Tumbling, school a newb

[VAHEVAHE]

i have some questions on tumbling

1. Can you tumble brass with the new primer in it?without a problem?
2. Can u tumble a live round??without a problem?
3. Is there a process i should follow
4. any tips and pointers are appreciated

is there any evidence that shows a clean round shoots better then a dirty one?

[tjcoker]

i have some questions on tumbling

1. Can you tumble brass with the new primer in it?without a problem?

No problem, they won't fire.

2. Can u tumble a live round??without a problem?

Again, no problem.

3. Is there a process i should follow

Put media (ground corn cob or crushed walnut) into tumbler, add car wax (I use Nufinish), add mineral spirits, let run for 10 minutes, tehn put the rounds/cases into the tumbler, run for 2 hours or so depending on level of dirtiness. Run for an hour or less if you just want to clean your live ammo.

I've run live ammo (rifle and handgun) with no problems. I've done this both intentionally and unintentionally. I felt uneasy the first time but read enough of the no problem posts that it then didn't bother me. Have fun, Tim.

[ETD1010]

1. Can you tumble brass with the new primer in it?without a problem?

No problem, they won't fire.

2. Can u tumble a live round??without a problem?

Again, no problem.

3. Is there a process i should follow

Actually, I've seen/read/heard, that tumbling a live round will make the powder super super fine grain and cause high pressure and a kaboom.... I woudln't advise tumbling live primers either... whether or NOT it is risky. . . . From what I've gathered here.. and from what I do now, here's the process:

1. tumble shortly
2. deprime/size/trim
3. tumble for a few hours more
4. check flash holes for media.
5. prime
6. charge
7. bullet

[VAHEVAHE]

Actually, I've seen/read/heard, that tumbling a live round will make the powder super super fine grain and cause high pressure and a kaboom.... I woudln't advise tumbling live primers either... whether or NOT it is risky. . . . From what I've gathered here.. and from what I do now, here's the process:

1. tumble shortly
2. deprime/size/trim
3. tumble for a few hours more
4. check flash holes for media.
5. prime
6. charge
7. bullet

well now i need to remove the live primers, is it risky to do that ? or should i start over

[rksimple]

I've removed live primers before without incident. Just go slow. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, chamber the primed case in your weapon and pop 'em. Then decap as normal.

[jdberger]

Just load and shoot the brass dirty. It won't kill ya. Next time around you'll do it right.


Don't tumble live rounds. Clean brass doesn't shoot better. Or do it if you're the kind of guy that washes a plate before AND after you eat off of it.

BTW: If you decap your live primers by chambering the primed brass, have a decent backstop. There is quite a bit of pressure generated, there.

[rksimple]

If you haven't tumbled the primed brass yet, don't worry about it. I was under the impression you already had. Like JD said, dirty brass won't kill ya'. It can leave some deposits and things in your sizing die that can start to scratch necks up a little though.

[elenius]

My 2 cents:

- I wouldn't tumble with a live primer in. Not for fear that they will go off, but just because tumbling media or cleaning liquid might stick to the primer.

- Loading up the rounds with somewhat dirty brass is no problem (for pistol rounds, except maybe 357 sig, which has the issues associated with bottleneck cartridges). Cleaning brass is mostly a feelgood thing anyway.

- Rifle rounds are supposed to be clean and dry, so I tumble those for 5-10 minutes after loading them. For pistol rounds, I don't think there's any point (except it makes them look really nice and shiny).

- Don't tumble loaded rounds with lead bullets. I hear this can get messy, and if they are moly coated, you might hurt the coating.

- Tumbling live rounds can break up the flakes/bars of the powder if you do it for too long. Don't do more than 10 minutes (or whatever you're comfortable with).

[ryang]

Even with carbide sizing dies and straight wall pistol cases, lubricating the case makes reloading much easier. Running loaded rounds through the tumbler for 10-15 minutes removes that lube so you hands don't get sticky when shooting. Do this only with FMJ/TMJ rounds.

Tumbling loaded rounds will not pulverize the powder. Sierra warns against it but they're trying to minimize litigation. A guy tumbled loaded rounds overnight and didn't find any difference in velocity. (Side note: if tumbling was bad, then leaving ammo in a car for an extended duration would have the same bad effect.)

