Live round tumbling

Charlie218 · September 16, 2008, 05:39 PM

Like the subject says, is it OK to tumble live rounds? I had some brass that was tumbled, nice and shiny and then it sat for a couple of months and got ugly, in the meantime I finished reloading them and now would like to shine them up again. I'm pretty anal every step of the way including appearance of finished product. Not enough to blow myself up tho.....

Sevens · September 16, 2008, 06:06 PM

If you try the search engine you'll get more opinions on this subject than anyone will ever need. What it boils down to is that there are a few folks who think the rest of the world is completely psycho, but the rest of the world doesn't have a problem with it. Commercial ammo companies tumbled loaded rounds and many hobbyists have done their share of testing on the subject and nobody has ever found a valid reason not to tumbled loaded rounds if that's what you want to do.

I say tumble your dirty rounds if you like. Won't hurt anything.

ringworm · September 16, 2008, 06:29 PM

put your triming caseholder in a power drill chuck and spin the rounds on a piece of heavy cotton w/ a lttle jewlers rouge.
they shine like a new penny.

wncchester · September 16, 2008, 06:33 PM

"...tumble your dirty rounds..." ??

Well, I doubt they are "dirty" at all. Bare brass WILL tarnish in time but so what, shine is no part of ammunition's function or accuracy.

As a reloder of over 40 years experience, I believe an obsession with glittery cases is one sure sign of a beginner.

Stagger Lee · September 16, 2008, 06:34 PM

I tumble mine routinely as the final stage of the reloading process, just to make it all pretty. Never had a problem, never expect one, and it's been several thousand rounds.

ShootingNut · September 16, 2008, 06:37 PM

I tumbled for a while, my finished loads. Got to wondering, if it would effect the powder. Sent an email, to both Hodgdon and Accurate powder companies.
Hodgdon said that he "would not tumble finished ammo", and Accurate replied that NO PROBLEM it will not effect the powder at all.
Split advice, so I decided my reloads looked nice enough, and stopped tumbling finished ammo. I also tried to see if I could notice any difference at the range between the two, both performed the same (given my shooting abilities)
Regards,
SN

Al Norris · September 16, 2008, 07:15 PM

I tumble mine. The reason? I got tired of wiping off the lube on every finished cartridge. So now, I finish loading and then tumble the whole batch for about 15 minutes. No more hand-wiping for me.

Russ5924 · September 16, 2008, 07:16 PM

I have had live rounds get mixed up with the brass the FMJ come out good but the lead bullets look strange plus all the lubricant is gone. Not sure what would happen if you shot a lot of them could lead your barrel up

Sport45 · September 16, 2008, 09:45 PM

What bullet do you have in them? Tumbling media will plug small hollow points and stick to lube on cast bullets.

mikenbarb · September 16, 2008, 10:27 PM

I have tumbled my crimped rounds but not the pressed in ones. I just dont feel sure enough with all that movement that a bullet wont loosen up and exceed the max OAL and cause a problem. Who knows, Maybe im a safety nut but not worth taking the chance and I dont have the time to re measure every round to be sure. I know its been done safely thousands of times but not by me. Plus my ammo gets fired fast enough that it dont have time to tarnish

.

Charlie218 · September 17, 2008, 01:19 AM

Sport45....These are round nose 9mm rounds and I don't use any lube, but great question. I do have time to measure them after tumbling and they are not crimped...
I appreciate the comments.

jmorris · September 17, 2008, 08:42 AM

Quote:

i Tumble Mine. The Reason? I Got Tired Of Wiping Off The Lube On Every Finished Cartridge. So Now, I Finish Loading And Then Tumble The Whole Batch For About 15 Minutes. No More Hand-wiping For Me.

+1

Quote:

well, I Doubt They Are "dirty" At All. Bare Brass Will Tarnish In Time But So What, Shine Is No Part Of Ammunition's Function Or Accuracy.

As A Reloder Of Over 40 Years Experience, I Believe An Obsession With Glittery Cases Is One Sure Sign Of A Beginner.

+1

Alleykat · September 17, 2008, 09:12 AM

I'm not a beginner. I lube my .223 cases with One Shot. I tumble my loaded rounds for a few minutes in corn cob media to remove the One Shot. There is NO danger of detonation, and the powder won't change burn characteristics with a few minutes of tumbling.

