Vibrating loaded rounds

[Quigley]

I overheard a conversation at a gun show between a couple of old timers talking about their shell collections. They were talking about live shells that had lost their luster and said they run them though their vibrating cleaner with ground walnut media. Is this safe?

 

[Deer Hunter]

Perhaps.

Better question is, why?

 

[RKBABob]

Not a clue... but they did live to be "old timers" right?

 

[Bruce333]

Why wouldn't it be?

Some reloaders will run them through the tumbler to take the extra case lube off too.

 

[TexasRifleman]

I've done it before. Not often but it's been done.

I always had the tiniest bit of paranoia so I would set the tumbler out in the back yard by itself

 

[JesseL]

I have heard some people express concerns about the powder getting broken down into a finer granulation, resulting in a much faster burn rate. Nobody seems to have ever seen it happen though.

 

[rcmodel]

Many reloaders do it all the time.

New factory commercial ammo is usually final polished again after it is loaded.
Military ammo is not, so it's not as purty & shiny!

It is perfectly safe as long as you don't forget and go off and leave the tumbler running for a week or so.


rcmodel

 

[Floppy_D]

I have, with no problems. Usually to pull of excess case lube, but sometimes because I want the rounds shiny.

 

[GBExpat]

I have cleaned up many thousands of old grimy/greasy milsurp ammo in my vibratory case cleaner w/corn cob media and a bit of Frankford Arsenal brass cleaner.

 

[M2 Carbine]

I use to do it years ago but got worried about the burning speed of the powder being altered, so I stopped.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Just don't do it with hollow points. You'll be digging media out of the cavities for hours. Ask me how I know.

 

[speedball]

While buying Guat surp 5.56 (the second grade stuff) I did a little research on this subject. The general consensus was that with stick or ball powder there is no concern. The concern was with older style of powder that could flake into smaller nodguals resulting into a faster burn rate. Let it roll.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I realize it takes a fairly sharp and concentrated blow to set off a primer, but the idea makes me apprehensive.

 

[Superlite27]

Yeah, I've done it.

I like my bullets to be nice and shiny when they go off. Nothing is quite as comforting as knowing that when that bullet hits the target, it's nice and shiny.

No dull tarnished bullets hidden inside the magazine within my gun.

They're nice and shiny right where nobody can see them.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Done it for years with no problem.

 

[strat81]

Perfectly safe.

I use to do it years ago but got worried about the burning speed of the powder being altered, so I stopped.

Hogwash. The powder gets manufactured somewhere, then gets shipped by truck, boat, or airplane to the ammo plant. <Rumble, Rumble, Rumble>

It then gets put into cases and those cases move down the assembly line to have bullets seated on them. They are then but in boxes, clips, or bandoleers. <Rumble, Rumble, Rumble>

They get sealed in cardboard boxes or spam cans and then get shipped to a warehouse or ammo dump by truck, plane, or boat. <Rumble, Rumble, Rumble>

From a retailer's warehouse, they get shipped to your house by the Brown Truck. <Rumble, Rumble, Rumble>

You load the ammo into a magazine and carry it 8+ hours a day, every day. <Rumble, Rumble, Rumble>

Or, you put it in your truck and drive out to your treestand. <Rumble, Rumble, Rumble>

You finally shoot it without incident.

 

[Canuck-IL]

+1 on Strat ... additionally, say one did go off? It's not contained in a pressure vessel (chamber), so what's going to happen? The case might move a few inches in the media and the bullet would be just sitting there.

I tumble all lead loaded rounds to remove any errant lube.
/Bryan

 

[johnmcl]

Hi all,

I've tumbled loaded rounds for years in my reloading process. I use a progressive press so tumbling the finished product is the best way to remove the case lubricant.

Years of experience shows no reduction in accuracy. I'm still good on it.

 

[packnrat]

DO NOT EVER tumble or vib clean your cartridges when loaded, if you plan on shooting them.
to just keep a clean cartridges for display no problem, no danger.

it changes the powder inside the cartridges, can do damage to your gun...maybe even you.

 

[sierrabravo45]

I always dump all the brass from my range bag in a dirtier media, that I use for the first clean. There always seems to be live rounds in there. Never had one go off.

I then switch to a cleaner media on the cases and find loaded ammo. I am loading something like 5.3 grains of 231 behind a 230FMJ in 45 AUTO, I have tested those rounds through the chrono and found NO difference in performance after they have been tumbled.

 

[AZ Jeff]

DO NOT EVER tumble or vib clean your cartridges when loaded, if you plan on shooting them.
to just keep a clean cartridges for display no problem, no danger.

it changes the powder inside the cartridges, can do damage to your gun...maybe even you

This is COMPLETELY FALSE, for reasons cited by others above. It's an old wives tale with NO EVIDENCE to back it up.