Don't tumble empty cases with live primers. Sometimes the tumbline media gets stuck in the primer which could cause ignition problems.

I like using corn cob media with Dillon case cleaner. I tried treated walnut media and didn't like the rouge reside left on the case.

[mousegun]

i have some questions on tumbling

1. Can you tumble brass with the new primer in it?without a problem?

Not a good idea since media grains can stick in the flash hole and cause hangfires or misfires.

2. Can u tumble a live round??without a problem?

Some factory ammo is tumbled before it ships. Haven't seen any evidence cited that it's dangerous or detrimental.

3. Is there a process i should follow

Yes.

4. any tips and pointers are appreciated

Try NuFinish car polish instead of standard polishes in the media. Seems to make the brass sparkle.

is there any evidence that shows a clean round shoots better then a dirty one?

Yes, but not for the reasons one thinks. First, shooting is as much a mental sport as physical. For some folks chambering a shiny, clean cartridge is like the little "twitchy dance" a pitcher goes through before the wind up. Doesn't really help the pitch, but does get his head connected to the rest of him before he fires the ball.

Also, for benchrest or bullseye shooting, it's easier for some to see nicks and incipient neck splits that would effect neck tension and crimping consistency on clean, shiny brass. But, YMMV

Also, don't decap the brass, just load it up and fire it without tumbling. Won't hurt anything, you won't waste the primers, and it's a lot safer.

[Citadelgrad87]

Agree with those who say tumbling live rounds is not a risk, at least not a risk to make the powder too dangerous.

Think about it, all that milsurp that eeryone is sanpping up? How many rounds of that have been fired withouth incident. Now think about all the times that stuff gets "vibrated." Ever been in back of a truck, or a military transport? UPS truck? VIbrating isn't doing anyhting to that powder.

Plus, a guy over on FalFiles, Wadman, whom I know, tumbled live rounds for something in exces of 24 hours, and could NOT detect a velocity change over a chrony.

[Stavros]

Here is some food for thought. EVERY single box of .223 blackhills 73gr bergers that I had bought had media stuck in the oversized HP tips on the berger bullets.

If black hills tumbles their loaded match cartridges to a shiny perfection and it still nets me sub-MOA shooting, then it's fine by me.

[Telperion]

Actually, I've seen/read/heard, that tumbling a live round will make the powder super super fine grain and cause high pressure and a kaboom

Tumbling live rounds can break up the flakes/bars of the powder if you do it for too long. Don't do more than 10 minutes (or whatever you're comfortable with).

If that's the case, how did the powder manage to survive being shipped ground from the manufacturer, to the distributor, to the retailer, then to you? Don't forget, Hodgdon and IMR are made in Australia.

[grywlfbg]

Here's my process for .223:

1) Tumble cases with a mix of 75% walnut and 25% corn cob bought from a local pet store and a capful of Nu-finish car wax.

2) case gauge to remove any really smashed cases and to make sure all the polishing media is out of the cases

3) Lube cases, resize, and deprime

4) Swage primer pocket (some commercial stuff is using crimped pockets now so I just swage everything - makes me wish I bought a 1050 )

5) Case gauge again to check the length and look for any damage

6) trim cases that extend past the case guage (new Giraud Trimmer on the way )

7) load

8) Tumble loaded cartridges for 15 mins in 100% corn cob to remove the case lube

[VAHEVAHE]

Here's my process for .223:

1) Tumble cases with a mix of 75% walnut and 25% corn cob bought from a local pet store and a capful of Nu-finish car wax.

2) case gauge to remove any really smashed cases and to make sure all the polishing media is out of the cases

3) Lube cases, resize, and deprime

4) Swage primer pocket (some commercial stuff is using crimped pockets now so I just swage everything - makes me wish I bought a 1050 )

5) Case gauge again to check the length and look for any damage

6) trim cases that extend past the case guage (new Giraud Trimmer on the way )

7) load

8) Tumble loaded cartridges for 15 mins in 100% corn cob to remove the case lube

perfect thanks for all your help guys