hossfly
Member
I read someone on some board say they tumbled finished rounds. I've never done that before. Are there any reasons not to?
ExactlyThe exception is lead bullet reloads as the bullet lube makes a mess with tumbler media dust stuck in it.
I bet ammo in a Humvee or Blackhawk in Iraq gets more vibration in a day then your ammo ever will by cleaning it for 30 minutes in a tumbler!
This is why I change out my carry ammo after about a year. The burn rate of the powder changes as it becomes more dustlike over time.
It is generally not recommended because at the least it can cause the powder grains to abrade and degrade the coating (altering the burning characteristics and causing erratic/dangerous pressures), and obviously at worst setting off a round(s).
If burning smokeless powder is confined, gas pressure will rise and eventually can cause the container to burst. Under such circumstances, the bursting of a strong container creates effects similar to an explosion.
The granules, which are in no way chemically or characteristically similar to plastic (though they do contain chemicals called plasticizers), are coated with flame retardants to adjust burning rate, and are usually hollow, to allow burning to progress from two sides.
A cartridge, round or shell that somehow gets activated outside a chamber will simply bulge until the bullet moves, then it'll go PFFT,( like a sneaky fa*t). The primer if it fires will make a lot more noise than the powder. And it won't hurt anybody.
I can tell you that rifle calibers simply burn the powder out, and in some cases will not even dislodge the bullet from the case. All the fire / pressure goes slowly out the flash hole.