Vibratory tumbling live .50 BMG rounds

FYI - Here's a caution note from Varmit Al's reloading page:

CAUTION: There is a serious problem with tumbling loaded ammo. The coating on the powder grains, that controls the burn rate, could be abraded and this would change the powder's characteristics. If you were loading ammo near maximum, after tumbling, you might have created a dangerous pressure problem.
 
hillman said:
FYI - Here's a caution note from Varmit Al's reloading page:

CAUTION: There is a serious problem with tumbling loaded ammo. The coating on the powder grains, that controls the burn rate, could be abraded and this would change the powder's characteristics. If you were loading ammo near maximum, after tumbling, you might have created a dangerous pressure problem.
Click to expand...


I think...sometimes.... that if the above were true then it would follow that one should not haul ammo around in your vehicle. Believing that, one should not haul any ammo around.
Ummmm...so then how does the powder or ammo get to a customer from the manufacturer????

Oh I know, it comes packed in feather bags.
 
I hate to think how much "tumbling" those old military surplus ammo boxes from years gone by have had over the years being driven from place to place. People probably shouldn't shoot them in case the coatings have been abraded off the powder. :p

I have tumbled loaded ammo before with nary a problem. I wouldn't leave them in the tumbler for hours on end, but an hour or two shouldn't hurt them.
 
Why is he lubing the inside of the case? Unless 50 cal bmg is alot different then other rifle brass all you need to do is take some hornady unique lube warm it up between your finger tips and put a light film on the outside of the neck and body of the case.
 
You don't put live ammo in a vibratory tumbler - ever....period. Biggest reason as mentioned earlier - you can and probably will alter the coating and the structure of the powder leading to different burn rate characteristics. It's NOT like riding around in your truck. A bit of neck lube means squat - it doesn't affect powder burn. Anything you remove from a case by tumbling winds up in the media so why bother subjecting clean brass to the lead/copper/powder residue etc that's already there? It's also possible to dramatically alter bullet runout as well - basically realign what you took such care to get as straight as possible when seating. Not to mention potentially explosive. If there is one instruction that's usually in big bold letters from any tumbler, bullet or powder manufacturer's reloading/case prep instructions it would be NEVER PUT LIVE AMMUNITION IN A VIBRATING TUMBLER.
 
A load of crap

Manufacturers tumble their finished rounds. Tumbling really doesn't affect powder at all. Nervous nellies have always claimed that it is immoral, dangerous and fattening, but there is no proof that it is. Vibrating _might_ eventually cause the powder to wear against itself, but again, no proof exists that it does. Shiny bullets shoot better because they are prettier is my theory. If you're afraid of your ammo, send it to me and I'll shoot it for you.
Click to expand...


It will not hurt the ammo, powder or any other component to tumble it....

INTERNET "old wives tale" that it will do harm.
 
He is not lubeing the inside. He tumbels after sizeing and depriming to clean tha case again so he does not accidently get any lube inside the case while priming, charging and seating. But he uses the same media over so the media now has lube on it and is in turn going inside the case anyway.
 
sbtennex said:
You don't put live ammo in a vibratory tumbler - ever....period[...]NEVER PUT LIVE AMMUNITION IN A VIBRATING TUMBLER.
Click to expand...
Interesting theories. Please cite the research that shows burn rate characteristic changes after five minutes in a tumbler, ten, thirty, six hundred, and so on. Please also cite the research that shows the likelihood of a round going off, taking into account time, primer type and bullet type. And while you're at it, the before/after comparisons of runout on common bottleneck ammunition for varying times in a tumbler.

I expect there is no such research, but am open to learning something new.

It's certainly believable that the burn rate characteristics would change over time, but how much time? Which powders are more susceptible (one would expect stick due to the "sharp" edges)? I don't think that brief lube-removing exposure is harmful, so let's see the studies that show that it is.
 
Tumbling loaded cartridges

This crops up from time to time on this forum and others too....and fortunately some U.S. forums have people that actually work in the munitions factories.

They emphatically state that loaded ammo is in fact tumbled/polished prior to being packaged...."corn cob" media is used IIRC.

edit... "'small arms" ammo for "public" sales was what was quoted....no idea if it applies to military contract items.
 
Last edited:
hs4570 said:
This crops up from time to time on this forum and others too....and fortunately some U.S. forums have people that actually work in the munitions factories.

They emphatically state that loaded ammo is in fact tumbled/polished prior to being packaged...."corn cob" media is used IIRC.
Click to expand...

I always wondered how comerically mfg ammo came out of the machines looking so clean... I know mine dosen't. Accidentally I have had a live round go in the tumbler and even in the washing machine they both work after...

I always check my pants pockets after range trips now.
 
Most manufacturers of bullets polish their bullets in huge cement mixer type looking machines before sales to the public and have seen pictures of same.....no doubt similar units are used for final "loaded round" prepping prior to packaging.

.......been there and had a small amount of .22 rimfire go through a wash and dry cycle with my hunting pants...still went bang later.
 
I tumble all of my loaded rounds to shine them up good. It cleans them up nicely and I haven't had a problem, ever. I was curious and took untumbled rounds and rounds that had been in there for 8 hours. Same load, same gun. They both shot to the same point of impact.

I'll continue to do as I do. It works great, and I like having a good looking final product.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom