do this will create small scratches on the die and greatly shorten its life, as well as increase the likelihood of stuck cases. The best way to clean cartridges is with a vibrating cleaner. But if you don't have one of these, you can often improvise a "tumbler" with a small motor. I've seen improvised tumblers that use a waterwheel powered by a stream, as well as a container of brass connected to a windmill. Whatever method of tumbling brass you employ, the shells should be placed in some sort of medium that will absorb the dirt and grit. Traditionally, walnut shells and hulls have been used for this; some reloaders also report good results with corncob grindings. One more thing: don't tumble live shells; even if they don't set each other off, the powder inside them will grind itself into a smaller size, increasing the rate of burning and producing dangerous chamber pressures . It's also possible to chuck a cartridge into a drill press or lathe and clean it with a piece of steel wool. This gives the brass a like-new finish but is very time consuming (you might want to consider relegating this job to an assistant if you have one) . You can also clean cartridges with some common cleansers. Diaper Wipes, sold in grocery stores or drug-stores, work well for this task, as does rubbing alcohol or even soapy water. Just be sure the brass is dry before attempting to reload it. Avoid chemicals formulated for cleaning brass; these concoctions contain an agent that makes brass brittle — a potential disaster when it happens to a cartridge case. Reload brass with lighter loads rather than maximum amounts of powder to prolong the life of the cartridge. In addition to their being kinder to the bolt of the firearm, minimum loads will give you a lot more reloads with each brass cartridge since it will stretch less. If you have a semi-auto or automatic firearm, creating minimum loads can be tricky; but even with these guns you can [9 . jpg] Manually operated guns like this lever-action Marlin are best suited to reloads that may be slightly underpowered. [10 . jpg] Although most semi-autos (like this Valmet M18 in .308 Winchester) require more precise pressure levels to cycle, it is often possible to reload at the lower end with mild loads, that increase the life of brass and firearm alike. Careful cleaning of the barrel, gas piston, and bolt is necessary when firing such a gun with corrosive ammunition. often reduce the powder charges somewhat and still have good dependability. When brass has been fired and reshaped in the dies a number of times, it becomes somewhat brittle and may crack or split when fired. To get the brass flexible again, it's possible to anneal the brass neck to extend the life of the case. The catch is, that annealing must be done carefully, and the head of the case cannot be softened or it will become dangerous. To anneal just the neck, you should first clean the cases (so you can gauge the temperature by color change) . Once this has been accomplished, you should darken the light in the work area and place the cartridges in a pan of water with the water up to each case's shoulder. Each cartridge neck is then heated with a blow torch (or similar device) until the brass starts to darken . The case should not turn cherry red; continue to beat the neck just three seconds or so after the case becomes dark. When this time has elapsed, knock the cartridge over so that the mouth is cooled by the watery this gives it the proper hardness for reloading. Take your time heating each case and try to spend the same amount of time on each one so that they'll all have similar softness. The beauty of this system is that the water keeps the case's head from becoming too soft. Again, you should be sure the cases are dry before reloading any ammunition. If you have a large number of cases to anneal and have a lead-melting pot with a control to regulate the temperature of the metal, there's a better way to anneal the brass. Turn the temperature control on the pot to give a reading between 800 degrees and 850 degrees Fahrenheit and allow the lead in the pot to melt. Give each brass case a light coat of oil and then — while holding the head in your bare fingers — dip the neck of each cartridge into the lead up to the shoulder area. When the brass starts to feel warm, toss the cartridge into a container filled with water. (Avoid high-tin lead alloys such as linotype or Ludlow metals, wheel weights, or solder because they are more apt to solder to the brass cases.) Once your cases have been annealed and cooled, wash them with detergent to get the oil off the cases and then set them aside to dry. Generally, you'll be able to anneal cartridges about two times before you start running