Brass cleaning…

[jakfrost1]

I use range brass almost exclusively for my 9mm production and open shooting…water washing the major crud off first, drying, then corn cob tumbling till shiny. I then lube with Hornady One Shot before re-sizing/de-priming. 
My question is, I would like to tumble the brass again before reloading to remove residual lube but am wondering if I should be concerned about the odd piece of media that gets stuck in the open primer hole. Could this possibly affect the ignition and consequently the muzzle velocity/accuracy? 
Any thoughts comments? 

Cheers,

Jim

[oteroman]

It’s never been an issue for me. 
Curious what press are you reloading on. 
why not drop powder, add a bullet all at the same time? Big time saver. 

[rishii]

Many of us tumble with corncob after loading to remove the lube, 10 minutes with a capful of odorless mineral sprits makes the rounds shiny

 

 

[jakfrost1]

Loading with a Dillon 650…

[jakfrost1]

I tried corncob tumbling after reloading but seemed like a pretty heavy load, (200rds, 147gr bullets) for my Horady tumbler, thought maybe after sizing and before loading might be something to think about, hence my question…

[Farmer]

Yes you can get a blooper if the flash hole is blocked. If you have room on your tool head you could install a deprime only die. Or sort through them with a paper clip.  I made a tool with a small wooden dowel and a 1/2” long paper clip glued into the end for just that purpose. I’m not a fan of tumbling live ammo. 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Farmer

[jakfrost1]

48 minutes ago, Farmer said:

Yes you can get a blooper if the flash hole is blocked. If you have room on your tool head you could install a deprime only die. Or sort through them with a paper clip.  I made a tool with a small wooden dowel and a 1/2” long paper clip glued into the end for just that purpose. I’m not a fan of tumbling live ammo. 

I agree about the 'not a fan' part...me either really.

 

So just had a 'light bulb' moment...since I resize/de-prime after roll sizing, then case check in order to weed out the unacceptable brass BEFORE reloading them, I have an unused spot on the tool which I can put my .45 resizing die in. This will clear the flash hole only...problem solved I believe! 

 

[Rustygun]

I lube 9mm cases also.  Many say there is no need to lube pistol cases but the press runs smother.  I also load 9mm on a 650.  I have not worried about the case lube after reloading, always assumed it would protect the cases from tarnishing.  
 

I have over lubed and taken the finished rounds and rolled them around in a clean towel for 60 seconds or so.  That seems to clean most of the lube off.   Just don’t use your wife’s good towels.  

Edited December 2, 2021 by Rustygun

[Farmer]

13 hours ago, jakfrost1 said:

I agree about the 'not a fan' part...me either really.

 

So just had a 'light bulb' moment...since I resize/de-prime after roll sizing, then case check in order to weed out the unacceptable brass BEFORE reloading them, I have an unused spot on the tool which I can put my .45 resizing die in. This will clear the flash hole only...problem solved I believe! 

 

 Worth a try!

[gnappi]

On 12/2/2021 at 1:55 PM, Farmer said:

Yes you can get a blooper if the flash hole is blocked. If you have room on your tool head you could install a deprime only die. Or sort through them with a paper clip.  I made a tool with a small wooden dowel and a 1/2” long paper clip glued into the end for just that purpose. I’m not a fan of tumbling live ammo. 

I'm also not a fan of tumbling loaded ammo.

 

L-O-N-G ago I read an article in a gun mag (Y'know the paper kind?) where the reviewer tumbled loaded ammo with all sorts of powders, flake, extruded etc, and checked velocities and somehow pressures and "found" that depending on tumble / vibratory time that some powders could / would fragment changing the burn rate and increasing pressure. Dunno or remember if velocity change was mentioned but that alone was enough to satisfy me that I'd gain nothing by tumbling finished ammo.

 

I'm also not a fan of needing like new shiny brass coming out of the tumbler. Clean is good enough for me

 

 

[Sarge]

2 hours ago, gnappi said:

I'm also not a fan of tumbling loaded ammo.

 

L-O-N-G ago I read an article in a gun mag (Y'know the paper kind?) where the reviewer tumbled loaded ammo with all sorts of powders, flake, extruded etc, and checked velocities and somehow pressures and "found" that depending on tumble / vibratory time that some powders could / would fragment changing the burn rate and increasing pressure. Dunno or remember if velocity change was mentioned but that alone was enough to satisfy me that I'd gain nothing by tumbling finished ammo.

 

I'm also not a fan of needing like new shiny brass coming out of the tumbler. Clean is good enough for me

 

 

Total myth. There have been several more recent tests that debunk it.

[gnappi]

19 minutes ago, Sarge said:

Total myth. There have been several more recent tests that debunk it.

Irrelevant, I still don't  tumble loaded ammo.

[Farmer]

3 hours ago, gnappi said:

Irrelevant, I still don't  tumble loaded ammo.

Agreed, I remember reading the same or similar article and also warnings in reloading manuals. Think some of that stemmed from people tumbling loaded ammo for a long time, like several hours. I think they actually do tumble it at the factory but just for a short while.  One warned that it could break down the powder and change the properties of it while the other said it could affect the primers.  Don’t care if it’s true or not, I start with clean components and that’s good enough. 

[GrumpyOne]

5 hours ago, Sarge said:

Total myth. There have been several more recent tests that debunk it.

Agree. Besides, all it takes is about 15 minutes max in the tumbler with corncob to clean off all the lube.

[427Cobra]

IMHO Uber clean brass is over rated, especially in the precision rifle game, I have cleaned brass every way possible, now all I do is tumble in walnut media, clean shinning brass does not reload to better ammo, but is more time consuming ammo, less time reloading means more time shooting.

[Balakay]

On 12/2/2021 at 8:59 AM, jakfrost1 said:

I use range brass almost exclusively for my 9mm production and open shooting…water washing the major crud off first, drying, then corn cob tumbling till shiny. I then lube with Hornady One Shot before re-sizing/de-priming. 
My question is, I would like to tumble the brass again before reloading to remove residual lube but am wondering if I should be concerned about the odd piece of media that gets stuck in the open primer hole. Could this possibly affect the ignition and consequently the muzzle velocity/accuracy? 
Any thoughts comments? 

Cheers,

Jim

To each their own, but if you are going to wet clean the brass first, why not just wet tumble without pins, little lube and load?? Your process is cumbersome

[Joe4d]

probably using too much lube, I can see spraying it off then let dry if it is range brass with dirt and sand... then corn cob tumble with some polish,, like carnuba wax, or a commercial additive, really dont need much lube after that, like a squirt in the bin and stir when I add a new few handfuls.  No need to retumble.
I used to back when I used old school harcast with the wax/grease bullet lube, just to knock that stuff off, but havent since going to precision moly coated and now the newer coated.

 

[Tom S.]

On 12/13/2021 at 10:38 AM, Sarge said:

Total myth. There have been several more recent tests that debunk it.

Truth!  The one I remember reading, the guy actually tumbled some rounds for months and the shot deviation between the tumbled rounds and those that had not been tumbled was negligible.  If people don't want to tumble their loaded rounds, that's their business, just don't blame an untrue myth as the reason.

 

From the NRA: Bull Shooter - Tumble Clean Ammo

 

[Kwontanamo]

i used to use one of those stainless steel tumblers with dish soap and lime shine. 

[gnappi]

On 12/26/2021 at 3:09 PM, Tom S. said:

Truth!  The one I remember reading, the guy actually tumbled some rounds for months and the shot deviation between the tumbled rounds and those that had not been tumbled was negligible.  If people don't want to tumble their loaded rounds, that's their business, just don't blame an untrue myth as the reason.

 

From the NRA: Bull Shooter - Tumble Clean Ammo

 

 

The fact that it seems to have made some so vocal about it being a myth is curious.  Why in the world would anyone care what they base their reason for not tumbling loaded ammo on?  Anyway, maybe it's good to see the NRA spending time and resources on more than executive compensation

 

$1,884,709:  Wayne LaPierre, CEO and EVP

$1,572,752:  Chris W Cox, Executive Director, NRA ILA

$  986,015:  Oliver L North, President

$  935,081:  Joshua L Powell, Chief of Staff and Executive Director

$  875,738:  Craig B Spray, Treasurer (beginning 9/13/18)

$  870,013:  Tyler Schropp, Managing Director, Advancement

$  701,941:  Todd Grable, Executive Director, Membership

$  696,414:  Doug Hamlin, Executive Director, Publications

$  664,371:  Wilson H Phillips, Treasurer (ending 9/13/18)

$  659,656:  David Lehman, Deputy Executive Director, NRA ILA

$  490,469:  John C Frazer, Secretary and General Counsel

$  476,356:  Joseph C Debergalis, Jr, Executive Director, General Ops 

$  462,268:  Jason Quimet, Executive Director, ILA

$  442,437:  Thomas Tedrick, Managing Director, Finance

$  372,202:  John G Perren, Sr Advisor to the EVP

 

 

[Sarge]

25 minutes ago, gnappi said:

 

The fact that it seems to have made some so vocal about it being a myth is curious.  Why in the world would anyone care what they base their reason for not tumbling loaded ammo on?  Anyway, maybe it's good to see the NRA spending time and resources on more than executive compensation

 

$1,884,709:  Wayne LaPierre, CEO and EVP

$1,572,752:  Chris W Cox, Executive Director, NRA ILA

$  986,015:  Oliver L North, President

$  935,081:  Joshua L Powell, Chief of Staff and Executive Director

$  875,738:  Craig B Spray, Treasurer (beginning 9/13/18)

$  870,013:  Tyler Schropp, Managing Director, Advancement

$  701,941:  Todd Grable, Executive Director, Membership

$  696,414:  Doug Hamlin, Executive Director, Publications

$  664,371:  Wilson H Phillips, Treasurer (ending 9/13/18)

$  659,656:  David Lehman, Deputy Executive Director, NRA ILA

$  490,469:  John C Frazer, Secretary and General Counsel

$  476,356:  Joseph C Debergalis, Jr, Executive Director, General Ops 

$  462,268:  Jason Quimet, Executive Director, ILA

$  442,437:  Thomas Tedrick, Managing Director, Finance

$  372,202:  John G Perren, Sr Advisor to the EVP

 

 

No politics. Besides, it's money well spent if you ask me.

[Farmer]

I never did it because at the time it made sense that it could cause problems. BUT it was said to NOT do it in a Vibratory polisher. That also made sense until I thought back to all the coyote hunting ammo that I had carried in my old Trapwagon rattling around the glove box  for many years.  

[Tom S.]

On 12/31/2021 at 12:16 PM, gnappi said:

 

The fact that it seems to have made some so vocal about it being a myth is curious.  Why in the world would anyone care what they base their reason for not tumbling loaded ammo on?  Anyway, maybe it's good to see the NRA spending time and resources on more than executive compensation

 

$1,884,709:  Wayne LaPierre, CEO and EVP

$1,572,752:  Chris W Cox, Executive Director, NRA ILA

$  986,015:  Oliver L North, President

$  935,081:  Joshua L Powell, Chief of Staff and Executive Director

$  875,738:  Craig B Spray, Treasurer (beginning 9/13/18)

$  870,013:  Tyler Schropp, Managing Director, Advancement

$  701,941:  Todd Grable, Executive Director, Membership

$  696,414:  Doug Hamlin, Executive Director, Publications

$  664,371:  Wilson H Phillips, Treasurer (ending 9/13/18)

$  659,656:  David Lehman, Deputy Executive Director, NRA ILA

$  490,469:  John C Frazer, Secretary and General Counsel

$  476,356:  Joseph C Debergalis, Jr, Executive Director, General Ops 

$  462,268:  Jason Quimet, Executive Director, ILA

$  442,437:  Thomas Tedrick, Managing Director, Finance

$  372,202:  John G Perren, Sr Advisor to the EVP

 

 

WTF does that have to do with tumbling loaded rounds?  I'll answer for you - NOTHING.

Edited January 4, 2022 by Tom S.

[124gr9mm]

On 12/31/2021 at 12:16 PM, gnappi said:

 

The fact that it seems to have made some so vocal about it being a myth is curious.  Why in the world would anyone care what they base their reason for not tumbling loaded ammo on? 

 

 

 

 

This is a discussion forum, right?

 

Generally speaking I don't think people are really that concerned with what other people do/don't do.  If you tumbled brass only on Tuesdays and used precisely 1/2 cup of lemi-shine in your pre wash then that's all you.  When you provide a source/reasoning to "justify" doing something, then I think it opens things up to discussion.

For example, if someone says "I don't do X because of Y", it essentially sets Y up for review.  If there's counterpoint that debunks Y and someone then follows with "Well I don't care about Y, I don't do X anyway", then discussion would naturally continue.

 

IMO there's no need to justify/defend the decision to NOT tumble live brass.  You do you.

 

Not sure I understand why you're deflecting/distracting with the attack on the NRA...