AlaskaMike · September 17, 2008, 11:41 AM

I tumbled some old WWII .30-06 M2 ball ammo because the cases felt like they'd got lube on them at some point and were dirty (not tarnished or corroded though) enough that I didn't want them in my rifle's chamber that way. They cleaned up beautifully and shot great. I'd have no problem at all doing it again.

You have to remember that ammo goes through so much more shock and bouncing around just getting delivered to a retail store than a vibratory tumbler is capable of subjecting them to.

Mike

Shoney · September 17, 2008, 12:44 PM

WWWEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've only been loading for 48 years, and I tumble all loaded rounds that have lube on them.

I always thought that only nubies or those on dubies

would want ammo that is not shiney clean.

farnorthdan · September 17, 2008, 01:59 PM

I tumble all mine......they come out nice and shiny, just like factory new.

DS

REDTAIL · September 17, 2008, 03:16 PM

I Have Been Tumbeling My Live Rounds For Over 20 Yrs No Problems They Always Shot As Accurate And As Good As Expected

**44 AMP** · September 17, 2008, 07:52 PM

I don't tumble loaded ammo. I tumble my brass in a fairly coarse media before sizing, then tumble in fine media afterwards, to remove lube and get that nice shiny clean. Then I load it.

Ok, its more work, and I do have to check each case to make sure there is no media stuck in the flashhole, but I like handling brass, and it ensures a good inspection of each case.

In the days before virbatory "tumblers", when we tumbled brass in converted rock polishers, I always felt the chance for an accident was real. Not high, but not non-existant, so I never tumbled loaded ammo. With todays tumblers, I don't think the odds of a detonation are as good as winning the lottery, but I still don't do live ammo, just because I'm strange that way.

Alleykat · September 17, 2008, 08:15 PM

What's the point of tumbling with coarse media? Oh, yeah, OCD, you did hint at that.

Sevens · September 17, 2008, 08:24 PM

Quote:

I Have Been Tumbeling My Live Rounds For Over 20 Yrs No Problems

That's a damn good, durable tumbler you've got. It's been going 20 years on the same batch! Those suckers will have a mirror-chrome finish if you ever take them out of the tumber!

HiBC · September 17, 2008, 09:15 PM

I'm the psyco!!
I do my case cleaning before reloading.Why run all that range grit though the dies?
I do not care a drip about shiny,only clean.
With good load density in the powder charge,I will vibrate them briefly in corn cob to de-lube.

The issue that would concern me is prolonged tumbling,especially with low load density.

Burn characteristics are controlled by the propellant coatings.If tumbling alters the coating,it could alter performance.

snuffy · September 18, 2008, 01:00 AM

Quote:

In the days before vibratory "tumblers", when we tumbled brass in converted rock polishers, I always felt the chance for an accident was real. Not high, but not non-existent, so I never tumbled loaded ammo. With today's tumblers, I don't think the odds of a detonation are as good as winning the lottery, but I still don't do live ammo, just because I'm strange that way.

In the first place, nothing is going to detonate. Any ammunition that is NOT in a chamber of a gun will even fire with any force. The primer kicks the bullet/shot charge out before the powder can ignite.

Second where in a tumbler is a firing pin with a hard, sharp point? Then with about 100 ft. lbs. of force behind it. That would be needed to fire a primer.

Quote:

Burn characteristics are controlled by the propellant coatings. yes it does, to some extent.If tumbling alters the coating,it could alter performance. If is right, but it don't. It would take some kind of abrasive to do that. Dunno about you, but I don't put abrasives in with powder!

I've been tumbling loaded ammo that comes out of my dillon 650. Especially when loading .223, or .308, to get the lube off the cases. No problemo!

Nnobby45 · September 18, 2008, 03:35 AM

Quote:

In the first place, nothing is going to detonate. Any ammunition that is NOT in a chamber of a gun will even fire with any force. The primer kicks the bullet/shot charge out before the powder can ignite.

The powder will ignite and the bullet will seperate from the case. At that point all remaining energy will dissipate into thin air as fast as it's created by the very inefficient buring of the powder (or some of it, anyway).

Being hit by either the case or the bullet can put a painful welt on bare skin, wouldn't feel real good if it hit you in the face. Serious eye damage could result.

