Tumbling .22LR

[mike93lx]

I recently picked up a 10/22 and have been shooting Remington Golden Bullets without issues other than the fact that they turn my fingers completely black from loading magazines. Will running them through my tumbler clean them up? What is the best media to use and should I add some sort of polisher/cleaner?

thanks!

 

[lord1234]

it might clean them, but i doubt it...just deal with it

 

[eisenhow]

I think it would remove the lube that put on them. However, I wouldn't waste my time. I'd just buy some decent ammo that's no covered in lube or bring some wet-wipes with me to the range.

 

[Lucas McCain]

Guns are a dirty business my friend....

 

[mike93lx]

Guns are a dirty business my friend....

Thanks...I'm well aware.

These 22's seems to be a lot dirtier (on the outside) than the Remington UMC I shoot in my 1911. I was just surprised to see that my thumb looked like it was dipped in black paint after a couple hundred rounds.

I'm not particularly concerned about it, I was just looking for a quick solution to the problem. If tumbling is going to remove lube that is needed to run the ammo reliably, then I'll leave them alone and wear gloves. I'd rather have dirty fingers and a reliable gun than the opposite.

thanks for the responses.

 

[Executive]

It's likely not just lube. Probably a good amount of lead getting wiped of as well. I would not tumble the loaded cases. It will remove at least part of the bullet and in an irregular fashion at that. Bad. You don't want the lead staying on your hands for any length of time. Wear a glove, use a wipe, or buy better ammo. I think someone makes a 10/22 reloading device also so that you do not have to tough the ammo.

Chris

 

[Vintovka]

I always keep wipes in my range bag when I'm shooting unjacketed 22lr. I don't care what brand I use, after loading a couple of magazines, my fingers end up with black smudges.

Makes me think back to when I was out camping as a kid... I'd plink with my .22 while lunch was cooking on the fire. I don't recall using wipes back then... I shudder to think of that lead residue wiping off on my food. Explains a thing or two, anyway.

I agree that putting the .22 rounds in the tumbler isn't a good idea. You'll just end up with lead in your tumbling media.

 

[MassMark]

Guns are a dirty business my friend....

Classic!

 

[EddieCoyle]

Guns are a dirty business my friend....

Yep.

Please don't tumble them. Seriously.

 

[cockpitbob]

Don't tumble them for 2 reasons:
1) The lube will come off. Your barrel will miss it.
2) The powder's burn rate is partially controlled by the size of the grains. Extended tumbling will probably turn some of the powder into dust which will increase burn rate and chamber pressures.

 

[Forester]

Don't tumble them for 2 reasons:
1) The lube will come off. Your barrel will miss it.
2) The powder's burn rate is partially controlled by the size of the grains. Extended tumbling will probably turn some of the powder into dust which will increase burn rate and chamber pressures.

Right, plus the mention of irregular lead removal will ruin accuracy and reliability.

 

[jpattersonnh]

Just buy better ammo! Cheap ammo is just that. I picked up some Xpert ammo about a year ago. Groups looked like shotgun patterns and man was it dirty, you could hear the difference in every round. I started using Aguila ammo for plinking, .054 a round and very accurate. If you can find Winchester Wildcat it is also VG ammo and about .04 a round.