Brass Cases Not To Tumble Together

[GeoDudeFlorida]

This will annoy some people. Can’t be helped. Less than 50pcs, don’t bother tumbling. Clean by hand using bore cleaning tools. In fact, for less than 50, just make it a habit to clean and deprime your brass when you clean the gun that shot them. More than 50, do it in batches and don’t mix bore sizes - .35 w/ .35, which means .36, and .38 bores including 9mm, .38Spl/.357Mag, 9mmMak and.38-40 can all tumble together). I know, it’s slow and not very gratifying but, it saves work in the long run.

 

[41 Mag]

In the last 35+ years, running both a rotary and vibratory cleaners, I have found that anything that will fit inside something else should not go together.

As some have mentioned, some rifle and handgun cases will not lock up tight but that still gives the chance of a half cleaned case(s). I just resort to using a small tumbler for handgun and the big one for rifle, unless only doing 10-50 cases of one caliber for a batch.

 

[CQB45ACP]

This will annoy some people. Can’t be helped. Less than 50pcs, don’t bother tumbling. Clean by hand using bore cleaning tools. In fact, for less than 50, just make it a habit to clean and deprime your brass when you clean the gun that shot them. More than 50, do it in batches and don’t mix bore sizes - .35 w/ .35, which means .36, and .38 bores including 9mm, .38Spl/.357Mag, 9mmMak and.38-40 can all tumble together). I know, it’s slow and not very gratifying but, it saves work in the long run.

Not just annoying, it’s blasphemy!

 

[lordpaxman]

The popular pistol calibers all mate up. 9’s in 40’s, 40’s in 45’s, sometimes it’s a triple stack. Not sure how that identifies, but I sort before tumbling.
If I have some wildly disparate cases like 30-06 and 9’s, and I have to, I’ll take a chance with those. Otherwise, I have a whole bunch of bags that hold partial tumbler loads. When they get full, the tumbler gets a workout.

 

[Walkalong]

So with a wet tumbler - open it after a few minutes of tumbling, add smaller and smaller cartridges (repeat) until all of them are in? Never tried this.

If we’re talking about wet tumbling, all bets are off. haven’t tried it yet.

 

[WestKentucky]

40 can lock up in 45 pretty tight if there’s any crud in there. Thankfully I don’t load either so I’m the many times I have had it happen I just toss it and move on.

 

[TacticalJanitor]

This is what I do after watching the video on you tube

Thanks for posting this video @donut1953. Mind blown!

 

[jmorris]

The .380 & 9mm can be run at the same time, the trick to sorting them afterwards is to put a 9mm between your thumb & index finger so you can feel the match of the 9mm cases but the .380s will feel short.

They are also a different diameter, they fall out with .223 brass before 9mm, if you sort by OD.



I do not miss sorting by hand. However, if you really like puzzles tumble 45 GAP with 50 BMG brass…

 

[entropy]

I dry tumble, but have learned over the years the 9mm & .380 like to hide in .45ACP, and cover the necks of .223. .40 S&W, and 10mm will stick inside .45 ACP, I don't think they would in a wet tumbler with pins. I tumble range pickups, so I've learned over the years to just tumble each caliber individually, though I toss the off one or two in with the closest match, e.g., .300BO with 7.62x39.

 

[Charlie98]

After fighting with cases 'getting together' in the vibratory tumbler, my rule of thumb is to just tumble everything separate.

 

[DMW1116]

The more I read, the more that sounds like the best option.

 

[375supermag]

I long ago decided to separate my brass before tumbling.
I typically run four tumblers at the same time with one caliber per tumbler. The largest volume calibers get tumbled in the large Dillon tumbler...it is an extremely large capacity tumbler and holds hundreds of .357Magnum, .45ACP or 9mm cases.
Also use that tumbler for the majority of rifle case tumbling as well except for .223. My son sends that out to be processed because he doesn't want to deal with the large quantities of brass. He doesn't mind loading it but doesn't want to deal with resizing, depriming and cleaning the primer pockets.
His decision...his money.