Not exactly a life threatening event out in the garage.

Lot's of opinions on this, but I've never heard of a detonation from tumbling live rds., and tumbling will not deteriorate the powder.

HiBC · September 18, 2008, 06:30 AM

Snuffy
I will confess,my thought that prolonged tumbling of low load density loads might alter burning characteristics is the product of my own consideration.What I would call "common sense" My peers have the same point of view. It has not been verified by scientific testing.I could be wrong,and I am willing to learn something.
For the sake of credibility,could you tell me the source of your information or how you came to this conclusion?
As I said,if there is science,I'm happy to learn.If it is opinion vs opinion,I'll stick with what I have,erring on the side of safety.

kraigwy · September 18, 2008, 10:00 AM

A slow tumbler wont hurt anything, I wouldn't use the viberating type on loaded rounds though.

September 16, 2008, 05:39 PM	#1
Charlie218 Member Join Date: January 5, 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 76	Live round tumbling Like the subject says, is it OK to tumble live rounds? I had some brass that was tumbled, nice and shiny and then it sat for a couple of months and got ugly, in the meantime I finished reloading them and now would like to shine them up again. I'm pretty anal every step of the way including appearance of finished product. Not enough to blow myself up tho.....

September 16, 2008, 06:06 PM	#2
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,775	If you try the search engine you'll get more opinions on this subject than anyone will ever need. What it boils down to is that there are a few folks who think the rest of the world is completely psycho, but the rest of the world doesn't have a problem with it. Commercial ammo companies tumbled loaded rounds and many hobbyists have done their share of testing on the subject and nobody has ever found a valid reason not to tumbled loaded rounds if that's what you want to do. I say tumble your dirty rounds if you like. Won't hurt anything. __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

September 16, 2008, 06:37 PM	#6
ShootingNut Senior Member Join Date: December 27, 2006 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 1,475	Opinions Differ I tumbled for a while, my finished loads. Got to wondering, if it would effect the powder. Sent an email, to both Hodgdon and Accurate powder companies. Hodgdon said that he "would not tumble finished ammo", and Accurate replied that NO PROBLEM it will not effect the powder at all. Split advice, so I decided my reloads looked nice enough, and stopped tumbling finished ammo. I also tried to see if I could notice any difference at the range between the two, both performed the same (given my shooting abilities) Regards, SN

September 16, 2008, 09:45 PM	#9
Sport45 Senior Member Join Date: May 26, 1999 Location: Too close to Houston Posts: 4,196	What bullet do you have in them? Tumbling media will plug small hollow points and stick to lube on cast bullets. __________________ Proud member of the NRA and Texas State Rifle Association. Registered and active voter.

September 16, 2008, 10:27 PM	#10
mikenbarb Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2007 Location: N.J. Posts: 1,111	I have tumbled my crimped rounds but not the pressed in ones. I just dont feel sure enough with all that movement that a bullet wont loosen up and exceed the max OAL and cause a problem. Who knows, Maybe im a safety nut but not worth taking the chance and I dont have the time to re measure every round to be sure. I know its been done safely thousands of times but not by me. Plus my ammo gets fired fast enough that it dont have time to tarnish.

September 16, 2008, 06:29 PM	#3
ringworm Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Posts: 257	put your triming caseholder in a power drill chuck and spin the rounds on a piece of heavy cotton w/ a lttle jewlers rouge. they shine like a new penny.

September 16, 2008, 06:33 PM	#4
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	"...tumble your dirty rounds..." ?? Well, I doubt they are "dirty" at all. Bare brass WILL tarnish in time but so what, shine is no part of ammunition's function or accuracy. As a reloder of over 40 years experience, I believe an obsession with glittery cases is one sure sign of a beginner.

September 16, 2008, 06:34 PM	#5
Stagger Lee Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2007 Posts: 342	I tumble mine routinely as the final stage of the reloading process, just to make it all pretty. Never had a problem, never expect one, and it's been several thousand rounds.

September 16, 2008, 07:15 PM	#7
Al Norris Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 29, 2000 Location: Rupert, Idaho Posts: 9,659	I tumble mine. The reason? I got tired of wiping off the lube on every finished cartridge. So now, I finish loading and then tumble the whole batch for about 15 minutes. No more hand-wiping for me.

