Common Newbie Question- Can I dry tumble loaded rounds to shine them up?

[509Doug]

There are two things that come into play here-
The risk of a primer being hit and a round going off & the characteristic of powder changing when being tumbled.
I have dropped full containers of loaded ammo and had loaded rounds bouncing all over my concrete floor. They hit with 10 times the force that any bullet moving around in a dry tumbler. Could it happen? Maybe, but I find the odds to be astronomical for a primer to be hit hard enough to fire.
At one time there was a study done on a different website, where they tumbled rounds loaded with 4 or 5 different powders for a long period of time, weeks. They then showed before and after views of each powder under a microscope and there was no difference. So that myth was busted.
But every time I have seen this question posed on forums and boards, the answer has been "it's your decision to make."

One hint I can tell you is that corn cob media works much better as removing case lube than walnut media does.

[CodySPowell]

There are two things that come into play here-
The risk of a primer being hit and a round going off & the characteristic of powder changing when being tumbled.
I have dropped full containers of loaded ammo and had loaded rounds bouncing all over my concrete floor. They hit with 10 times the force that any bullet moving around in a dry tumbler. Could it happen? Maybe, but I find the odds to be astronomical for a primer to be hit hard enough to fire.
At one time there was a study done on a different website, where they tumbled rounds loaded with 4 or 5 different powders for a long period of time, weeks. They then showed before and after views of each powder under a microscope and there was no difference. So that myth was busted.
But every time I have seen this question posed on forums and boards, the answer has been "it's your decision to make."

One hint I can tell you is that corn cob media works much better as removing case lube than walnut media does.

I've been final tumbling loaded rounds for a while now. Never had a problem.
Ammo manufacturers do the same thing.

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

[Barkley Wilson]

I've done it several times and will continue to do so

[ReneeMicelli]

At the end of the day the shine does nothing for performance, but then too neither does a polished finish or engraving on a gun. It all comes down to appearance. As long as it is clean you are fine. All of my rounds get a good polish after they are loaded simply to make them look good but by the time they get put to use the oxidation has taken over. I don't know why I bother. Habit I guess. Either way there is nothing wrong with a post loading ride in the tumbler.

[CodySPowell]

Clean shiny brass is far easier to see on the ground. Some say it chambers and ejects better as well.

At the end of the day the shine does nothing for performance, but then too neither does a polished finish or engraving on a gun. It all comes down to appearance. As long as it is clean you are fine. All of my rounds get a good polish after they are loaded simply to make them look good but by the time they get put to use the oxidation has taken over. I don't know why I bother. Habit I guess. Either way there is nothing wrong with a post loading ride in the tumbler.

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

[gudaka]

I've been doing it for years with no issues.

[Wes Sage]

Every ammo manufacturer tumbles live ammo

[CodySPowell]

Every ammo manufacturer tumbles live ammo

Yup, and I've been tumbling all my loaded stuff since I started reloading. The testing has been done on numerous occasions. There are no ill side effects from tumbling loaded ammo.

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

[handcannon]

I do it to remove the lube from the case. About a 15 minute cycle and they're done. My 2 cents.

[omcforever]

Never done it. Just me.....