tumbling loaded ammo

[nemesisenforcer]

every once in a while, I ACCIDENTALLY tumble a live round or 2.

I know some say that tumbling live ammo or primered cases is verboten, but others say it's a perfectly safe practice.

What say you?

[Omega]

Not sure if it's verboten or not, but I have done it a few times on purpose with no side effects.

[starmac]

I don't know if there is any ill affects. I have heard that powder grinds up and changes it's characturistics riding in a vehicle over long periods of time. I carry ammo ALL the time and none has ever acted funny.

What I do know about tumbling live ammo is nothing can or will happen if I don't do it, soooo I'm feeling pretty safe on the matter.

[nemesisenforcer]

I don't know if there is any ill affects. I have heard that powder grinds up and changes it's characturistics riding in a vehicle over long periods of time. I carry ammo ALL the time and none has ever acted funny.

What I do know about tumbling live ammo is nothing can or will happen if I don't do it, soooo I'm feeling pretty safe on the matter.

I don't make a habit of it, but I've heard of guys tumbling entire tumbler fulls of reloads to get the lube off the brass.

[BruceB]

My ammunition has occasionally been "tumbled" (vibratory cleaner) to remove case-sizing lube. I add a bit of mineral spirits to the corncob, and run the machine for a short period.... like maybe fifteen minutes or so.

The rounds come out clean and with no apparent harm at all.

I would not tumble loaded ammo for long periods(hours or days) but that's just my opinion.

[dikman]

Given that primers generally need a good whack to go off, it's probably relatively safe - but having said that, it's not something I intend doing!

[Garyshome]

I tumble it to get the lube off of the brass before I load it.

[triggerhappy243]

NO COMMENT............... BUT AS FAR AS CLEANING CASE LUBE OFF, i CLEAN IT OFF BEFORE I LOAD IT.

[bangerjim]

I just wipe the case lube off the brass after I size it. I only case lube bottleneck rifle cases. Wiping off only takes a second or two. No big whoop.

I do not nor would I ever tumble or vibrate live ammo.

banger

[MtGun44]

My theory was that tumbling loaded ammo may break up the powder grains and change
the burning characteristics of the powder.

I tumbled 10 rounds for a couple days back in about 1984 and then chronoed them along
with 10 clones from the same batch that had not been tumbled.

I can say that tumbling rounds loaded with H&G 68s in .45 ACP with 4.7 gr of Bullseye will
NOT change velocity at all after a couple days in the tumbler. Extrapolate as you will to
other powders, cartridges and boolits.

Bill

[Moonie]

I remember this coming up before a couple of years ago and the fact that factory ammo companies tend to do this with no issues. I don't do it but I don't believe it would be an issue.

[mdi]

This subject comes up about every couple of months and is beaten to death each time (a search or google search will result in hundreds if not thousands of hits).

Some will say yes, it's ok to tumble live ammo. Factories clean their finished ammo that way. The military ships ammo in every means of conveyance, trucks, airplanes, camels, jeeps, etc. and it get jostled/bounced/vibrated for weeks on end and no ill effects. Many "experiments" have been posted where live ammo was tumbled up to a week continuously, with no ill effects and no difference in powder under microscopic inspection.

Some will say no, don't do it. Tumbling will crunch up the powder, changing the burn characteristics and faster burning powder can be dangerous. When tumbling live ammo, the chance of a bullet striking a primer and setting off a round is a great possibility.

I don't tumble my ammo, not because I'm afraid of something happening, but because I don't have any need to as my finished reloads are clean. But, from my research it's entirely safe to do so...

[shooter93]

This has always come up every so often over the years. The last time it came up here I posted what the powder manufactures had to say about it as well as a couple ammo manufactures. They have always been very straight forward and if you contact them they will explain why you shouldn't do it. How ammo makers do it for very short periods and under strict controls and the differences between tumbling and being shipped all over the world. They have done extensive research using thousands of rounds so I have a tendency to believe them. Will something be changed and cause troubles?......possibly.....is it worth the risk?....you decide but.....lawyers aside.... they are very convincing so I don't do it.

