Are you tumbling live ammo ??

factorys do it .

GP100man

I do it all the time.

Where's the option for "only on accident" that's the only time I have done it.

This thread comes up periodically and many replies will be posted, so here's mine. Yes I tumble loaded rounds all the time in 223 and 308 to remove the sizing lube. I have been doing this for over 20 years now since I decided that wiping off each individual round was a royal PIA. No problem yet after tumbling thousands of rounds. However YMMV!

Is nobody worried about any of the rounds going off?

With straight case pistol cartridges, I'm more worried about bullet setback.


I tried 9mm once and never saw a cartridge while they were in the tumbler. With the higher weight density, cartridges collide much harder than just the cases. They appeared to stay bunched together instead of travelling through the media.

May not be a problem at all, but I have no need to test it.

does a vibratory tumbler count? i recently put a batch of 9mm LRN in for a half hour to help remove the sticky lee alox on the bullet nose.

I routinely vibra-tumble my reloaded ammo, both lead bullet pistol ammo and jacketed rifle ammo. It cleans the sizing lube off the bottle-neck cases, and the excess bullet lube off the cast pistol loads.

Use a dryer sheet in the media, and even lead bullets don't seem to dirty the media much. Works for me, your mileage may vary.

I used to be in the crowd that thought it was dangerous. Enough of these threads over the years have convinced me that it is not.

But I still don't see the point. All I'm going to do with reloaded ammo is shoot it. What do I care what it looks like beforehand?

Tumbling Live Ammo

Hi Guys,

I never tumble loaded ammo - I read somewhere ( don't know where ) but it was a few years back, that powder manufacturers apply various coatings over the powder granules to change ( slow ) burn rates and that tumbling live ammo can wear the coating off and result in altered burn rates and possibly higher than expected pressures when fired.

After I reload I spend time wiping each round over and having a final check that it looks okay.

Brent2172

Yes but only for rimfire.

no

but only because I have no need to

I tumble everything except my hollow points. I hate picking media out of the hole.

The first time I tried it I set the (vibratory) tumbler in the middle of the back yard and connected it via an extension cord. Everything ent smoothly. It appears that the primers aren't even dented in the process.

As for effects on the powder, how about that box of ammo in the glove compartment of your car? How much vibration does it experience in a year???

I post load tumble and my grandfather did so for years, except I do it in a tumbler and he did it behind the seat of his truck.

I usually put the freshly loaded rounds in the tumbler and let it run while I clean up and put things away. This usually lasts from 15 min to 30 min depending on what was loaded and how much.

The rounds come out looking like they just came from the factory.

RU

According to my Sierra manual, vibratory cleaning can erode the deterrent coating on the powder grains, increasing pressure. They make no mention of detonation in the tumbler.

I don't because the rewards are slight, and the risks are high.

1. It is not dangerous if kept to 30-60 minutes or so.

2. It makes a holy mess on lead bullets with exposed bullet lube.

3. It is not recommended for Hollow Points because they pack full of media.

4. The factories all do it.

5. It is not dangerous if kept to 30-60 minutes or so.


BTW: Consider all the millionss of rounds that rode from Normandy to Berlin, and Kuwait to Baghdad and back in Jeeps, Trucks, Humvee & Tanks.

You can bet it got vibrated far worse for days, weeks, and months I betcha!

rc

After reloading my .223 ammo, I tumble for 30 minutes or so to totally clean off all the case lube. Ammo comes out looking like brand new factory ammo. No ballistic problems or issues.

that powder manufacturers apply various coatings over the powder granules to change ( slow ) burn rates and that tumbling live ammo can wear the coating off and result in altered burn rates and possibly higher than expected pressures when fired. "

Click to expand...

You probably read that in a Sierra manual. They offer no proof of their claim anymore than Richard Lee offers proof that a round in a tumbler can aquire enough force to actually set off the primer of another round. Those coatings are applied by using tumbling techinques in the powder factory and you aren't tumbling it for days on end. If you want to remove the lube it works great.

I always wondered about it/never tried it, but knew that if a detonation happened in the tumbler it wouldn't be a big deal (no barrel and all). I knew the big companies did it because of all the cob media I shook out of some Federal HP's. Walnut or cob media? Seems walnut would not get stuck in larger hollow points. Think I might start doing it as most of the stuff I load is crimped anyways.

I never used to do it but now it is a BIG time saving factor for removing case lube from finished ammo. Never need more than 10-15 minutes to do the job with walnut media. No dif in finished ammo opperation but I still polish the brass before loading so that the finishing time will be shortened.