Reloading question

What type of brass cleaner do you prefer; tumbler or sonic? Which reloading manual do you prefer?

I have only used a tumbler so can't say on that. I These days I prefer the online table from Hodgdon or Alliant for loading parameters

Tumblr, at last count I think I have seven manuals. None favored over the other just what I am working on at the moment powder, bullets, shot, wads etc.

I do very little brass cleaning , when I do I use citric acid and a big jar and scalding hot water. then hot clear water rinse and dry on a towel sometimes to speed up the dry I cook it at 200 degrees in my convection oven. citric acid helps treat the brass to make it more resistance to corrosion.

if I was buying a brass cleaning system , stainless steel media wet tumbler impressively clean and no lead particulates or dust in the air. A co-worker has one and it is the cleanest brass I have ever seen as well as the media being reusable basically indefinitely.

I like Modern reloading by Richard Lee for very good explanation of how things work and the process in the 2nd edition it is the first 200 pages.

you end up with more manuals as you want specific bullets or powders , new cartridges although manufacturers web sites are getting very good and cut the number of manuals needed.

In my opinion, you need all the big name manuals. Hornady, Nosler, Sierra, Speer, Lyman, Lee, etc. Although I refer to the Hornady the most as I shoot a lot of their bullets, they are all occasionally thumbed through.
The ABC’s of reloading is a great one to have around too. I’m only 38 years old but still use the old man’s Herter’s manual also. Lyman released an AR specific manual that has come in handy if you shoot big bore AR’s.

The old man shot competitions his whole life and never shot factory ammo. At 87 he still says tumbling is a waste of time and never owned one. With that said, I use the Lyman Turbo with walnut hulls made for reptile bedding and it works just fine. Add a little auto polish and a couple old dryer sheets and let it run out on the deck for a couple hours. Makes them look nice. Ive never used a sonic cleaner or the stainless media.

I have both, vibratory is used the most, sonic is more of a mess.

I am friends with the guy that does the testing for Hodgdon. He is very meticulous about everything he does. Have gone out of state trapping with him multiple times. Even meticulous about how he shaves. No just lather up and scrape it off. Takes him 10 minutes. I use whatever he says to reload. BTW guy can flat out trap. Any critter he lays a trap for is in bad trouble.

If your competition shooting a sonic cleaner will clean inside the brass for a more uniform pressure. I just hunt. I dont tumble my brass or sonic clean it. Never had a problem. That tiny bit of accuracy gain (sonic clean) is to expensive for the shooting I do. No need for it. Can still get MOA from my hi-powers. I dont shoot 1000 yards and 3 inchs off at 300 yards will still make a coyote collapse. IMO the only thing tumbling does is make your ammo pretty.

maybe a better place to start is what are you planning to reload ? and reload for ?

As far as manuals go, get as many as you can when starting out. I think my favorite paper version is the Lyman. Charge weight tables I get from the manufacturers of the powders and bullets that I am using or work them out myself for the more oddball rounds.
I have only started using a tumbler 5 years or so ago. Before that i cleaned my brass by wiping it with a rag with a little alcohol on it to cut through the case lube better. My tumbler is from RCBS and I use Lyman green media in it.

I second citric acid. I load a lot of hyphen calibers with Black powder substitutes. It cleans and neutralizes the fouling very quickly and safely. It is also reusable. I keep it in a 2 liter bottle, heat up what I need. 10 minutes later I have clean brass. Rinse, dry, and load. It is available in Walmart canning section. I have a tumbler if I want things pretty and shiny, but rarely use it these days.
As far as manuals... it depends. I have several, I also use company online information, and also learn and research online about various components or particular calibers. Then I have various sources to compare.

I use a vibratory and a wet tumbler. Vibratory for quick but not thorough clean. Wet tumbler for a thorough inside and out clean, but it is messy. I have accumulated a lot of manuals over the years. A lot of data online at the various manufactures websites it just depends on how deep you want to get.

I actually sell reconditioned brass and have an inventory of tumblers. For the money the Frakford Arsenal tumbler is the one. You can catch them on sale. The are very durable. I don't really care for their stainless steel pins. I use STM pins. I like it because it will hold lots of brass and cleans it inside and out even the primer pocket looks new. It doesn't use harsh chemicals. I dry my brass in a cheap Wal-Mart food dehydrator. Once you wet tumble a test batch of vibrator cleaned brass you will realize how much debris is left behind which creates varying case capacities which cuts down on the consistency of your loads. Not to mention not using anything mechanical on the primer pockets and flash holes to me makes seating primers more consistent. Just my 2 cents.

You wouldn't happen to have any 7.63x39,or 6.5 grendel would you ?

Since 80% of my brass comes from the local range I prefer my vibratory, really gets the crud out . I tried a sonic cleaner from harbor freight and it just never did what I wanted. Looking at a set tumbler next

If you are just starting to load, get a manual from the company that applies to the bullets manufacturer. Whomevers manual you get, I’d strongly advise you actually read it. There is a lot of good info in most of them that will shorten your learning curve and perhaps save some of your extremities. If I had to narrow it down i’d start with either Hornady or Speer. If your casting bullets, the Lyman Cast Bullet manual is a good place to start also. If your just looking for load recipes, the powder manufactures all have them listed online.
I’m a tumbler guy, and have a Thumbler Tumbler B model that is at least 40 years old and was used when I got it. It’s been a good $60 investment, and has cleaned a bunch of brass. I use the corn cob blasting mixture or walnut hulls from Harbor Freight for tumbling media, and use 1 table spoon of New Finish car wax and 1 table spoon of mineral spirits in my media each time I change it. This mixture leaves a coating/ corrosion preventative on my brass for long term storage..
Citric acid ( Lemi Shine in Wal Mart by dishwasher detergents) relieves surface tension on brass and works well with range pick- up brass with minor surface discoloration, with a tsp of Dawn dish soap also added with the hot water helps remove oils and greases faster.
Good luck with you new addiction!!

I tumble my brass ,First with ground up walnut shells and then after I size and deprime I tumble in ground up corn cobs. As for manuals I use mainly Lyman, I do have Hornady and one of Lee . Beside ones I get in paper from powder company and from on line. I use also Lyman for my shot shell reloading.

I forgot to address manuals. I have found that having as many as possible from the different bullet manufactures helps. I try to get the new ones when they update. It is especially helpful if playing with wildcats. If I Had to start with one it would probably be Nosler or Hornady. If you shoot solid copper then I would get a Barnes. In addition to manuals find a Ventevuri (probably not spelled right) powder burn rate chart. It is far superior to the ones that come in the books as it shows powders with the same burn rate side by side instead of listed in descending numbers. This comes in really handy when deciding to go up or down in burn rate. Of course as with anything else there are other variables like load density for example. It can help with that as well because it will show the same burn rates side by side then you can look at different types how it is constructed to figure that out.

I've never cleaned my brass in the 30+ years I have been reloading