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So I'm wondering if rim-fire would be as stable as center-fire... I purchased 2100rds of the Federal bargain 22LR and it seems to have a waxy residue all over it. Would throwing this in a tumbler A) remove the waxy junk or B) blow up?

Residue and .22LR cartridges go together like milk and cereal. You're lucky it's "waxy". When I was a kid with my first .22 it was more like "greasy". I used to clean them because I hated pulling a round out of my pocket and having it covered in lint as well as bits of whatever were in my pocket. For some dumb reason those clean cases were a pain to extract from old pump action .22 so I guess that lube is there for more than protecting the looks of the case.

BTW, that was back almost 60 years ago so nothing's really changed with .22 ammo it seems.
 
The last time I saw commercial ammo detonate out side of a closed chamber the primers blew out and projectiles remained in tact. I would not venture a guess tumbling loaded rim fire ammunition.

I recall a very early article in a magazine like Outdoor Life (or similar) that showed the effects of a round detonating outside of a firearm. The person who researched and wrote the article used a carbon arc torch as a heat source to set off the rounds. He also surrounded the detonation area with some sheets of cardboard. In almost every case, everything from .22 rounds up through the metalic cartridges to a 30/06, as well as a few shotshells, that were set off, in most cases nothing passed through the cardboard. These panels were set about 18" as I recall from the ammo and photos revealed some scratches in the top layer but no penetrations.

In short, an unconfined detonation of a round really isn't as devastating as some might believe. I certainly wouldn't want to have a round go off in my hand or pocket but in a tumbler??? Not as bad as one might believe. Of course I have yet to see one go off in a tumbler yet. Have been waiting for well over 30 years now. Come to think of it, haven't even seen pictures of a "tumbler explosion" posted yet. Surely they would be if it had happened.
 
I do it all the time - but no longer with rounds loaded with hard cast bullets such as Laser Cast. Tumbling removes the coating on the bullets, they turn dark gray and it contaminates the walnut shell.
 
Accidentally tumbled a live .38 special with the rest of my .38 brass. Funny, it was hard to see the full wadcutter in the mix with the rest of the batch...

Didn't blow up...
 
When you consider a striker fire may not set off a primer, there are no forces in tumbling live ammo which may set off any of the primers. Now, if you dump the ammo into the tumbler before putting in the walnut, then you may have a surprise or two. If tumbling live ammo wasn't safe, I certainly would never ship live ammo.
 
Great news. I have some greasy 308 that I wanted to tumble. I couldn't really see that there should be a problem and now i know there isn't
That's why I love this part of the forum.Everyone is helpful here in reloading.
 

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