[Love Life]

As long as you don't set the tumbler on fire while it is tumbling live rounds then you are safe.

[dragon813gt]

As long as you don't set the tumbler on fire while it is tumbling live rounds then you are safe.

I now have something to do this weekend. It will be worth sacrificing the tumbler to test this theory :)

[rondog]

Won't hurt anything, I've done it more times than I can count. Makes 'em pretty.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/guns/ammo%20and%20reloading/DSCN3485.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/guns/ammo%20and%20reloading/DSCN3486.jpg

[WallyM3]

Somebody needs to start a "Decapping Live Primers" thread.

[mdi]

Somebody needs to start a "Decapping Live Primers" thread.
Oh No! Not the old "decapping live primers" thread again! :groner:

[WallyM3]

(chuckle) Did 250 today.

[mozeppa]

in the last 2 months i've de-capped nearly 25,000 rounds of .380---9mm---38 spl---40 s&w---44 mag and 45 acp

pulled the bullets save the powders (they were known to me reloads) saved nearly 10 pounds of powder ....and about 200 pounds of projectiles.

i still have 13,000 to go and i've broken 3 inertia hammers and 6 decapping pins! arrrrg!

[Cmm_3940]

But can you shoot a GC boolit without.... Oh, wait. That's an FAQ now. Nevermind. Please proceed.

[triggerhappy243]

I wonder what it would be like to have everyone from cast boolits to gather in one room for a dinner meeting.... and discuss everything on this site.

[nemesisenforcer]

As long as you don't set the tumbler on fire while it is tumbling live rounds then you are safe.

How did you know that was going to be my next question?

[nemesisenforcer]

I wonder what it would be like to have everyone from cast boolits to gather in one room for a dinner meeting.... and discuss everything on this site.

Bedlam times insanity, plus a riot thrown in for good measure.

[TheDoctor]

I wonder what it would be like to have everyone from cast boolits to gather in one room for a dinner meeting.... and discuss everything on this site.

A very long lunch! A short discussion about favorite recepies, a 200 plus page discussion on Hi Tec coating, a potentially volatile flare up over politics and religion, a vicious rant concerning copper alloys, lots of expounding over favorite guns, with pics included, and a small minority that will get upset, and threaten to leave and never come back.

[TheDoctor]

On a more serious note, it would be nice to have a definative answer to tumbling, would save some steps and time in my loading process.

[triggerhappy243]

I think I said it before. My steps start to finish.... fire the ammo, deprime the brass, tumble polish the brass to clean it, resize it, wash it if I use resizing lube, quick dry to remove moisture, clean primer pockets, re-prime, charge with powder, seat bullets, fire the ammo............ repeat.

[triggerhappy243]

P.S. I never use my tumblers to clean off resizer lube. always scolding hot water with dawn dish washing liquid. hot water rinse 4 times and then blow out water with air compressor while brass is still hot.

[fast ronnie]

I've made a few mistakes loading for a couple old rifles and a couple of my silhouette handguns requiring de-capping live primers. I use safety glasses and de-prime in a sizing/decapping die with and undersized expander and only going down just far enough to get the primers out. I then re-use the primers. Never had a single problem. I have also tumbled a few loaded rounds in a thumblers vibratory setup. No problems there either. Be gentle and don't just slam stuff around with the live primer deal.

[Bullwolf]

Can you tumble live ammo in a vibratory cleaner?

Yeah I it's been re-hashed to death, but no one has put up any of the usual links yet.
So here's some light reading on the subject.

One of the best, most conclusive tests on tumbled live ammo and possible powder deterioration that I have seen.
Tumbling live ammo Tumbler O' truth - EXTREME edition 200 hour torture test. (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)

My impression on the issue, is that it's not an issue.

Here's another thread.
Chronograph results. Tumbled vs non tumbled live ammunition.
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-498890.html

Links were mined from the last Cast Boolits "Can you tumble live Ammunition" thread that I bothered to read/search for.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?173753-Tumbling-live-ammo

When I worked for a small reloading company, we always vibratory tumbled ALL of our loaded ammo. Doing so made it look new, nice and shiny before being boxed up, shrink wrapped, and placed on a pallet to be shipped or sold. Many other ammunition manufacturers do this same thing. Vibratory tumbling live ammo never caused any problems that we experienced, and I saw most of the common mistakes and accidents that can occur during the loading process.

