Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: longrangekiller on November 09, 2013, 07:41:34 PM

Title: Is this safe????
Post by: longrangekiller on November 09, 2013, 07:41:34 PM: So I had a guy tell me the other day that he tumbles his brass before he loads them then loads them and then tumbles them again to get the case lube off after there loaded......... Anyone else do this? It sounds like something I sure wouldn't want to be in the room for :o
Title: Re: Is this safe????
Post by: mazama on November 09, 2013, 07:54:41 PM: IF you used a vibrator tumbler it could break down the powder.
Title: Re: Is this safe????
Post by: troyspinetar on November 09, 2013, 07:56:37 PM: I'm not sure why some get so concerned about having a show room finish on their brass. I've always just wiped them off really good afterwards. Also you can re-tumble them directly after re-sizing them, that way you are removing case lube with a "safe" case. :dunno:
To me if it goes bang after I pull the trigger that's success. Nobody is judging my cases. Good luck and happy loading!
Title: Re: Is this safe????
Post by: Hunterman on November 09, 2013, 08:00:55 PM: Clean ammo is happy ammo :tup: After all you wouldn't want your deer or elk to get an infection would you??

Hunterman(Tony)
Title: Re: Is this safe????
Post by: cwuwildcat on November 09, 2013, 08:03:14 PM: Probably not an issue. Would take quite a strike to the primer from the tip of another bullet to set things in motion. More than you're ever going to get in a tumbler packed with media.

Bulk ammo is very often shipped loose. I've got 2000 rounds of 5.56 shipped to me loose, without anything inside the shipping box other than the ammo. I'm guessing there's more bouncing/vibration of that box from ammo company to me through UPS, tossed onto shipping truck cross country, moved into transfer station by forklift, through all of the conveyer belt equipment, tossed onto the final truck and dropped onto my porch over the six days it took to get to me than 20 minutes of tumbling. This happens all of the time. If it were dangerous, I'm pretty sure UPS insurance company wouldn't let loose bulk shipments happen.

I'd be more worried about a piece of the tumbler media sticking and causing a jam in the chamber than anything else.
Title: Re: Is this safe????
Post by: stevemiller on November 09, 2013, 08:07:22 PM: x2 :yeah:
Title: Re: Is this safe????
Post by: jay.sharkbait on November 09, 2013, 08:09:48 PM: Some folks say it breaks down the powder and changes the burn rate.
Title: Re: Is this safe????
Post by: longrangekiller on November 09, 2013, 08:10:05 PM: Quote from: troyspinetar on November 09, 2013, 07:56:37 PM
I'm not sure why some get so concerned about having a show room finish on their brass. I've always just wiped them off really good afterwards. Also you can re-tumble them directly after re-sizing them, that way you are removing case lube with a "safe" case. :dunno:
To me if it goes bang after I pull the trigger that's success. Nobody is judging my cases. Good luck and happy loading!

I'm right with u wipe em down after and your good to go
Title: Re: Is this safe????
Post by: lostbackpacker on November 09, 2013, 08:13:01 PM: Tumble them no prob at all
Title: Re: Is this safe????
Post by: Larry S. on November 11, 2013, 08:11:13 AM: In the reading that I've done on the subject of tumbling reloaded rounds (not empty brass), you should never do this as the process of tumbling and the inherent vibration therein tends to break down the coating on the powder granules. The powder manufacturers whose products I use strongly advise against doing this.

One such article stated it as follows:

“Is it OK to clean live, loaded ammo in a vibratory tumbler?” The basic answer is NO, do NOT tumble live ammo in a vibratory tumbler. There are serious potential safety hazards that can result from tumbling live ammo.

The main reason to avoid tumbling loaded ammo is that tumbling can break down the powder kernels inside the case and/or alter the burn-rate retarding coatings on the outside of the kernels. This can alter the powder’s burning properties, with dangerous consequences. If you vibrate loaded rounds for a long time, you can both grind or shear the kernels and alter the kernels’ external coatings."

Hope this helps.

Larry S.
Title: Re: Is this safe????
Post by: Rick on November 11, 2013, 09:28:49 AM: Quote from: longrangekiller on November 09, 2013, 07:41:34 PM
So I had a guy tell me the other day that he tumbles his brass before he loads them then loads them and then tumbles them again to get the case lube off after there loaded......... Anyone else do this? It sounds like something I sure wouldn't want to be in the room for :o

Why would you be afraid to be in the room? Even in the off chance a primer popped,in a bowl of cleaning media,it would be like a popcorn kernel popping.