Anybody have an opinion on whether or not it is ok to tumbl loaded cartridges?

I think the manufacturers do it so all their loaded ammo looks "purty". I want to do it because my case lube leaves the cases just a tad tacky, so after I size them they pick up a bit of dust and dirt sometimes. This causes them to become a bit sticky.

Someone once told me that the powder in a loaded case can be broken up during tumbling.

Thoughts?

TR

I think it's a bad idea myself, and back when I tumbled cases, I did it after I sized them. Now I don't do either anymore. This subject got beat to a pulp here awhile back, so don't expect any concensus on the issue.

rem, federal, olin(winchester) and hornady do it

jeffe does it too

jeffe

Kory, just curious--How? (with acetone) do you just put them in a glass container with acetone in it and shake them around?

If the major manufacturers are doing it then it must be reasonably safe--How did you learn that the manufacturers do it Jeffe?

just as safe as carring them in you pocket with keys knife and etc.

Dammit Fellas I think I'm going to disagree with you on tumbling loaded ammo. My neighbor (deceased) and I were both loading the exact same case, powder, Primer and bullet. We both were shooting Rem. 788's in 223 Rem. The only difference was he tumbled his loaded ammo and I didn't. He blew primers and finally froze his bolt and had to send it to Remington to get it fixed. I pulled some of his bullets and double checked the loads and the only difference I could find was the tumbling and I think it dusted his powder in the cases just enought to make things detonate. I know that when he got his bolt back and loaded more cases with the same load but didn't tumble them, he never had any more problems. I know there can be differences in the barrels etc. that can cause a load to be different in a different rifle but I don't think this had anything to do with that. Just the tumbling was doing something to the powder. We were using AA 223 back then. 25.5 grs. with a 55 gr. Win. SP. Godsdog.

I do not advocate it. If one must however, the prevailing recommended practice is to tumble no more than a minute with fresh corn cob media and a couple of capful(s) of paint thinner.

The biggest danger in tumbling loaded cartridges is for the powder to break into smaller pieces. This could alter the explosion during ignition potentially raising the pressure to an amount greater than specs permit.

If a viable process is used, then no tumbling is ever really required once the cartridge is loaded. A simple wipe with a clean soft cloth is sufficient.

Safe loading!

BR, Alex

Exactly Scabo
Tumbling changes the entire burning characteristics of the powder.Basically it changes it from one powder to another of unknown characteristics.

I'm at the table w/ Alex and Charger.

Powder is shipped via trains, trucks, perhaps airplanes. I would imagine the vibrations of being send over the road from Kansas to say Seattle would exceed by far any "fining" that would occur in a few minutes in a vibrator. I would suggest a different sequence in your reloading but I've tumbled (vibrated) loaded ammo. Not as a routine thing tho. And, yes, loaded ammo is tumbled as a final step by the major manufacturers.
As far as detonating a round while tumbling, I think, since the cartridge wouldn't be contained in a chamber, the worst thing to happen would be the need to sweep up a bunch of media and change ones shorts.

I don't recommend tumbling loaded cartridges. I tumble fired cartridges to clean them first, lube resize then tumble again to remove lube then load. This may be a unnecessary step but unless you want to wipe off all of the case lube after they are loaded. Cartridges with lube on them will collect dirt and will damage your chamber. Also you are not supposed to shoot cartridges with lube on them in your firearm.



Reloading is challenging, addictive, and a whole lot of fun.



Enjoy Reloading and welcome to the forum.

