Tumbling Hollow Point Bullets....

[CookE]

I loaded some .223, 69gr. HPBT BULLETS. After I loaded them I tumbled them in some 20/40 grit corncob. I noticed that there are a "few flakes of corncorn stuck IN THE HOLLOW POINT. How much do you think this will effect the accuracy, if any in the loaded rounds? The opening for the hollow point is so small that if you don't know it's there you can't hardly see it. The hole is so small it would be "impossible" to try and shake it out.......

Any advice would surely be appreciated.......THANKS....CookE

 

[Dragon88]

Hmm, hard to say. The hollow nose cavity is an important part of a HPBT match bullet. A single granule of corn cob media is pretty light though. I think this is one of those situations where you'll have to "shoot em' and see". Perhaps do a comparison of rounds with plugged cavities and those without.

Any particular reason for tumbling the rounds? Personally, after seating the bullets on match rounds, I put them straight into a box for protection until they get shot.

 

[JohnnieB]

Try blowing the debris out with dry, oil free, compressed air.

A small piece of tumbling media may not weigh much, but when the projectile is spinning at 100,000+ RPM, it might be enough to make it wobble.

Like Dragon88 said, shoot em and see.

 

[venomballistics]

well ... my advice is to not tumble loaded ammo.
ya see, the action seen in the media also applies to the powder in the case, which can change its burn rate.

 

[fishdoc]

It is not a good idea to tumble loaded cases as the tumbling will break down the powder and this will change burn rates. The faster the powder burns the more of an issue this is.

I would consider it unsafe to tumble any loaded cases.

Good luck with reloading. It is a hobby you will enjoy for years to come. I have been reloading for 40 years and I still reload about 1500 rounds a month and don't get tired of it.

 

[CookE]

Cases...............

Hmm, hard to say. The hollow nose cavity is an important part of a HPBT match bullet. A single granule of corn cob media is pretty light though. I think this is one of those situations where you'll have to "shoot em' and see". Perhaps do a comparison of rounds with plugged cavities and those without.

Any particular reason for tumbling the rounds? Personally, after seating the bullets on match rounds, I put them straight into a box for protection until they get shot.

To remove the grease from the case after I have them loaded...
CookE

 

[CookE]

Cases...............

well ... my advice is to not tumble loaded ammo.
ya see, the action seen in the media also applies to the powder in the case, which can change its burn rate.

I had a reloading business for 22 years and I always tumbled loaded rounds. I checked with several of the powder companies and they told me that they did tests on this and the rumor of breaking down the powder and they SAID IT IS ABSOLUTELY SAFE TO TUMBLE LOADED AMMO AND THE POWDER DOES NOT BREAK DOWN. Remember, you're only tumbling the loaded ammo for about 10 to 15 minutes. Use corncob with a capful of solvent and you won't have any troubles at all. If you have the time go to a place that sells new ammo. Open up some of the boxes and take a real close look around the primer pockets and you will see some light flakes of corncob that is left when they get done tumbling their ammo. I have found this even on WINCHESTER AMMO. I had a good friend that owned 3-D reloading out of Donipfan, NE AND he was the one that taught me how to tumble loaded ammo. Like I said, I did it for 22 years commercially plus over 10 years for myself be I started my business and NEVER ONCE HAD ANY PROBLEMS.......
HOPE THAT HELPS.................CookE

 

[buck460XVR]

CookE...is correct, tumbling loaded rounds has no effect whatsoever on the burn rate of the powder. ALL major ammo manufacturers tumble their ammo after loading so it is bright and shiny for the consumer. If a little bit of tumbling is dangerous, what about that miltary ammo that bounces around in a Hummer for weeks at a time? What about that NATO military surplus ammo that rode halfway across Europe in a truck to the ship, rode the waves halfway across the world, got loaded back on a truck and went halfway across the country before someone bought it? Maybe if you left it in the tumbler/case cleaner for a month or so.........

 

[Culina]

I shoot the Sierra 69gr HPBTM out of my White Oak match rifle, it has a 1/7 twist. If they are moving at 3,000 fps when they leave the barrel, they will be spinning at about 308,000 rpm, whats the worse that can happen if there is some tumbling media stuck in the hollow cavity at the front. The cavity is actually quite deep, stick a pin in and you will see.

 

[Alk8944]

If you had a reloading business for 22 years and loaded any .22 caliber match hollow-point bullets, and were even slightly observant, you would know that the factory tumbles their bullets after the final forming, and it is very common to find tumbling media stuck in the hollow-point cavities right out of the box.

 

[WR Moore]

To remove the grease from the case after I have them loaded...
CookE

If you're referring to the sizing lube, a nice hot water & Dawn bath & rinse after sizing takes care of that. You do have to wait for the brass to dry, but what's the rush?

 

[CookE]

I did load hp bullets, but none of the bullets I loaded had such a small hollow point that retained the corncob. The bullets I am using now the opening is so very small that it doesn't allow the corncob to clear out of the hollow point. It's so small I don't even know how it gets in the hollow point, but anyway, I thought I would throw it out there and see what answers I would get back about it...............THANKS.....CookE.............

 

[buck460XVR]

I load quite a few Hornady XTPs in various calibers. I would guess 1 outta 10 has media still stuck in the HP. Since they are handgun bullets used at handgun velocities and ranges, even when used in my carbines, I see no difference in accuracy and thus see no reason to bother to dig it out. Other folk's experiences may vary.