I am impressed

[ShootingNut]

I know everyone has there favorite. As a newbie to reloading, I started with the Tumbler media from Kemp (nice people), but just tried this from Cabella's,
man what a difference! Brass came out looking like jewelry!
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...853&hasJS=true

[flynlr]

thats the stuff I use. after loading I run it through that stuff again and it looks like this.


this was ugly ass Lake City Mil brass that didn't look this good when new.

[kingudaroad]

What's the point of tumbling the live ammo after you have already tumbled the brass?

I guess you can get the primers nice and shiny that way.

[flynlr]

What's the point of tumbling the live ammo after you have already tumbled the brass?

I guess you can get the primers nice and shiny that way.

some people like dirty cars, some like dirty ammo. I am not one of em .

and what the heck it doesn't hurt anything.

[Mr Beta]

That's purdier than my reloads.
Why not do it if you have the time. Makes it easier to ID your brass.

[cheygriz]

some people like dirty cars, some like dirty ammo. I am not one of em .

I am almost fanatical about clean brass. But I seldom polish it. I do care that it's clean, I don't care if it's shiny.

Performance matters to me. Looks do not.

[CrustyFN]

What's the point of tumbling the live ammo after you have already tumbled the brass?

To get rid of the case lube. If you are loading on a progressive and have loaded rounds with case lube on them, you need to clean them.
Rusty

[ShootingNut]

Again I'm new, but can you Tumble again after you have loaded the "live" ammo? I suppose, as long as nothing gives a primer a good punch, and the old Tumbler (and the house) goes up to Kingdom Come!

[flynlr]

not a problem tumbling live ammo . the Factory's do it all the time..
not to mention the ass kicking bulk ammo gets when packed loose and
shipped UPS,,,

[clayking]

A squirt or two of liquid car wax will do the same thing with corn media. If you use "one shot" lube there's no need to clean afterward.................ck

[gandog56]

Quote:
What's the point of tumbling the live ammo after you have already tumbled the brass?

To get rid of the case lube. If you are loading on a progressive and have loaded rounds with case lube on them, you need to clean them.
Rusty

Yeah, but I run the cases back through before I reload them, not after. I can just see the pointy tip of a reloaded round on the picture ramming into the primer of another shell. Result, one ruined day.

[azredhawk44]

I can just see the pointy tip of a reloaded round on the picture ramming into the primer of another shell. Result, one ruined day.

Next time you go camping, toss a live round into the camp fire.

Nothing will happen. You will get a loud pop! and some dust will come up from the ashes in the fire pit.

The reason? No pressure containment. The bullet and case weigh about the same in a .308 cartridge, so each one has equal likelihood of becoming the "projectile". What will usually happen though, is the case will rupture sideways.

Even if you get the 0.0000000001% chance of a case going off in your tumbler, that bullet ain't going anywhere. The plastic bowl of your tumbler will probably stop any projectiles created from the energy release.

The cases just aren't moving with enough energy to set off a primer though. Look at an M1/M14 rifle as an example: Every case gets the primer "tapped" by the firing pin when it is seated by the bolt. There is a slight indentation in the primer as a result. But the primer isn't set off.

Just not something to worry about, IMO.

[CrustyFN]

Yeah, but I run the cases back through before I reload them, not after. I can just see the pointy tip of a reloaded round on the picture ramming into the primer of another shell. Result, one ruined day.

I agree. I do the same as you. I run them through the tumbler for 15 minutes after I size them to get rid of the lub then I load them. I know a lot of people that run them through after they are loaded without problems.

not to mention the ass kicking bulk ammo gets when packed loose and shipped UPS

flynlr thats a great point. I had never thought of that. You think there would be a greater chance of something bad happening with bulk ammo slamming around in a box than barely bumping in a tumbler.

A squirt or two of liquid car wax will do the same thing with corn media. If you use "one shot" lube there's no need to clean afterward

clayking, I use Hornady one shot and find them to be sticky after I size them. I put them in a baggie and give it a couple of shots and then size. Rifle is still new to me so I am wondering if you think I could be using to much lube if I am having to clean them after.
Rusty

[skeeter1]

I am wondering if you think I could be using to much lube if I am having to clean them after.

That could be. The tiniest bit of lube on a lube pad goes a loooonngg way. I've got one tube of lube that I expect will last me a couple of years. An alternative is to go with carbide dies and skip the lube altogether.

[cheygriz]

If you use "one shot" lube there's no need to clean afterward.................ck

I must respecully, but STRONGLY disagree.

Any good loading manual will tell you that failure to remove lube is dangerous. With low pressure rounds, you'll probably get away with it, but it's still considered a dangerous practice.

All commercial reloaders tumble their loaded ammo to remove every trace of lube. So do the factories.

Would they go to this extra expense if it wasn't necessary?

Of course not!

[Walkalong]

Gotta go with cheygriz here. You need to get the lube off.

[PeteQuad]

I don't lube since I use carbide dies with handgun rounds, but I would assume the factories would tumble the lube off because no one would buy their cartridges if they had a residue on them or were sticky.

What's the danger with loading and shooting lubed (with One-Shot, which claims to not harm powder or primer) rounds?

[Overhill]

Could be the lighting when the photo was taken, but those primers appear to be copper colored. Interesting!

[sargenv]

Winchester primers are brass colored as they removed the plating to increase sensitivity. Whether it does or not is open to debate, but I also use WinchesterSmall rifle primers.

[flynlr]

Could be the lighting when the photo was taken, but those primers appear to be copper colored. Interesting!

those are the CCI #41 Mil 5.56 primers and they are a brass color