Tumbling loaded rounds....

[Lock n Load]

I was going through the ammo cache and found some LC 7.62X51 that I bought a few years back. It was machine gun p/up and pretty tarnished... well not pretty but pretty well tarnished.

I have fired a few hundred rounds here and there and have had very few misfires so I thought that it would be worth seeing how well they would polish up.

I just changed out the media in the tumbler and added new polish so I figured this was a good opportunity to tumble these.....

Before and after pic:

 

[ZbornacSVT]

I've been known to tumble loaded rounds. I like 'em shiny.

 

[rimfire_crazed]

me too.

 

[Skywired]

me too...... .22Lr and .38 specials

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Braso or Wading polish works great.

 

[JTinIN]

How long did you run them?

 

[malern28us]

I was going through the ammo cache and found some LC 7.62X51 that I bought a few years back. It was machine gun p/up and pretty tarnished... well not pretty but pretty well tarnished.

I have fired a few hundred rounds here and there and have had very few misfires so I thought that it would be worth seeing how well they would polish up.

I just changed out the media in the tumbler and added new polish so I figured this was a good opportunity to tumble these.....

Before and after pic:

I did it to my 7.62x39 battlefield pick up rounds

 

[william]

OMG!!!!! That is SOOOOO dangerous! I'm surprised you didn't blow yourself up and the baby kittens next door.

I was going through the ammo cache and found some LC 7.62X51 that I bought a few years back. It was machine gun p/up and pretty tarnished... well not pretty but pretty well tarnished.

I have fired a few hundred rounds here and there and have had very few misfires so I thought that it would be worth seeing how well they would polish up.

I just changed out the media in the tumbler and added new polish so I figured this was a good opportunity to tumble these.....

Before and after pic:

 

[IndianaResident]

Wonder what that would do to the fill of a bonded JHP.

 

[phylodog]

I've read that this is a bad idea if the rounds could have stick powder in them. Supposedly the vibrations can cause the sticks to break into smaller particles increasing the pressures. I have no idea if this is true but I have avoided it just in case. I have tumbled some blank rounds and they cleaned up pretty well.

 

[Lock n Load]

How long did you run them?

Up to a few hours..... most were done in 30-60 mins, the badly tarnished ones were then left in for another cycle. I believe the new media and the added polish is the key to cleaning them up vs. long cycle times.

I've read that this is a bad idea if the rounds could have stick powder in them. Supposedly the vibrations can cause the sticks to break into smaller particles increasing the pressures. I have no idea if this is true but I have avoided it just in case. I have tumbled some blank rounds and they cleaned up pretty well.

Yes, I too have heard/ read that before, so far I have not had an issue with it. I have not seen stick powder in LC loads to date...

 

[downzero]

I think we've all heard that. Ammunition factories haven't, though...they seem to keep tumbling loaded rounds.

 

[sloughfoot]

If vibration hurts the powder, then ammo should never be shipped by truck to the port where it is put aboard a ship where it spends weeks in transit to the other side where it is again handled then loaded onto a truck where it is delivered to storage then later shipped by truck again to the point of the spear.

Having said all of that, your shiny ammo will not shoot any better than the not shiny ammo. You did not win, you did not lose. You are having fun.

 

[Broom_jm]

If vibration hurts the powder, then ammo should never be shipped by truck to the port where it is put aboard a ship where it spends weeks in transit to the other side where it is again handled then loaded onto a truck where it is delivered to storage then later shipped by truck again to the point of the spear.

Are you really comparing the minimal jostling cases get during transit to an hour or more in a tumbler? Maybe if they were shipped for years, they would get that much agitation in the cases, but this analogy doesn't hold any water for normal circumstances.

Having said all of that, your shiny ammo will not shoot any better than the not shiny ammo. You did not win, you did not lose. You are having fun.

I will also state that most factory loads have a fairly high fill density of powder, such that there isn't a whole lot of room for powder to bounce around during tumbling. I don't tumble live rounds for the reason mentioned above...it won't shoot any better or be any "safer" in your chamber. If it's bad enough that I'm concerned about it, I'll wipe them down until they'll cycle freely and then clean/shine them up during the subsequent reloading process.

 

[jcwit]

For those of you wondering about tumbling loaded ammo, here for your reading pleasure regarding testing from another forum.

Chronograph results from tumbling loaded rounds. - THR

 

[DRob]

No-No Brasso

Braso or Wading polish works great.

A metallurgist friend strongly advises against using Brasso in your tumbling media as the ammonia it contains can damage the cases...... Loaded or not.

 

[Aszerigan]

A metallurgist friend strongly advises against using Brasso in your tumbling media as the ammonia it contains can damage the cases...... Loaded or not.

Absolutely. Never use any polishing compound containing ammonia. It can weaken the brass and cause case failures.

I've read that this is a bad idea if the rounds could have stick powder in them. Supposedly the vibrations can cause the sticks to break into smaller particles increasing the pressures. I have no idea if this is true but I have avoided it just in case. I have tumbled some blank rounds and they cleaned up pretty well.

Last year, I was tumbling some .223 loaded with Varget and accidentally left them in the vibratory tumbler running overnight. It ran for most of the next day, probably 18-20 hours before I turned it off. Having heard the same thing about tumbling extruded powder, I pulled a few rounds - only to find the powder completely intact.

May have been luck, but I call that myth busted.

 

[Broom_jm]

Last year, I was tumbling some .223 loaded with Varget and accidentally left them in the vibratory tumbler running overnight. It ran for most of the next day, probably 18-20 hours before I turned it off. Having heard the same thing about tumbling extruded powder, I pulled a few rounds - only to find the powder completely intact.

May have been luck, but I call that myth busted.

Just out of curiosity, how high was your fill ratio on those loads? Maybe the small extruded grains of Varget are less susceptible to wearing down than a larger grained powder, like IMR 4350?

I am not one that worries about tumbling loaded ammo, but I worry even less about shooting rounds with a little tarnish on 'em. Wipe them free of any loose debris, shoot the darn things, then clean the cases during the next loading cycle. Easy-peasy.

 

[Aszerigan]

Just out of curiosity, how high was your fill ratio on those loads?

IIRC, it was a pretty full load, 26.5-27.0gns, not compressed but getting there. There wasn't alot of room to move around, but I figured that the grains would have disintegrated from vibrating against each other. It was not the case.

 

[phylodog]

Glad to see that the myth has apparently be debunked. I've never had a need to tumble loaded ammo (outside of blanks) but I guess if the need ever arises I'll be able to without concern.