Crushed Corn Cob tumbling media question

[Keeperfaith]

Hi,

I hear that a lot of you guys use "crushed corn cob" to polish you media.

As I was walking through Target I saw this (pic below) crushed corn kernals/corn fibers (Kitty Litter)...It looks reasonably priced...
The bag on the left states its
100% crushed corn kernals and the bag on the right states it is 100% natural corn fibers.

Now are these the same as the media you guys call "crushed corn cob" or are you guys actually using real crushed corn cob? Will either one of these work for polishing brass or only one or neither?

The reason I ask is because everyone refers to walnut media as "crushed walnuts" when its actually crushed walnut shells and I just wanna make sure.

Thanks

Steve

 

[ColtPythonElite]

AFAIK, we are using corn cob....That litter probably is not fine enough.

 

[savanahsdad]

don't know , maybe I'll try it

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I tried some crushed corn litter of some sort from Petsmart. It did a poor job of polishing and got stuck in bottle neck cases.

 

[blarby]

http://www.drillspot.com/products/521055/econoline_526040g-40_40_lbs_blast_media

 

[noylj]

I use 20/40 corn cob and tumble deprimed cases. This mesh size has never stuck in primer pocket or the flash hole.
Best place I have found to buy it is $33.66/40 lbs, with free shipping from DrillSpot
http://www.drillspot.com/products/521055/econoline_526040g-40_40_lbs_blast_media

 

[hentown]

I also use bulk blasting media, but I use 14/20.

 

[TonyT]

I purchase the ground corn cob and crushed walnut shells from the pet supply store - they usually are the least expensive in 20 to 40 lb bags.

 

[jcwit]

What hentown, noylj, and blarby say. don't forget, Drillspot ships it right to your door freight free, no gas expense or time out of your schedule.

 

[rsrocket1]

Crushed walnut is usually found at feed and grain stores. I got a 50 pound bag for $17, but found that someone locally (N. CAL) who sells it for $15. You can also find "lizzard bedding" at the pet stores which is also crushed walnut, but it is several times more expensive.

 

[chrome_austex]

Make sure the grain is small enough. Vibrator Tumblers are amazingly effective at cramming things into holes they shouldn't fit into. Entropy is a real bitch.

The last time I tried corn cob from the pet store, it completely and utterly clogged my 223 brass and I had to spend an hour with poker to clear every brass case one by one. Back to reloading specific walnut media for me.

 

[Queen_of_Thunder]

Pet store corn cob medis.is.too large in diameter. I do use some of the crushed walnut bedding material.with the corn cob media in a 50-50 ratio. Does a good job. I also tear a dryer sheet in half and place it in the tumbler also. It does a great job at keeping the dust down.

 

[savanahsdad]

I also use bulk blasting media, but I use 14/20.

I was told I was nuts for doing that . lol... I add 2 cups of "black Magic" to my mix for my bolt rifle only , it helps the cases grip the chamber giveing less rear thrust ,, brass lasts longer and groups got smaller ..

 

[thump_rrr]

In the first year alone I went through $90.00 of corn cob and ground english walnut shell media.
I switched to wet tumbling with stainless steel media.
No more purchasing media that needs to be replaced and my brass has never looked better inside and out.

 

[GP100man]

Here`s what I use , note the sisift size .

 

[medalguy]

Thump rrr, I think you're replacing your media too often then. I can use my cob for probably 20 cycles of 8 hours before I start using it for dirt removal.

Try this: Use the clean media for polishing clean brass. Adding a splash of mineral spirits holds down dust and loosens carbon deposits. When that media stops cleaning well, use it to remove lube, then when it gets greasy feeling, use it to remove dirt and carbon in a preliminary cleaning. I can use one 40 pound bag of cob for over a year by switching around the applications, and I load something like 60,000 rounds a year.

 

[thump_rrr]

Thump rrr, I think you're replacing your media too often then. I can use my cob for probably 20 cycles of 8 hours before I start using it for dirt removal.

Try this: Use the clean media for polishing clean brass. Adding a splash of mineral spirits holds down dust and loosens carbon deposits. When that media stops cleaning well, use it to remove lube, then when it gets greasy feeling, use it to remove dirt and carbon in a preliminary cleaning. I can use one 40 pound bag of cob for over a year by switching around the applications, and I load something like 60,000 rounds a year.

Thanks for the suggestions but like I said earlier I'm done with walnut for good and I use corn cob to give a final polish to completed pistol rounds.
Just for the lack of dust alone wet tumbling is worth it to me.

As for bottleneck cases I size and deprime then I wet tumble which removes the lube and gets the cases looking like new inside and out.

 

[FROGO207]

The question to those that vibrate tumble is have you loaded with new brass before? If you wet tumble your brass WILL look like it is new brass every time you clean it. I also got sick of spending for replacement media and have never been more pleased. It does cost more to gear up but IMHO in a year or two you should be even if you reload any fair amount of ammo. You can use rice or many other materials and they will work passably but when cost is a factor there would be something that cost less already packaged and sold for reloading use if it was viable IMHO.

 

[Elkins45]

As others have warned, be sure the corn cob media you use is smaller than the case neck on the smallest cartridge you shoot. I mixed some pet bedding in with my regular tumbling media and neglected to consider that before tumbling 100 243 cases.

You won't believe how much effort it took to unpack the media from all those cases! If all you are doing is 44/45 caliber handgun then it's not much to worry about, but be careful of bottleneck rifle rounds.

 

[AABEN]

I bought 50lb for corn cob for 10.00 15years ago and still have about half of it. I reload around 6000+ per year. I get a Lyman turbo cleaner about 10month ago now most of my brass goes there. I wished I had it years ago. Cleaner brass and a LOT faster.