Tumbling fresh reloaded ammo

R

rednex3

Member
Rating - 100%
5   0   0
Location
Vancouver Island, BC
I have a question for the seasoned guys here.
Is there any reason that I couldn't or shouldn't tumble freshly reloaded 45 ACP?
Was thinking of tumbling no more than 50 at a time for approximately 1/2 hour. It is an idea that I just had to clean up the little bits of wax that are left floating around amongs the finished rounds in the catch bin. Up to now I have been trying to get it all off with my fingers and sometimes it ends up squished on the cases. Once this happens it is next to impossible to remove and I don't really feel like wiping each round with chemical strippers. I am suspecting this wax on the cases may be a contributing factor to the odd jam I get. I have noticed a definate difference in the consistency of the wax from batch to batch of the Cactus Plains 155gr LSWC that I have been using. Just looking for a quicker more effective way to produce a clean, match ready final product.

Anybody know of any reliable sources for 155gr LSWC? I'm finding it difficult to come across.
 
Some grumpy old bugger will be along soon to lecture you on the old wives tale how tumbling loaded ammo is dangerous,

But the reality is it is fine to do. I tumble every round I load, I've done thousands
 
randas said:
Some grumpy old bugger will be along soon to lecture you on the old wives tale how tumbling loaded ammo is dangerous,

But the reality is it is fine to do. I tumble every round I load, I've done thousands
Click to expand...

Yep, that'd be me. First thought when I saw the title...better tell him how dangerous this is to do. So, it is dangerous and you should NEVER tumble live rounds!!!
Got that? NEVER!

Now, that being said, and the legal disclaimer out o f the way, I have tumbled hundreds of rounds without incident. No sympathetic primer explosions, no holes in my ceiling, just clean rounds.

But remember, NEVER TUMBLE LIVE ROUNDS!!!
 
It's not hard to understand why people lecture against tumbling live cartridges. If you buy a new tumbler, most brands will come with a slip of paper saying "NEVER TUMBLE LOADED ROUNDS!!". Likewise every loading manual i own has a similar statement somewhere.

That being said, I have never heard of a single story on the whole internet that corroborates it, but I've seen many reports that refute it. I tumble live rounds, as do many, many others. Of the reasons given not to, the one about powder being mechanically affected has been disproven; the one about primers being set off just doesn't make sense. So tumble away.
 
Although it's a really bad idea, completely unsafe and dangerous, I've been tumbling live rounds - .38 spl, 9 mm and 45 ACP for over 30 years. I still have most of my vital appendages.
 
You should never tumble live rounds, its right up there with never running black powder through your plastic powder measure.
 
I sometimes tumble jacketed rounds to clean off slight corrosion on old stuff or clean lube off cases.

You may or may not find dust/media sticks to your cast bullets if you tumble.
 
randas said:
Some grumpy old bugger will be along soon to lecture you on the old wives tale how tumbling loaded ammo is dangerous,

But the reality is it is fine to do. I tumble every round I load, I've done thousands
Click to expand...

I think you have things a bit bass akward.
How many times on these threads does some inexperienced reloader come on with some simple, perceived problem, that he is sure will blow the gun up in his face?
Invarriably, it is a few of us grumpy old buggers that come on and tell him he has no problem, just shoot the damn thing.
 
Media can get stuck in hollow points, that's all.

There was a post somewhere where a guy loaded up 200 rounds, tumbled 100 for 2 weeks and shot a batch every day to test FPS differences against the ones not tumbled. During and after the 2 weeks, no difference.
 
My Norinco .45 loaded ammo was tarnished when I bought it new.

Tumbling cleaned them up and made them look new, like they should have been.

Done half of the thousand so far, and plan to do the rest.
 
If you tumble live rounds, I'd advise pulling a few rounds to ensure the powder isn't being ground down by the tumbling action.
I've never heard/read about such problems but it's always a possibility.
 
Rednex3: Thank you for having the balls to ask this question! I've thought of it but dismissed as a bad idea for obvious (to me) reasons. I figured it was a no-no and asking about it would be subjecting oneself to a flaming of unknown proportions.

But now, I will save so much time when reloading! I won't have to spend all that time wiping thick left over lube from the cast bullet that protrudes from the case! awesome.

Thank you, and thank everyone for answering wich such civility.




Oh and... Don't Ever tumble live rounds... EVER!


:cheers:
 
digitalblue said:
If you tumble live rounds, I'd advise pulling a few rounds to ensure the powder isn't being ground down by the tumbling action.
I've never heard/read about such problems but it's always a possibility.
Click to expand...

Was I ever surprised to see that it took 14 posts for this little "theory" to emerge.:p
 
Radnas, 4831 beat me to the punch. Most of us grumpy old buggers (well, not really a bugger, but old and grumpy anyway) are not nearly as paranoid about life as those raised under the protective whir of their mommy's helicopter rotor.
 
Digital blue and Joe-NWT, the last time the loaded and tumbling thing came up the grinding thing was addressed. Some body actually has pictures of powder grains before and after tumbling. The pics are through a microscope so there is no doubt that there is no problem tumbling live ammo. But lets not let science get in the way
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom