Tumbling loaded casings.

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elkhunter1234

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He guys just a question for the guys that know.
I’ve been going through my ammo safe and I have a few hundred rounds that are reloaded, some 20 years ago. I don’t go to the range near as often as I use to so don’t shot nearly as much as I use to. I have several hundred of rounds from 4 different calibers and was wondering about putting them in my tumbler to clean them up, is that a dumb idea or what would the best way to get the tarnish off the brass ones?
 
phillyblt said:
From what i know you shouldnt do that. It will break down the powder on the inside and be unsafe. if they shoot just shoot em.
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No. Loaded rounds are tumbled as part of final cleaning before being packaged in many ammunition factories. You can find footage online from the S&B factory for example. Tumble away to your heart's content unless you're dry mixing your own serpentine for a hand gonne.
 
Tumbling can cause the powder granules to be broken down into a finer powder, which can lead to a faster rate of ignition with subsequent higher pressures. I posted this warning here over ten years ago, and was roundly poo-pooed by a few members.

I then posted an article from some shooting publication relating how a Norwegian police force had trashed a pile of .38 Special ammunition after they tumble cleaned it, as it led to several cases of blown up revolvers.

Caveat emptor
 
slug said:
Tumbling can cause the powder granules to be broken down into a finer powder, which can lead to a faster rate of ignition with subsequent higher pressures. I posted this warning here over ten years ago, and was roundly poo-pooed by a few members.

I then posted an article from some shooting publication relating how a Norwegian police force had trashed a pile of .38 Special ammunition after they tumble cleaned it, as it led to several cases of blown up revolvers.

Caveat emptor
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Thats what im saying to. but like kentucky ballistics put a thumb in it if something goes wrong
 
Tumbling has no effect on the powder what so ever. Powder bounces around while being manufactured, transported, loaded and then finalized into ammunition. Factories tumble loaded rounds after to give them a final clean. The ammunition then bounces around in a box until its finally sold. Bounces around some more until its finally shot.

Think about what ammunition goes through in a combat zone. If tumbling powder was a issue, we would know.

I tumble all of my reloads after I am finished before they go into storage. I load about 35k a year for the last 20 years. Never had a problem.
 
I've put loaded rounds through my lyman vibrating polisher with corn cob media for close to 50 years now, cleans them up nice and makes sure all the lube is off the cases, never had an issue, as others have said the powder get's bounced around after it leaves the factory until you pull the trigger. Years back I got a bunch of 270 and 30-06 factory loads from an estate sale, they must have been 20 or more years old and from the shape the boxes were in they got wet at some point the cases were all tarnished, into the media for about an hour and they were just like new, never had an issue with any one of them when they were shot.
 
The willingness of the shooting community to embrace wives tales, gossip and hear-say as undisputed facts never ceases to amaze me. The tumbling ammo thing is a great example. My tumbler came with a slip of paper in the bowl saying never to tumble live ammo, as the powder granules could break down and affect burning blah blah blah. I think every printed reloading manual I possess has the same warning somewhere. Clearly somebody must have said this out loud one day, 50+ years ago, and everybody just took it at face value.

Unlike some other examples though, in the case of the tumbled live ammo people actually got around to testing the hypothesis. Over the 30 or so years I have been hanging around internet firearm discussion sites, I have seen several people report tumbling tests, wherein many rounds loaded to a wide range of load densities with a variety of types and speeds of powders have been tumbled. I seem to recall tumbling times right up to 30 days. And in all these cases, these amateur experimenters reported firing the tumbled ammo with no perceptible difference from control sample ammo.

Despite all the official warnings from all the companies that should know better, I consider the myth thoroughly busted.
 
it sounds like an easy way to clean loaded ammo but is it worth the trouble and danger? sort the dirty ammo out and use an sos pad to clean the grime off the case. if the other guy wants to blow himself up let him do it, you do not have to risk yourself. i am an explosives teck and dont take chances like that.
 
Just how dirty or corroded is this ammo?
Tarnished ammo will shoot just fine.
Could you tumble it, many have with no issue but to what benefit?
I wouldn’t prefer to spend my time shooting not polishing…
 
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