September 16, 2008, 07:16 PM	#8
Russ5924 Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2005 Posts: 1,874	I have had live rounds get mixed up with the brass the FMJ come out good but the lead bullets look strange plus all the lubricant is gone. Not sure what would happen if you shot a lot of them could lead your barrel up

September 17, 2008, 01:19 AM	#11
Charlie218 Member Join Date: January 5, 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 76	Sport45....These are round nose 9mm rounds and I don't use any lube, but great question. I do have time to measure them after tumbling and they are not crimped... I appreciate the comments.

September 17, 2008, 09:12 AM	#13
Alleykat Junior member Join Date: July 26, 2007 Posts: 3,668	I'm not a beginner. I lube my .223 cases with One Shot. I tumble my loaded rounds for a few minutes in corn cob media to remove the One Shot. There is NO danger of detonation, and the powder won't change burn characteristics with a few minutes of tumbling.

September 17, 2008, 11:41 AM	#14
AlaskaMike Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2005 Posts: 947	I tumbled some old WWII .30-06 M2 ball ammo because the cases felt like they'd got lube on them at some point and were dirty (not tarnished or corroded though) enough that I didn't want them in my rifle's chamber that way. They cleaned up beautifully and shot great. I'd have no problem at all doing it again. You have to remember that ammo goes through so much more shock and bouncing around just getting delivered to a retail store than a vibratory tumbler is capable of subjecting them to. Mike

September 17, 2008, 12:44 PM	#15
Shoney Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2002 Location: Transplanted from Montana Posts: 2,311	WWWEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've only been loading for 48 years, and I tumble all loaded rounds that have lube on them. I always thought that only nubies or those on dubies would want ammo that is not shiney clean.

September 17, 2008, 01:59 PM	#16
farnorthdan Senior Member Join Date: December 3, 2007 Posts: 371	I tumble all mine......they come out nice and shiny, just like factory new. DS

September 17, 2008, 03:16 PM	#17
REDTAIL Member Join Date: September 17, 2008 Location: UPSTATE NY Posts: 18	tumbleing of live rounds I Have Been Tumbeling My Live Rounds For Over 20 Yrs No Problems They Always Shot As Accurate And As Good As Expected

September 17, 2008, 07:52 PM	#18
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 30,464	I'm on the other side of the fence from many I don't tumble loaded ammo. I tumble my brass in a fairly coarse media before sizing, then tumble in fine media afterwards, to remove lube and get that nice shiny clean. Then I load it. Ok, its more work, and I do have to check each case to make sure there is no media stuck in the flashhole, but I like handling brass, and it ensures a good inspection of each case. In the days before virbatory "tumblers", when we tumbled brass in converted rock polishers, I always felt the chance for an accident was real. Not high, but not non-existant, so I never tumbled loaded ammo. With todays tumblers, I don't think the odds of a detonation are as good as winning the lottery, but I still don't do live ammo, just because I'm strange that way. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

September 17, 2008, 08:15 PM	#19
Alleykat Junior member Join Date: July 26, 2007 Posts: 3,668	What's the point of tumbling with coarse media? Oh, yeah, OCD, you did hint at that.

September 17, 2008, 09:15 PM	#21
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,350	I'm the psyco!! I do my case cleaning before reloading.Why run all that range grit though the dies? I do not care a drip about shiny,only clean. With good load density in the powder charge,I will vibrate them briefly in corn cob to de-lube. The issue that would concern me is prolonged tumbling,especially with low load density. Burn characteristics are controlled by the propellant coatings.If tumbling alters the coating,it could alter performance.

September 18, 2008, 06:30 AM	#24
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,350	Snuffy I will confess,my thought that prolonged tumbling of low load density loads might alter burning characteristics is the product of my own consideration.What I would call "common sense" My peers have the same point of view. It has not been verified by scientific testing.I could be wrong,and I am willing to learn something. For the sake of credibility,could you tell me the source of your information or how you came to this conclusion? As I said,if there is science,I'm happy to learn.If it is opinion vs opinion,I'll stick with what I have,erring on the side of safety.

September 18, 2008, 10:00 AM	#25
kraigwy Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2008 Location: Wyoming Posts: 11,060	A slow tumbler wont hurt anything, I wouldn't use the viberating type on loaded rounds though.