I was told by an experienced reloader that rather than putting lubed cases back in the tumbler, after neck sizing and depriming (using a Dillon 550B) to clean off the lube; to wait until the the case has been crimped, then put the completely loaded round in the tumbler to remove the case lube. That way the reloading process - neck size, decap, drop powder, seat bullet, crimp -is not interrupted. Is is ok to put live rounds in the tumbler?

Some powders can abrade the coating on the kernels that slows the burn rate if tumbled, making them burn much faster causing a serious pressure spike. Very bad advise.

My rounds are somewhat greasy from one loading to the next. But then I shoot a lot.Q

Don't.

Better to find a stray sock (one of the ones you've lost the match to)...sprinkle the sock with a few drops of lighter fluid (or mineral spirits..or BBQ starter)...take care to do this away from open flames..put in your loaded grease rounds...roll them back and forth in the sock a few times, rubbing them with your hands...dump them put to dry.

Got clean rounds and a filthy sock.

I was told by an experienced reloader that rather than putting lubed cases back in the tumbler, after neck sizing. . .

If you are only neck sizing, the only lube you need is a dry powder lube. Try Imperial Dry Neck Lube. Try the NECO neck lubing system with moly powder and shot. Try the Lee collet die system. Try the Redding S-dies with interchangeable sizing rings with titanium nitride coating and put on a carbide expander ball, so your case necks, like a pistol case, need no lube at all. There really isn't any reason you need to be using a greasy lube just for neck sizing these days.

What Ribbonstone said. Cheap rubbing alcohol works well for me.

Tumbling loaded ammunition is a bad idea. As stated, you can have powder breakdown and a very remote possibility of a primer detonation.

What Ribbonstone said. Cheap rubbing alcohol works well for me.

Everyone seems to have that stray sock...can drive you nuts looking for the mate, so I just put the strays to good use. Get a few uses out of it (inside and inside out) before it's flithy enough to need a cleaning (do yourself a favor..don't wash it with your other clothes).
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Alternative: Can toss your stray sock in the car...next time you are near a laundra-mat, can toss it in someone elses washer...let him look for the mate.

Or better yet just wipe with a rag ! Small amount of lube on the cases will not effect how they shoot-maybe even improve feeding! Definately will not affect pressure!

I hate cleaning lube off loaded rounds. I size with Hornady spray lube and then tumble. Have to check for media in flasholes but well worth it. Also allows you to check cse length after sizing. The sock method will work ok.

I use the Horndady one shot also. I have tumbled them to remove the lube but It seems more trouble than its worth. I use an old towel laid flat on a table. Grab a handfull of brass and roll it back and forth on the towel, wipe my hand off on the towel and repeat. It only takes a couple of minutes and gets most of the lube off. The Hornady lube seems to lose most of its lubricating properties anyway after it has dried for a few hours.

Case lube is removed right after the case is sized/belled by tumbling so I can reload with clean cases. Have enough reloads on hand as well as a supply of clean cases so there is no time constraint when reloading. Don't like the idea of loaded rounds being tumbled in my vibratory tumbler. Can't be of any benefit to the powder and could change the burn rate. Would never advise anyone to tumble clean loaded rounds.

. . . Alternative: Can toss your stray sock in the car...next time you are near a laundra-mat, can toss it in someone elses washer...let him look for the mate.

I take 'em on vacations. Nobody will care if your socks don't match unless you are on an expensive cruise with formal dining. Also save old underwear with dead elastic or wear holes for the occasion. At the end of each day, the socks and underpants join the trash. Make's room for the inevitable T-shirt acquisition.

I have loaded several million rounds during a short career as a commercial reloader mainly for police, Police competitors using 11 Stars and automated bulletcasting 4,800 per hour, and automated case inspection machines and loading machines.

I learned from a friend who sold me a 3 ton lead smelter in a visit as to why his ammo looked so good providing many Police departments in california.

He had a 6-7 foot tall tumbler 3 feet wide a circle rotating constantly.

He tumbled incoming brass in walnut hulls and only added paint thinner or called mineral spirits in some parts of the country.

After loading tumbling again in ground corn cobs he added a small pan of kerosene, into a bucket of cob, poured it into the already slightly tumbled ammo to mix it and his ammo came out beautiful with shining cases and pretty lead bullets which would not oxidize or the cases corrode in magazines or storage. I have some 30 years old and as new still.

It was Gromak Industries of Santa Maria California til he sold the factory to someone in Japan for a million bucks and the last I heard he was sailing in the world as an ex navy diver a very smart fellow as he built much of his own tooling plus a 25 ton lead smelter. I got his old equipment.
He used a dozen mem with magnifying goggles around a table under 150 watt spot lights to use my Fitz slip top ammo box bottoms to inspect incoming brass for case mouth starting cracks and loaded ammo for correct priner depths and bullet seating.

Each employee had 2 Fitz .38 50 capacity box bottom halves and they would scoop and fill one half with brass up and down then place the other half on top of it flip it over and inspect the other end of the cases or ammo in the other half.

Only the good brass was loaded and the bad brass went back to the PD'd to be sold as scrap.

It is quite a sight to see a stak of 3 million primers at once and and none of his lead bullet ammo ever exploded in his tumblers. Now you do as you please as there is always a bad example who can be pointed at to do something dumb. I investigated every progressive reloader primers explosions and lawsuits and it was a stupid act like looking down a jammed primer magazine while pulling the reloader operating handle.

Every explosion was caused by CCI primers during their new business operations in the 70's.

I was sworn to secrecy about the liquids until he sold out.

Paul Jones Retired
Star, Original Saeco, Fitz grips
I have Star parts A few molds,
grips and boxes left

John Paul Jones -

Please check your Personal Messages (PM) at the upper right of the page. Thank you.

After loading tumbling again in ground corn cobs he added a small pan of kerosene, into a bucket of cob, poured it into the already slightly tumbled ammo to mix it and his ammo came out beautiful with shining cases and pretty lead bullets which would not oxidize or the cases corrode in magazines or storage.

I wouldn't worry about tumbling fast pistol powder. Much of it is tumbled quite a bit to apply graphite or other coatings in the first place. It probably does the equivalent of a little more tumbling in conventional transport. Even rifle powder, particularly if it is in military ammunition, may be taken into combat and spend months being carried around in stiffly suspended vehicles running over bumpy roads. How sensitive could it be? Nonetheless, extensive tumbling of slow rifle powders that have a substantial retardant coating should not be attempted without careful investigation and testing. Not all powders are military spec.

Also, a lead bullet has little chance of striking a primer hard enough to set it off, the way a pointed match or FMJ rifle bullet might do. If a round were to ignite in the presence of kerosene vapors mixed with air, the tumbler could disassemble rather violently.

I find it interesting that kerosene, which is one of the materials recommended for neutralizing old or questionable primers, never crept in around the primers of your reloads and caused them to fail. Just goes to show that loaded ammunition is more damage resistant than people think, even without primer sealant. Makes me think primer sealant is a solution in search of a problem. Maybe for ammo you are going to take SCUBA diving?

Alternative: Can toss your stray sock in the car...next time you are near a laundra-mat, can toss it in someone elses washer...let him look for the mate.


:D :D :D :D :D

Just tumble them again after sizing. I usually do mine in batches. Shoot em up till I'm about out of ready-to-load brass, tumble, resize/deprime, trim if needed, re-tumble, then bag 'em up. Then I always have a supply of brass ready to load.