odd questions

[nova512]

can you tumble already made ammo to clean it up? add how do you keep your brass from tarnishing?

 

[Broom_jm]

can you tumble already made ammo to clean it up? You "can", but a lot of folks are uneasy about it. What exactly are you trying to clean by tumbling it that can't be just as easily wiped off?

add how do you keep your brass from tarnishing?

Shoot it sooner and keep it dry until you do.

 

[Electronrider]

If you are obsessed about great looking brass, then tumble twice. As a fellow who loves his brass looking like little gold cartridges of goodness, I tumble twice. First time is before any case prep, and I use walnut media with some flitz in there for good measure. I let it run for 6-8 hours. ( I put it in the tumbler before work, and shut it off when I get home).

I then perform all of my case prep. Then I throw them all back into the tumbler, this time with corn cob and some flitz to get any lube off, shavings i didn't see, etc.. As I prime, I inspect the primer flash hole to ensure no debris is stuck.

Please don't let your dumbass brother in law shoot these rounds after you go throu all the extra time and work. 'Cause he will fire those things off like he is in a movie, and you will be forced to beat him to death for taking your hard work for granted!

keep your brass in a relatively airtight kool dark place. I put all mine into cartridge boxes, then seal them up in ammo cans. This should help with the tarnish issue. If you want to get REAL crazy about the whole thing, throw some o2 absorbers in your ammo cans too. Keep in mind that the ammo cans may seal down pretty hard if you do that though.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I tumble finished rounds. At that point it doesn't cost me any time, and it does "prettify" them up a bit. Doesn't seem to do any harm.

 

[Broom_jm]

And if you can't find any "o2" absorbers, the "H2O" desicant packs work great for absorbing moisture!

 

[xring62]

Use 'New Finish' car wax in media, cleans fast and wont let tarnish ,and cheaper than stuff meant for that. a couple caps every time does it.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Just for aesthetics, yeah, but as long as they haven't turned green and grown crystals, it matters not one bit when you fire them.

 

[sloughfoot]

It is not tarnish, it is patina and it does not matter.

Yes, you can clean loaded cartridges, but if you are doing it to make them look shiny, you are wasting your time.

 

[mike8170]

fracking shoot it and it doesn't fracking matter! It's Fracking ammo!

 

[Leo]

I cannot find exactly where I read it, but one of the powder makers published that tumbling loaded rounds is a bad idea due to the vibration deteriorating the size and shape of the powder kernals. I actually know people that sometimes tumble even factory ammo who have never a problem.

I have zero experience with tumbling live rounds, as I often do not even tumble my brass before I load it, and case sizing lube keeps my rifle rounds clean enough for me.

 

[Jmak]

I have heard it is not a good idea to tumble live rounds
I do not recall why though. Anyway, I do not.

 

[Broom_jm]

I have heard it is not a good idea to tumble live rounds
I do not recall why though. Anyway, I do not.

The reason most often cited for not tumbling live ammo is that the kernels of gunpowder inside the case could vibrate against one another, breaking them down into smaller pieces with a greater surface area to mass ratio. From a chemistry standpoint, this can and does change the burn rate (almost universally increasing it) which will drive pressures up.

With that being said, some folks have tested this theory and the best anyone can really say is that the results have been inconclusive.

The majority of respondents to this thread have been correct in stating that ammunition needs to be free of debris, not sparkling like your grandma's silver at Thanksgiving dinner.

 

[Cat-Herder]

I tumbled some incredibly filthy pakistani surplus and it shot just fine.

If you're doing it to make it pretty, I'm just not seeing the point in that. To each his own, though. Tumble it. It won't hurt it.

 

[Sling10mm]

I seem to remember something in the manual for my tumbler that said not to tumble live rounds, but I could be mistaken. I'll take a look again.

Sling

 

[IndyDave1776]

I cannot find exactly where I read it, but one of the powder makers published that tumbling loaded rounds is a bad idea due to the vibration deteriorating the size and shape of the powder kernals..

Will it eventually reduce them to captains and majors?

 

[Broom_jm]

Will it eventually reduce them to captains and majors?

Great play on words, and the answer is "YES!" And since a lot of captains and majors are more volatile than a smaller number of "kernels"....