Cleaning Live Ammo?

Island Gun Nut

Island Gun Nut

Member
Rating - 100%
12   0   0
So I have a couple thousand rounds of 7.62x25 surplus and obviously it looks and feels like crap. It's all tarnished and gritty.

What can I do to clean it up? Will liquids potentially seep into the case and ruin the ammo? Is there a dry medium to tumble it around in?

I plan on reloading various kinds of ammo down the road so I wouldn't mind eating the cost of a case tumbler if there's a way for it to clean my live stuff without ruining it.

And yes, part of why I want to do this is for aesthetic reasons, but half of it is because of functionality. I can't imagine the ammo being that dirty and gritty is good for feeding reliability.

Thanks,
 
You can tumble live rounds with little or no problems. I do all my 9mm. Gets rid of any remaining residue from prep and cleans them up nicely. Walnut/corncob media and a little car polish.
The problem with surplus ammo is that it may be a varnish or lacquer that's on the case. Easy solution for long term storage of steel cased ammo. I have ammo like yours and have been tempted to clean the rounds in lacquer thinner, let dry and then fire them off. Seriously doubt that liquid will seep into the case with only a quick wash. Also, mere tumbling probably won't give you decent results. You'd need something more aggressive to get the lacquer off or smooth it down.

(E) :cool:
 
The bolt on a Lee Enfield blew apart at my club last summer. The issue was deemed to be old military cartridges that had been tumble cleaned. The thinking is that the powder would have been somewhat ground down, creating finer particles= greater surface area for ignition= much higher pressure than expected. The club member who was firing the rifle required an ambulance ride to the hospital for shrapnel removal from his face and arm. The police were good about the situation, but the club got an expedited inspection.

I would not recommend tumble cleaning live rounds that you intend to fire.
 
Dominion Link said:
The bolt on a Lee Enfield blew apart at my club last summer. The issue was deemed to be old military cartridges that had been tumble cleaned. The thinking is that the powder would have been somewhat ground down, creating finer particles= greater surface area for ignition= much higher pressure than expected. The club member who was firing the rifle required an ambulance ride to the hospital for shrapnel removal from his face and arm. The police were good about the situation, but the club got an expedited inspection.

I would not recommend tumble cleaning live rounds that you intend to fire.
Click to expand...

Probably a old 303 with cordite sticks.

From what I have read modern powders wont degrade in a cartridge that's been put through a tumbler
 
For my 7.62 x 25 ammo, I cleaned each case with a contractor's towel and some Hoppes Elite. They don't come out shiny, but you get the worst of the crud off. Mind you, you're looking at several hours of very boring work.
 
636andy636 said:
Probably a old 303 with cordite sticks.

From what I have read modern powders wont degrade in a cartridge that's been put through a tumbler
Click to expand...

There are articles out there to the contrary too, so I would be reluctant to follow anyone's advice without some proof. Luckily, that's a relatively easy test.

Tumble a half dozen rounds for a few hours and then open a pair of them up to compare to some untumbled stock. Dump them out on some clean bright white paper and see if there is a perceptible amount of fine "dust" or obvious change in the size and shape of the powder grains.

Tumble the remainders for a day and them compare to your control units.

Tumble the last two for a couple/three days and see if there is a difference. This may seem unrealistic, but it will show a tendancy to degrade more clearly than an hour or two in the tumbler. Also, some rounds may end up being tumbled several times if they are allowed to tarnish again before you shoot them.


The manufacturing process that powder goes through is full of tumbling and dumping and shaking, so I would not expect a huge result after a few hours of tumbling. You never know though, the powder in old milsurp ammo may be drier and more brittle, therefore subject to breakdown.

I would love to see someone do the test, document it thoroughly and then post the results with pics. It would probably be the best test to date.
 
I wouldn't tumble it for the reason of the possible erosion of the powder and alteration of burning rate. Far fetched? Damned if I'm going to try it.
 
Island Gun Nut said:
So I have a couple thousand rounds of 7.62x25 surplus and obviously it looks and feels like crap. It's all tarnished and gritty.

What can I do to clean it up?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Just yesterday I found a live 9mm round in the washing machine - must have been in a pocket after a range session. Didn't look any shinier - so washing machine won't help. :p
 
Dominion Link said:
The bolt on a Lee Enfield blew apart at my club last summer. The issue was deemed to be old military cartridges that had been tumble cleaned.
Click to expand...

and how was this deemed exactly? and why were the police involved in any way shape or form?
 
Slavex said:
and how was this deemed exactly? and why were the police involved in any way shape or form?
Click to expand...

The president of my club, who is a retired Paramedic, pulled the bullets on a couple of the very shiny, old military, rounds that the club member had been shooting and found a significant amount gunpowder dust in with the gunpowder. The cartridges had been purchased at a show by the club member and they were cleaned up prior to purchase.

If you call 911 and explain that someone has been injured in an accident involving a firearm, the police will automatically be responding. Can't really get away with requesting an ambulance to a gun range without the police finding out about it.
 
must be an Ontario thing, the PD out here would only respond if someone was actually shot.
as for the dust, unless all the rounds, including ones that weren't cleaned were pulled and inspected for dust, I would be looking at the propellant simply breaking down from being poorly stored and ancient. the amount of jostling and bumping those rounds would've gone through over the years would've been equal too what the tumbler did, except that you are adding the aging process into the time frame as well. I wouldn't shoot any of the ammo, tumbled or otherwise.
 
Don't do it

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER tumble clean loaded amunition !!!!!!!!!!!!

The tumbling action can break down down the size of the powder to almost dust and possibly increase the burning rate to EXTREME pressures.

Ammunition can be tanished and work just fine. As long as the case does not have barnacles attached........ Shinny ammunition does not make it work better.

Be safe............ DON'T DO IT !!!!!!!!!


Bill
 
Bojangles said:
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER tumble clean loaded amunition !!!!!!!!!!!!

The tumbling action can break down down the size of the powder to almost dust and possibly increase the burning rate to EXTREME pressures.

Ammunition can be tanished and work just fine. As long as the case does not have barnacles attached........ Shinny ammunition does not make it work better.

Be safe............ DON'T DO IT !!!!!!!!!


Bill
Click to expand...

well you better send that off to Winchester, Federal, Remington and all the ammo manufacturers out there. it's a myth that it's unsafe.
 
Bojangles said:
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER tumble clean loaded amunition !!!!!!!!!!!!

The tumbling action can break down down the size of the powder to almost dust and possibly increase the burning rate to EXTREME pressures.

Ammunition can be tanished and work just fine. As long as the case does not have barnacles attached........ Shinny ammunition does not make it work better.

Be safe............ DON'T DO IT !!!!!!!!!


Bill
Click to expand...

That's funny, the thousands of 223 and 9mm I've reloaded and shot over my short gun-nut career have shot just fine after tumbling.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom