Can Tumbling residue cause misfires?

Brutus · September 29, 2013, 10:45 AM

Last week at the range I had a squib load in 10mm. Didn't stick in the barrel just sounded and felt funny. Bullet hit at the bottom of the target and the hole looked as if it was tumbling. These were mild target rounds loaded with AA#7
and it only happened one out of 100 rounds. Today I started reloading some
9mm's and I noticed that 2 out of 100 rounds had left over tumbling media inside the case. I use walnut tumbling media and a drop or two of Lyman brass cleaner. The residue was a couple flakes of walnut stuck in the white paste of the brass cleaner. I, naturally cleaned the inside, then inspected all the other cases. Is it possible this is the reason for my squib load?

myfriendis410 · September 29, 2013, 06:53 PM

I suppose it's possible and it is certainly a good idea to remove any tumbling media from the flash hole prior to loading, as well as cleaning the pocket. As to it causing a squib load I would be surprised. More likely a light charge. Did the gun cycle?

I've seen the .454 Casull fail to ignite the powder charge in factory ammo, locking up the cylinder; but that's using pretty slow powder and a highly compressed charge. BTW that was factory Magtech that did that.

jepp2 · September 29, 2013, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Is it possible this is the reason for my squib load?

In my experience, look for other causes. Early on in my tumbling experience I didn't allow enough time between adding the polish to my tumbler and adding the brass. A few times I even added polish with brass in the tumbler. Bad, Bad, Bad. Now I wait until all the "clumps" are gone before I even consider adding the brass.

I don't think a few granules of media will cause the squib like symptoms you described. But you said nothing about your loading process. Without knowing if you could have seen a case with a reduced powder charge, you really can't tell.

If the flash hole is firmly plugged with a piece of media it can result in a hang fire that can be delayed by several seconds.

wncchester · September 29, 2013, 08:48 PM

"The residue was a couple flakes of walnut stuck in the white paste of the brass cleaner. I, naturally cleaned the inside, then inspected all the other cases. Is it possible this is the reason for my squib load?"

It could be. There should be no "white paste" in your tumbling media when you add cases. If you feel you MUST run a polish add it and let the poor thing run until the polish is well mixed before adding cases.

Brutus · September 29, 2013, 09:06 PM

Thanks for the input.
Wasn't a light powder charge, I use a single stage press, I throw a charge, peer into the charged case and seat the bullet immediately. One flaw in my process is that I add the brass polish after putting the brass in the bowl.
Thanks for the tip, in the future I'll add the polish, turn on the tumbler, then add the brass after it mixes with the media. Sometimes it's the most simple common sense things that totally escape us.

schmellba99 · September 30, 2013, 09:09 AM

It could very well be. The tumbling polish could have had a bad reaction with the powder - enough moisture that some of the powder was inert or something along those lines.

When I tumbled with walnut or corn in a vibratory tumbler, even with using a polishing compound, I tumbled brass for about 10 hours at a time. Mostly because I was never, ever, able to get anything close to clean brass with the 3-4 hours I had read about, but also because I would put a batch on in the evening, let it tumble overnight, then put another batch on in the morning prior to going to work.

If you are using cleaner and not tumbling for longer periods, you need to turn the vibratory tumbler on without brass and tumble until there are no clumps or wet media before putting your brass in.

precision_shooter · September 30, 2013, 10:22 AM

How dirty is your brass, or how clean do you want it, that it takes 10 hours in a vibratory tumbler to get them clean? I usually run mine for 2-3 hours and they are plenty clean and shiny...

The comment about the polish coming in contact with the powder and making some of it inert makes the most sense to me. It would essentially create a light charge in that round...

zxcvbob · September 30, 2013, 10:43 AM

Quote:

How dirty is your brass, or how clean do you want it, that it takes 10 hours in a vibratory tumbler to get them clean? I usually run mine for 2-3 hours and they are plenty clean and shiny...

I run mine overnight cuz it's just easier that way. With revolver brass, I sometimes don't tumble it, so it all averages out

schmellba99 · September 30, 2013, 02:01 PM

Most of my brass wasn't any dirtier than the next, but I never had any acceptable results from a mere 2-3 hours in a vibratory tumbler.

