Do you tumble your brass after resizing?

[slowr1der]

So I was reading the manual to my tumbler and noticed that it says to tumble the brass after resizing to remove the lube from it. I'd never done this before and always just charged the cases and seated the bullets and not worried about the lube. They have shot great. Do you guys tumble your brass to remove the lube? Can I expect them to shoot differently or should my load that I found that shot great still shoot great?

[Don H]

No, like many, I tumble the loaded cartridges for a short time to remove lube.

[mrawesome22]

YOU... PUT... LUBED... CASES... IN... YOUR... CHAMBER... AND.......... FIRED... THEM?????? Woe is me.

This is a joke... right?

[DiscoRacing]

Do you tumble your bass after resizing?

course

[mrawesome22]

BTW, I just wipe the Imperial off with a towel.

When I read that post, I was in disbelief at first. Now I can't stop laughing. Sorry Slowrider... no offense... LOL

[vladan]

yes

[bobelk99]

To OP:

Obviously all agree that lube on case and in gun is a NONO.

nothing personal in the LOL stuff.

Lube that takes up space in the chamber will not give the case all the room it wants, so you will at best get some 'funny' dents in the case.

[DiscoRacing]

Can I expect them to shoot differently or should my load that I found that shot great still shoot great?

you COULD expect less stress on your bolt...due to the brass holding the chamber the way its designed to...without the lube coating

[TXGunNut]

I clean my brass before sizing to prevent damage to my cases and dies. I clean again after sizing even though Hornady says it's not necessary with their excellent One Shot product. I like to clean off the lube and clean the primer pockets a bit. Then I finish cleaning the primer pockets.....you know the rest.
I like small, shiny objects, especially if they may possibly perform just a tiny bit better.

[uncyboo]

you COULD expect less stress on your bolt...due to the brass holding the chamber the way its designed to...without the lube coating

This. Increased bolt thrust is not a good thing.

[Shane Tuttle]

Do you guys tumble your brass to remove the lube? Can I expect them to shoot differently or should my load that I found that shot great still shoot great?

Yes and no. I sometimes tumble finished ammo for a few minutes in untreated corn cob media and a post quick wipe with a large terry cloth towel before going into ammo boxes. All of my rifle cartridges are wiped down by hand with a same type of towel.

Shooting differently? Well, thats hard to answer different without definitive context. I would say it's a bit more dangerous. Excess lube on the shoulder of bottleneck style cases can cause denting, stuck cases, and even cracks. Is is likely? Probably not. I have witnessed many moons ago when a buddy of mine has excessive lube on his cartridge just before loading it. Why it was there, I don't know. I stopped to question him about it but he was on a mission to fire his test loads. He told me it wasn't anything because the other cartridges in the box were clean. He fired the gun and had a tough time extracting the spent case. When he finally got it out, the case was split at the shoulder all the way up the neck. In that area, there appeared to be a mix of normal discoloration as well as some lube residue. It was tough to determine without a shadow of the doubt that's what the cause of the case failure. However, it was a solid indicator. The brass, IIRC, was Norma twice fired.

[RKG]

Lube that takes up space in the chamber will not give the case all the room it wants, so you will at best get some 'funny' dents in the case.

While I agree that chambering and firing rounds with sizing lube still on the cases is a bad idea, I think the reason is different.

Friction between the case wall and the chamber wall serves at least two useful functions: contributing to an effective gas seal and reducing case head pressure on the breech face. Lube will interfere with both.

My routine varies with the type of case:

Straight walled pistol cases for which I have carbide sizers:

Decap
Inspect
Tumble
Inspect
Size
Bell
Cap
Charge
Seat

Other (primarily bottleneck) cases:

Decap
Lube
Size
Trim (if necessary)
Tumble
Inspect
Cap
Charge
Seat

.30 US M1 Carbine cases are treated as "other" even though I have a carbide sizer and even though they appear to be straight walled (but, in fact, are not).

[jells]

I'm confused. My decap die is also my sizing die (carbide). The posting above says:
Decap
Inspect
Tumble
Inspect
Size
Bell
Cap
Charge
Seat

With my die setup, I go from #1 to #5. I inspect, tumble, decap&size, tumble,........... Is there a die that only decaps?

[TXGunNut]

Yes, there is a universal decap die.

[mrawesome22]

RCBS also makes a "lube and decap" die.

[jtmckinney]

When I started reloading in the early 1990's I bought all RCBS and Hornaday which included "One Shot" case lube. I used as directed and never tumbled or cleaned that I can remember and never had any problems that I thought were related to case lube remaining on the cases. That doesn't mean it is not a good idea to remove in a tumbler, I just never did it.

All of my experience is with "One Shot" case lube so if you are using a different product you need to take that into consideration.

Good Luck!
James

[TXGunNut]

I use One Shot exclusively but I also like my cases and dies as clean as possible. There's something about a loaded cartridge that shines like jewelry. I know it's not necessary but I like it and that's all it takes for me.
With my BPCR cases I decap, wash and rinse in hot water, dry in the oven and then put them in the tumbler. Tumblers aren't a necessary part of the process IMHO, a clean case and primer pocket are all that's necessary.

[Headgear]

I use Dillon spray on lube. Someone posted that it wasn't necessary to remove it so I tried it one time and hated it. The cases are sticky and don't have that pretty shine. You gotta have that or the guy at the bench next to you will think poorly of you, you know?

All joking aside, it is a mess and it can't be good in the chamber. I tumble, inspect, lube, size, etc. then tumble again when they are finished. I used to tumble again right after sizing but then you have to make certain that you get all the media out of the primer pockets and flash holes. That becomes an extra step that is not necessary if you tumble at the end.

Keep'm clean and pretty and you can't go wrong! Well ya you can, but keep'm clean.

[mjm]

I would have never considered this...until reading a similar thread on this forum. I tried it and have made tumbling at the end a part of my reloading process.

Twenty five years ago, I reloaded a batch of .223 and put them away. Back then, my process was to wipe the sizing lube off before continuing on. When I started shooting again last year, I tried to shoot some of those reloads. Many felt sticky and would not chamber. It appears to me the lube was not 100% removed when I wiped them down. I just tumbled the last of them.

[Xfire68]

I tumble the cases before I re-size to get any dirt off them from the range and after resizing and once they are completed. I guess I just like to have them as clean as possible and I can be sure that if I have a malfunction it is more likely due to a dirty gun or the gun it's self and not the ammo.

It may be a bit of overkill but it is simple enough and as slow as I reload it does not slow me down at all.

[49willys]

Before and after.Never loaded rounds though,the vibration causes the powder to break up into smaller peices,thus changing burn rate,so I've heard.

[mjm]

"Before and after.Never loaded rounds though,the vibration causes the powder to break up into smaller peices,thus changing burn rate,so I've heard. "

Exactly what I thought! Check out http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401534 Post #6 has a link to a study on another forum. The before and after tumbling pictures are interesting.

[49willys]

Thank you sir,I stand corrected.I still won't do it though.

[Shane Tuttle]

Thank you sir,I stand corrected.I still won't do it though.

As the notion is basically bunk, there's nothing wrong with not tumbling your ammo. Everyone has just as good of a mouse trap as the other....

[49willys]

I hear ya'.I won't do it basicly 'cause I don't need to.I tumble after sizing so the rest of the process isn't gummed up with left over lube,I use a pad to lube with.Goopy,but it's what I have.