Cleaning case lube on loaded cases?

There is a thread on the Brian Enos forum where cleaning case lube on loaded ammunition is recommended.  The most popular way to accomplish this according to a few responses is to tumble the ammunition in clean media.  First of all, I thought it was highly discouraged to place live ammunition in a tumbler.  Secondly it doesn't make sense that case lube if used sparingly, Dillon's case lube for example, would compromise the operation of a gun.  Comments?

I haven't ever done it with any ammo I've ever loaded, for Service Rifle, Precision Rifle, etc etc etc.

I read years ago about a guy in Europe or something that put some (.44 mag?) reloads in a tumbler to shine them up. Supposedly the powder broke down into a much more fine powder when in the tumbler and caused the gun to explode when he fired it. Whether or nots its BS, I have no idea.

I would imagine that if you are not tumbling it for very long, the chances of something happening like that would be slim anyway.

It's common for commercial loaders to tumble ammo but it doesn't take long and untreated corn cob is best.  No more than an hour.

I help load for a type 7 manufacturer. The last step before QC and packaging is polishing. Doing so for a short amount of time will not hurt them.

Is it really necessary to clean the case lube?

This is perhaps the biggest reason that I have embraced wet tumbling. Cases are done after sizing and there is no lube to spread everywhere during the loading process.
I accept that it is inconvenient to interrupt the loading process on a progressive machine but I like having my brass processing done and separate from the actual loading. Could be just a hard to break 40 year habit and of no real benefit but .......

Bruce

Do you think it's really necessary to lube cases ?

Jim

I have no problems vibrator cleaning .38 spec wadcutters in walnut cob and johnsons paste wax for 30 minutes or so to remove loading residue. Don't want a case hanging in a cylinder

I have never lubed a pistol case. And that's reloading probably in the millions, before Bullseye competition for IPSC, IDPA, Steel Challenge, Bowling Pins, silhouettes,  etc, etc. That's the purpose of Carbide dies. Of course you can do what you want, I don't feel its necessary.

I shoot many rifle competitions, and lube them, I tumble after resizing.

I don't feel it would be a problem tumbling loaded ammo. Ammo has been beaten up pretty bad in the back of army trucks etc. Also the powder is beaten around in delivery in the brown truck. A fellow posted a while back on another forum that worked at Federal (I think it was), and said the ammo was tumbled after it came off the loading machine.

If you feel its necessary, try the spray lubes by Hornady and Dillon, they supposedly don't need to be removed.

To me tumbling lube off loaded ammo is a trade-off, swapping excess lube for tumbler dust and its more of a chance to beat up carefully assembled ammo.

A universal de-prime and tumbling before sizing et al keeps a lot of grit out of dies.  With carbide pistol dies there isn't call for much lube, even less with clean brass.

If you feel you need to get the extra lube off, then do so.  It won't hurt anything, but you probably don't.