I've tumbled my own loaded ammunition for many years with no problems to speak of. Lately I simply wipe my cast hand loads down. It seems like I only tumble jacketed stuff these days, or really oxidized funky ammunition.

A cap full of your favorite automotive wax in the tumbling media keeps brass that's not stored in air tight containers looking shiny and new for a good amount of time.



- Bullwolf

[EddieNFL]

Bullets rise after leaving the muzzle, Glocks will pass through metal detectors undetected, Clinton did not have sex with that woman and using a vibratory tumbler to clean ammo will result in injury or death.

[257]

hand loader did a study on this. they said when you do this it pulverizes the powder in the cases . the result is that the chamber pressure on the loads that were tumbled went up about 40 % or more . this was done on pressure measuring actions in a lab environment I don't remember what issue it was in but it has been reprinted on the internet

[EddieNFL]

hand loader did a study on this. they said when you do this it pulverizes the powder in the cases .

And the actual ammo manufacturers I contacted disagreed with the decades old theory of granule degradation, but did advise against because of the potential to detonate a primer (vibratory, not rotary tumbler).

[WallyM3]

Then I sure wouldn't want to put live ammo on any prop plane....

Oh, wait...

[docmagnum357]

Just another chicken little, the sky is falling, end of the world wive's tale, superstitious, idiot, common hick fallacy myth. At least in my experience. if you tumble 500 rounds for two days while you are on vacation, the very first round you fire my blow you up. I tumble all mine as a final step.

[triggerhappy243]

How bout them cowboys........................................... ........................

[cajun shooter]

I have tumbled loaded rounds, both rifle and pistol and black powder rounds for years. I have used commercial type concrete mixers, vibratory, and tumbler style machines with not one single round going off. I also have not had any guns blow up due to degraded powder.
I shoot SASS (cowboy matches) and have had some brass cases corrode from being left in the leather too long. I put them in one of my tumblers with some media along with a couple of capfuls of Brasso liquid and I end up with brand new looking cases.
While I was a cop on the street, we got into a firefight that ended with my riding partner being killed along with his shooter. One of our men was pinned down during the firefight and was only able to fire the six rounds in his revolver because the others in his belt were corroded so bad they would not chamber. IF you carry extra rounds in leather loops, remove them and replace them on a regular time schedule. I know this was not relative to the OP but I felt I had to include it. Later David

[rosewood]

IF you carry extra rounds in leather loops, remove them and replace them on a regular time schedule. I know this was not relative to the OP but I felt I had to include it. Later David

Use nickel plated brass for carry.

[rosewood]

Bullets rise after leaving the muzzle, Glocks will pass through metal detectors undetected, Clinton did not have sex with that woman and using a vibratory tumbler to clean ammo will result in injury or death.

You forgot that all silencers go "phew" when fired and can't be heard in the next room. Shotguns knock the target back 10'. All assassins install the silencer just before using and remove afterwards and they assemble their rifle just before and disassemble after taking a shot as well as removing their scope. You can silence a high power sniper rifle. And a .44 mag will go through an engine block.

[Bonz]

I have "accidentally" both dry tumbled and wet tumbled loaded rounds with no issues. I use Hornady One Shot Case lube on brass when running them thru my reloading press and just dump the loaded rounds in a bath towel and move them "side to side" to remove the majority of case lube.

[magyars4]

over the years I have occasionally had a loaded round end up in the tumbler to no ill effect.
Not sure I would do it intentionally.

[N4AUD]

Sometimes I tumble my rounds after loading just for appearance sake, and of course I've had a few loaded rounds get into the tumbler with fired brass. I've never had a problem. I think the danger is just a myth unless someone can show me otherwise.

[EddieNFL]

if you tumble 500 rounds for two days while you are on vacation, the very first round you fire my blow you up.

I'll give odds on that NOT happening.

[goblism]

i have ran plenty through on accident but nothing I aim to do on purpose