Tumbling loaded rounds is a VERY BAD < !--color--> idea. Tumbling the rounds can cause the deterrant coatings on many powders to rub off changing them to a much faster burning powder. Obviously this can lead to a potentialy catastrophic failure. This may be what happened to the other posters 788 load.
Manufactures may do a variation of it but not in the same way that a home reloader would be doing it in a small concentrated tumbler.
I realize that some reloaders will claim they have done it for years and never had a problem, but there are lots of things that people have done for years that we are now figuring out to be not such good ideas. I know a guy that had reloaded very hot ammo that worked well for 10 or more years until 1 day when the gun blew up with the same load. It was safe until.......
Don't risk it! It's totally unnessesary. If you bulk lube for use in a progressive or for some other reason that you can't tumble after sizing, just grab a bath towel dump a couple hundred rounds on it and gently roll it around to remove the lube. Or just take a little time with some paper towels while watching a football game or something.........DJ

I believe you misunderstood me I do not tumble loaded rounds I resize then tumble again to remove the lube, and then reload. It may be a wasted step but this is my method and it works well for me, but thanks for your reply.

I've tumbled loaded ammo but only on the following conditions.
1. Time was short.....tumble no more than 20 minutes while I'll tumble brass only for up to 12 hours.

2. The powder is a compressed load and because of this the powder in the case cannot tumble over itself and abrade the surface of the grains.

I've not tumbled loaded ammo unless both these conditions was met and it's not been a problem to me.

Kory,
I wouldn't put acetone near loads rounds.. it will disolve nearly anything...

a quick tumble.. say 20 mins, is FAR less than a box of ammo on the dash of a truck or in your pocket for an hour


jeffe

Kory,
my mistake...

tumble.. should be fine...
acetone - your call as for use...

i prefer to tumble before loading...

when i have a VERY dirty case, i hit it with a scotch bright then tumble

jeffe

Hi Jeffe,

No prob. I'm trying to try the acetone route mainly to clean the lube inside the neck. 17 caliber necks are hard to clean on the inside. I know it doesn't matter much, but it bothers me when the powder sticks to the inside of the neck because of the lube. I suspose tumbling would clean that up too, I've just mever tried it like that. I tumble right before I run the shells through the forming die.

Thanks,
Kory

when this subject cme up before, i called one of these manufacturers, as i recall it was Winchester, and asked them how they got there ammo so shiny. they told me that they tumble the ammo after loading and before boxing it up.

I'vce been looking at this one with interest. Tumbling is a bad thing but I think most everyone has tumbled ammo before they realized it was dangerous, myself included way back in those times when I was indestructable, immortal, and ignorant....

Anyway, ALL smokeless powder has 3 variables- shape of the grain (ball, flake, or stick), amount of nitroglycerine in the composition, and third is the deterrent coating used on the powder. Tumbling can remove the 3rd component.

My hunch is that slower powders are probably more affected by this, than say a fast ball powder, but it will probably affect most powders in some way or another. My guess is that most likely you would see velocity variations between rounds than you would experience some catastrophic over pressure. If you really, really want shiny cases after they have been loaded I'd suggest a lee zip trim with fine steel wool or wad of Nev'r Dull.

Anybody every think that manufacturers may tumble the ammo after loading and before boxing it up but under a controlled process??? Like certain time intervals and a certain Rotation speed so Powder integrity isn�t affected.



The problem here fellows, is some Idiot is going to over do it and turn the powder to dust. Once the powder starts to break down, the integrity of the product will diminish at an �Excelerated Rate� as time for Tumbling is extended.



Tumbling is one thing, Controlled Tumbling may work!!!! But what about the Idiot that decides to throw his cases in a Vibration stile case cleaner. This would be a prescription for disaster.



The best approach is to �not under any circumstances� advocate the practice of case cleaning of loaded Ammunition through Tumbling or Vibration stile case cleaners.



Instead, give them an option when giving advice. There are many options that are a safe alternative!



One can tumble the cases after the resizing process, and if this presents a problem like some have suggested in the case of small diameter calibers, they can use a liquid brass cleaning solution for case cleaning. Many are readily available and many Homemade Solution are available like Found here, Homemade Solutions for Case Cleaners .



Simply use the solution, wash with clean water, dry by air blowing, or air drying, then Tumble. What you have is Clean brass to finish the reloading process.