Cleaning primer pockets?

[tom]

I bought a lee classic turret on impulse a while back and haven't used it yet. I have used only single stage presses for longer than I care to admit. I usually use a primer pocket uniformer to clean the pockets.
Watching several utube vids, I see guys size/deprime, and then immediately seat the primer. It would seem to me that the residue in the pocket would build to unacceptable levels after a few loadings.
Maybe I'm just too obsessive about such things, as I've never tried to see how long I could go without cleaning the pockets.
On the other hand, depriming, removing the case, cleaning, and putting it back in the shell holder, would negate the advantages of a turret or progressive press.
Am I missing something, or isn't cleaning as important as I thought?

[akuser47]

I clean mine from habit though I know many that don't. Never Tested it out to see.

[Fyodor]

Most people I know don't clean primer pockets at all. I deprime first (in my LEE pro1000 with a universal decapper) and wet tumble afterwards, so my primer pockets are clean.

The debris won't built up, most of it falls out when the primer is removed. At least from what I observed, the stuff stays about the same over a longer period of time.

I actually own a LEE primer pocket cleaner, but never even opened the packaging. During the last 14 days I fired over 600 rounds of pistol ammo (not including the 200 shotgun rounds). Cleaning every single pocket by hand would be a real PITA...

[akuser47]

I use a drill on low speed n chuck the Lee primer pocket cleaner into it. Seems to work ok. No idea if needed but I don't mind.

[Steelbanger]

I couldn't change my habit of cleaning primer pockets if I wanted to since I have been doing it for many years. With a single stage press, I can stop wherever I am in the loading process and do things like wiping the sizing lube from the case and cleaning primer pockets. Next would be checking case length and then trimming if necessary. Seating the primers would be next in line to be completed.

I remember reading long ago, in a book by Warren Page, "The Accurate Rifle", about cleaning the primer pockets. Among other accomplishments Mr. Page was an avid benchrest shooter and on the topic of cleaning primer pockets said that he knew some record holding shooters that never cleaned out the pockets while other excellent shooters cleaned them every time they were fired. So I guess that it all boils down to whatever we decide upon.

[62chevy]

I started cleaning pockets last year when I first started reloading with the Classic Loader. When I bought the Turret I stopped but keep wondering how dirty they were sooo started decapping before tumbling. Now I hate the corn cobs stuck in the flash hole, lol.

[Fyodor]

That doesn't happen with the stainless steel wet tumbling pins

[62chevy]

That doesn't happen with the stainless steel wet tumbling pins

True but I'm a tite wad and couldn't bring myself to spend the little extra it coast to wet tumble.

[Steve]

When I used to prime on the Loadmaster I loaded many thousand 40 S&W progressively without cleaning any priming pockets. I think the biggest problem I had was crud dropping from the pp to the priming mechanism, which caused a low percentage of bad priming jobs.

Also loaded many 223 Rem progressively by just neck sizing for a single bolt action rifle. That is also history now because of loading for 4 different rifles.

I now prime everything before loading so I clean all rifle primer pockets. The jury is still out on whether I will clean all pistol case pp, I'm going to clean a couple thousand before priming, then decide.

[62chevy]

Deprime then tumbling does a good job of cleaning the primer pockets.