Some brass was also range pickup, so it was a little worse for the wear and needed the extra time to get nice and shiny.

I've since moved onto sstl tumbling, so it's no big issue for me at all anymore.

September 29, 2013, 10:45 AM	#1
Brutus Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2005 Posts: 1,023	Can Tumbling residue cause misfires? Last week at the range I had a squib load in 10mm. Didn't stick in the barrel just sounded and felt funny. Bullet hit at the bottom of the target and the hole looked as if it was tumbling. These were mild target rounds loaded with AA#7 and it only happened one out of 100 rounds. Today I started reloading some 9mm's and I noticed that 2 out of 100 rounds had left over tumbling media inside the case. I use walnut tumbling media and a drop or two of Lyman brass cleaner. The residue was a couple flakes of walnut stuck in the white paste of the brass cleaner. I, naturally cleaned the inside, then inspected all the other cases. Is it possible this is the reason for my squib load? __________________ Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak out, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen, Winston Churchill.

September 29, 2013, 09:06 PM	#5
Brutus Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2005 Posts: 1,023	Thanks for the input. Wasn't a light powder charge, I use a single stage press, I throw a charge, peer into the charged case and seat the bullet immediately. One flaw in my process is that I add the brass polish after putting the brass in the bowl. Thanks for the tip, in the future I'll add the polish, turn on the tumbler, then add the brass after it mixes with the media. Sometimes it's the most simple common sense things that totally escape us. __________________ Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak out, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen, Winston Churchill.

September 29, 2013, 06:53 PM	#2
myfriendis410 Senior Member Join Date: March 30, 2011 Location: Lompoc California Posts: 274	I suppose it's possible and it is certainly a good idea to remove any tumbling media from the flash hole prior to loading, as well as cleaning the pocket. As to it causing a squib load I would be surprised. More likely a light charge. Did the gun cycle? I've seen the .454 Casull fail to ignite the powder charge in factory ammo, locking up the cylinder; but that's using pretty slow powder and a highly compressed charge. BTW that was factory Magtech that did that.

September 29, 2013, 08:48 PM	#4
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	"The residue was a couple flakes of walnut stuck in the white paste of the brass cleaner. I, naturally cleaned the inside, then inspected all the other cases. Is it possible this is the reason for my squib load?" It could be. There should be no "white paste" in your tumbling media when you add cases. If you feel you MUST run a polish add it and let the poor thing run until the polish is well mixed before adding cases.

September 30, 2013, 09:09 AM	#6
schmellba99 Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2008 Posts: 803	It could very well be. The tumbling polish could have had a bad reaction with the powder - enough moisture that some of the powder was inert or something along those lines. When I tumbled with walnut or corn in a vibratory tumbler, even with using a polishing compound, I tumbled brass for about 10 hours at a time. Mostly because I was never, ever, able to get anything close to clean brass with the 3-4 hours I had read about, but also because I would put a batch on in the evening, let it tumble overnight, then put another batch on in the morning prior to going to work. If you are using cleaner and not tumbling for longer periods, you need to turn the vibratory tumbler on without brass and tumble until there are no clumps or wet media before putting your brass in.

September 30, 2013, 10:22 AM	#7
precision_shooter Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 2,475	How dirty is your brass, or how clean do you want it, that it takes 10 hours in a vibratory tumbler to get them clean? I usually run mine for 2-3 hours and they are plenty clean and shiny... The comment about the polish coming in contact with the powder and making some of it inert makes the most sense to me. It would essentially create a light charge in that round... __________________ "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes...Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." - Thomas Jefferson, 1776

September 30, 2013, 02:01 PM	#9
schmellba99 Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2008 Posts: 803	Most of my brass wasn't any dirtier than the next, but I never had any acceptable results from a mere 2-3 hours in a vibratory tumbler. Some brass was also range pickup, so it was a little worse for the wear and needed the extra time to get nice and shiny. I've since moved onto sstl tumbling, so it's no big issue for me at all anymore.