Leno and Tim Allen who work on their own cars in real life. I just saw a movie called Collision Course starring Jay Leno from around 1988 or 89. The movie begins with Jay driving a car through Detroit. And Detroit looked great back then.
Ta, that makes sense! Thanks for enlightening me!
I have a feeling your choice was a more versatile choice and that the suggestion of @galenkp was a more specific one.
Exactly right. He even stated that he has both. Were I interested in just brass cleaning, or if nice shiny brass were more important to me, his advice is right on the money. In fact I was already looking at adding that later. For me right now the versatility was more important as I had an extremely nasty AR bolt to clean as well. Can't do that in a tumbler, but the Hornady Hot Tub did an awesome job on it!