Dry tumbling live ammo

[Boomer28]

First let me say I am new to the hobby (I reloaded back in the 70's but that was a long time ago). This may be really dumb, I have some ammo that was sitting in my damp basement for a long time 20 years +/-. It has gotten stained and tarnished, is it possible to dry tumble it, to make it shootable. Can this be done safely. If not where should I go from here. Thanks, Jack alias Boomer28

[dragon813gt]

Are they jacketed or lead bullets? I'm not a fan of tumbling lead bullets. But there is no issue w/ tumbling loaded jacketed rounds.

[dauntlessdave]

While I don't advocate tumbling live ammo, the fact is that every manufacturer tumbles live ammo before it hits the box. I've tumbled live ammo for many years with no ill effects as have many or perhaps most reloaders. Saying that, it doesn't mean that there is some powder somewhere out there that could be adversely affected by tumbling vibration.

Like most things in life, there's risk involved and weird things happen. But I'll keep tumbling live ammo nonetheless.

[375RUGER]

If it is more than discoloration it might take a while. I use to clean the lube off the loaded pistol ammo in clean media 10 minutes or so. If there isn't much (1 box or 2) then use fine steel wool and clean them up a bit by hand.
If hollow points you might get media stuck in there. But if you are just going punch holes in paper that's not an issue.

[BNE]

Why clean them? I have read that tumbling live ammo can break the powder pellets into smaller pellets and then creating a faster powder. I do not have any personal experience with this, but I would vote to shoot them, then tumble all you want.

[Boomer28]

Some of the ammo is 44 mag with hollow points, some is fmj 308 & 06. BNE's comment was interesting about the break down of the powder into a faster propellant. Any more thoughts on that. Thanks, Jack Boomer28

[shooter93]

This is a topic that comes up time to time with two VERY different points of view from don't do it to ammo is tumbled by the ammo manufacture, jostled in transit and the infamous ...I've been doing it for years with no problem. So...the answer is...it's up to you. I never do it....why? I've talked to every powder manufacture and a number of ammo makers. They give you a very good explanation why you should never do it as well as the why and how controlled their method is and how transporting ammo is different. This came up a few months ago so on a whim I contacted Hodgdon powder and they gave me the same information. Email them and ask....they will answer you quickly. But again...it's up to you.

[Boomer28]

Shooter 93, I appreciate your responce. After reading the responces I will go with yours, no tumbling for me. Better to be safe. I never gave the powder a thought. Thanks to all. Boomer28

[Janoosh]

In the past posts about this issue, tumbling live ammo, I had my doubts about this issue. I was a fence sitter about the breaking down of powder to a finer grain. The argument presented by Dale in Louisiana was my turning point, and I believe tumbling does no real harm.

[Boomer28]

Janoosh, I am new to the forum, how can find that article. Thanks, Boomer28

[bangerjim]

Who cares what they look like?????????????

If they cycle and fire...........shoot them!!!!!!!!!

I have dirty cases that I reload all the time. As long as it is not rough green-brown corrosion that will jam the cart, load 'em and shoot 'em.

Unless your running a beauty contest, who cares what the brass looks like.

Personally I would NEVER tumble live ammo due to the several comments made above.

banger

[Dan Cash]

If the brass and bullets are corroded, don't shoot the stuff. If the metal is only tarnished, don't worry about it and shoot the stuff. Personally, I have tumbled ammunition over the years without ill effect, and on more than on occasion have forgotten the tumbler for many hours. Sometime, I may test some loaded ammo to see if the propellant is degraded or if velocities are altered but for now, I will soldier on.

[dragon813gt]

Here is some reading for you: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/989047_Tumble_live_ammo_Tumbler_Oandapos__thruth_E XTREME_edition__200hour_torture_test__UPDATE__fire d_rounds_in_OP.html

There are pictures for those that don't like to read ;)

[MtGun44]

I tested the powder breakdown theory once, many years ago. Tumbled 10 rds of .45 ACP
handload for 24 hours, considered that to be far in excess of anything I contemplated
to clean loaded ammo.

Chronoed the same as non-tumbled sample from the same batch. Can't prove that all
powders will react the same, but the was either BE or W231 back in those days.

I don't normally tumble loaded ammo, but would not worry.

Bill

[Dale in Louisiana]

This one pops up all the time.

From a safety and reliability stand point, I don't think you have a problem.

Back when I was a young soldier in Korea (1969-70) we carried a full basic load of ammo on our tanks. This included several thousand rounds of .30-06 and .50 BMG ammo in GI cans, stored in the ammo stowage spaces on an M48 tank. We ran those tanks all over the place, and tanks are not known for a vibration-free environment.

We cycled some of that ammo from combat load to training use, and never had a problem. It had hundreds of hours of vibration behind it, and we also did the same for some lots of 90mm ammo, too.

That's the safety aspect. The stuff just isn't that fragile.

Now as for accuracy? If I just spent hours and hours assembling match ammo for a match, I darned sure wouldn't tumble them afterwards. Those little babies get treated like eggs.

dale in Louisiana

[376Steyr]

IIRC, the "powder breaks down due to vibration" idea was described at least once in the old American Rifleman "In My Experience" column. The writer had some rifle ammo (military 6.5 Swede ?) that was kept in a truck's glove compartment for an extremely long time. When he finally fired a round, bad things happened. Breaking down a sample round showed the powder had been reduced to a dust-like consistancy. How much was due to vibration and how much was due to temperature swings while stored, I could not tell you.

[Pinsnscrews]

If it is a matter of just cleaning the cartridges, I grab a wad of 'Eagle One Nevr-Dull' wadding polish. You can usually find it in the auto parts sections/stores. Sit down in front of the TV with a good movie, a pair of gloves (I have a slight reaction to the cleaner that causes my fingers to dry out rapidly) and just polish away.

I myself would be more worried about vibrating a loose primer out long before I was worried about the powder breaking down from the tumbling.

[ROGER4314]

As tempted as I may have been at times, I've never tumbled live rounds and probably never will. I am a VERY conservative loader. I'm slow, tend to check and recheck and that's the kind of activity that I will shy away from. Started loading in the late 1960's and never had a major issue of any kind. I am slow and careful.

Flash