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Old August 23, 2014, 02:23 PM   #1
dangthathurt
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Did I screw up?

I put a bunch of reloads back in the corn media vibratory tumbler for 20 min to freshen them up. Unfortunately, the timer malfunctioned and they ended up tumbling for 18 hours. They are my hog hunting rounds and I need them to perform. The are 223's loaded with Barnes 70g TSX, TAC, and CCI 400 primers.

Are they still any good?
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Old August 23, 2014, 02:40 PM   #2
Brian Pfleuger
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Oh man... have you opened a can of worms.

Standard answer:
No, it's not safe. Tear them down and throw away the powder.

Secondary answer:
Do some Googling about testing of tumbled ammo. Some guys did some tests where several varieties of loaded ammo was tumbled for DAYS (like a week and a half) and then they examined the powders under a microscope and shot it over a chrony. They found little (usually no) change in appearance and no change in chrony data.

Consider the life of gun powder and loaded ammunition. It is flown, trucked, loaded, unloaded, tipped, shaken, vibrated, etc, nearly endlessly from start to finish. Imagine the life of military ammo. How much "tumbling" does it get on it's way to and through war zones?

You'll have to read up on it and make up your own mind.

Honestly, this has been beaten to death and I know where this thread is headed, so I'm going to close it as soon as it gets even slightly heated. We've been down this road a few dozen times before.
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Old August 23, 2014, 02:50 PM   #3
Cornbread
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I've tumbled 44 mags for a hour or so with no ill effects. Id say they will be fine. Try a couple before you go hunting. And get ready for the never ever tumble live ammo guys. Lol
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Old August 23, 2014, 02:53 PM   #4
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I see no issue. As said above, I'm sure during the mfg, bottling, moving, loading, shipping, unloading, stocking of shelves, transport from the store to home, the powder has seen harsher "vibrations" than tumbling in a vibratory tumbler.

If that worried about it, shoot a few and look for any signs of over pressure or anything else out of the ordinary. If all is well, go hunting!
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Old August 23, 2014, 03:42 PM   #5
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I see no problem as long as OAL is still ok.
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Old August 24, 2014, 07:18 AM   #6
LE-28
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The only thing I would worry about with those loads is being blinded in the sun from the reflection.
On THR several handloaders did experiments with different calibers of hand gun and rifle loads.
Like Brian said above, they tumbled them for days and some for weeks and their was no detectable difference between them and loads they loaded fresh for the comparison test.

No difference at all.
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Old August 24, 2014, 01:59 PM   #7
dangthathurt
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Thanks. I wasn't looking forward to pulling all of those bullets.
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Old August 24, 2014, 02:08 PM   #8
FrankenMauser
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This is not advice - just sharing experience....

I have a bunch of WCC 9mm (ball powder) and some reloads (Unique) that were part of a "perma-tumble" experiment - they went in with EVERY load of brass in the tumbler, and the time was tracked.

Periodically, I would pull a couple apart to inspect the powder, and fire another pair (one reload, one factory), if they looked alright.

The reloads always end up with a sooty residue mixed in with the powder, but it's just soot that has been scoured from the inside of the case.

The last ones that I inspected and fired (April 2013) had been tumbled for 126.75 hours. I didn't chronograph them, but they felt, sounded, and functioned just like the control group.


The experiment would still be going on, but I no longer have a tumbler.
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Old August 24, 2014, 03:43 PM   #9
Spur0701
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One of my kids did a science fair experiment on this.............short version of the story is no effect.....
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Old August 25, 2014, 12:18 PM   #10
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Consider this, what are you risking and what will be your reward? With just a quick review I can see you will risk your fingers, eye sight, life and fire arm. In return you will be rewarded with a time on your hands (not having to tear down the bullets). You are the one who will suffer if there is a problem, no one else just you.
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Old August 25, 2014, 12:35 PM   #11
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I have never tumbled loaded ammo and this is the first I've heard of it, why is it done???
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Old August 26, 2014, 06:45 AM   #12
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as mentioned, probably no problem... if you're worried, pull one, if the powder looks normal, try one in the gun...

my personal thought, is some powders might be more susceptible to break down, than others... I'd think ball powders would most stable, & a thin stick powder maybe most susceptible to break down ( if the original granulation is altered, IMO, the burn rate could be altered as well... if granules were turned to dust, for example, the cartridge my explode when fired ) ... also how much space is left in the case could accelerate the powders breakdown...

TAC is a spherical powder... I wouldn't think it would break up...

I've never tumbled loaded ammo ( I've hand polished corrosion off of old ammo before inserting into the chamber though ) but I guess I'd go ahead & shoot it, with the powder used in this circumstance...
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Old August 26, 2014, 07:11 AM   #13
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What I think makes no difference.

Test a random selection and determine if all is well or all is lost.

Please report your finding. Not that it will make much difference, too many variances is powder/powder densities of the load and so much more.....

Enjoy,

OSOK
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Old August 26, 2014, 07:53 AM   #14
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I have never seen a need to tumble live ammo. i.e. >To freshen. What's that? If it means additional brass polishing. I wouldn't let Bling out trump safety. Your mistake. Your rifle. You pay the consequences if there are any if intending to fire those tumbled rounds. Because someone says you can. Don't take for granted they themselves experienced the same situation you find yourself in. My advice: When in doubt. Listen to what your common sense tells you. Sometimes its not what you want to hear. But it's always looking out for your benefit. As for my way of handling such a circumstance as you find yourself in OP.
Quote:
Are they still any good?
Only suggestion I can think of: Questionable ammo. Always best to strip it down or discard in a safe manner then assume its OK.
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Old August 27, 2014, 09:49 AM   #15
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You should be fine. I can't see how tumbling ammo will affect the powder or primers in any way. The ONLY thing that it can do IMO is affect the OAL of the cartridges so I would measure those to be safe
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Old August 28, 2014, 12:59 AM   #16
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http://www.thehighroad.org/showthrea...=498890&page=2

If you really want to know if tumbling loaded ammo causes problems, read the above thread from THR. Yeah, that's me over there too. Walkalong and I had some fun and proved that in those two pistols there wasn't any change in anything from the tumbling.

If it makes you nervous, and you think you just know it will hurt your ammo/gun, then don't do it. Have fun wiping each case with a towel!
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