 

[Starter52]

9mm in .41 Magnum is my biggest problem.

 

[Shivahasagun]

This will annoy some people. Can’t be helped. Less than 50pcs, don’t bother tumbling. Clean by hand using bore cleaning tools. In fact, for less than 50, just make it a habit to clean and deprime your brass when you clean the gun that shot them. More than 50, do it in batches and don’t mix bore sizes - .35 w/ .35, which means .36, and .38 bores including 9mm, .38Spl/.357Mag, 9mmMak and.38-40 can all tumble together). I know, it’s slow and not very gratifying but, it saves work in the long run.

There have been a few times I wanted to load (under 50) a few to test a new load but didn't want to tumble those few cases. I just washed them quickly in a bowl with soap & water to remove anything big like sand. Done. Loaded them up. (.38 spec., .44 Russian, .25 acp)

 

[Buzznrose]

I’m toying with the idea of a FART Light to clean brass but to make it worth it I need to be able to do as much brass as I can. I’ll have 308, 223, 9mm, 30-30, and 357/38. Are any of those incompatible? I got a bag of range pickups and found some 40 S&W inside some 44 Mags and could not get them out. Any combination like that I need to watch if I do get into tumbling? I am a high frequency but low volume shooter, so I thing the Light will suit my needs well.

For me, if I can put any part of a case in another case, I don’t tumble them together.

 

[DMW1116]

My usual pickling process works pretty well but I’ve been picking up some Gah-Rungy range brass and all the pistol calibers still have dust fall out of them after cleaning.l. I have nearly all my loads worked out and enough variety that components are available. Cleaning larger volumes and reducing the interior case dust seems like a good idea.

 

[lightman]

In the last 35+ years, running both a rotary and vibratory cleaners, I have found that anything that will fit inside something else should not go together.

As some have mentioned, some rifle and handgun cases will not lock up tight but that still gives the chance of a half cleaned case(s). I just resort to using a small tumbler for handgun and the big one for rifle, unless only doing 10-50 cases of one caliber for a batch.

This has been my experience too. Like if it can it will!

After fighting with cases 'getting together' in the vibratory tumbler, my rule of thumb is to just tumble everything separate.

For me, if I can put any part of a case in another case, I don’t tumble them together.

Me too!

I do tumble a few together. 380, 9mm, 38 and 357 will play well together. 44's and 45's work ok together.

 

[DesertFox]

9mm in 10mm is a bear...

 

[mcb]

I have always sorted my brass by cartridge before cleaning. I rarely run a mixed batch of brass in the tumbler. My tumbler came with two bowls and the smaller one is perfect for a small batch (20-30) rifle rounds.

 

[Elkins45]

Lyman used to sell mesh bags that would allow you to segregate your brass but still tumble it together. Unfortunately they are discontinued now. Maybe you could substitute mesh laundry bags or even the bags fruit or onions come in.

 

[HEAVY METAL 1]

^^^^ YES those! At least in my local grocery store they have a discount bin of discolored/bruised produce bagged up with this mesh. Sometimes the produce is usable and then you get the bag too, win win. I have found the best way to hold them closed in vibratory tumblers is to spin the bag shut then fasten it with a length of pipe cleaner. I have tried a variety of methods over the years and the pipe cleaners is the only way to go.

 

[Walkalong]

I have always sorted my brass by cartridge before cleaning. I rarely run a mixed batch of brass in the tumbler

Same here.

 

[JKP]

I wet tumbled 9mm with .357 and never had them mate before. That's the only 2 calibers I have wet tumbled together. I've heard with dry tumbling you can start with the larger cases and then add the smaller ones after the larger ones are filed with media. I read this after I started wet tumbling so I don't know if this works.

 

[Stefan A]

I think you’ll be good as long as you avoid the wet fart lite.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I think you’ll be good as long as you avoid the wet fart lite.

Yeah. Wet farts. Never a good thing.