Tumbler media

[Ruger Packer]

Its time for some new tumbler media. I've been using the crushed treated walnut shells that came with my Lyman tumbler and it works good, But its expensive to replace. Not interested in buying a #50 or #100 sack of media. Just a few pounds. What works for you guys/gals????? 8)

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I am very happy with a 50/50 mix of crushed corn cobb and crushed walnut shells from the 'super' pet store, about $6 a bag. A squirt of case polish once in a while helps it work even better.

 

[pat g]

I use stainless steel. They come out like brand new.

 

[Sax.45]

I use the crushed walnut shells from the pet store, A lot cheaper and works great...

 

[slippingaway]

http://www.amazon.com/Zilla-11442-Ground-English-5-Quart/dp/B001OVGPH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359000138&sr=8-1&keywords=zilla+crushed+walnut

Just tried this stuff, and it works GREAT. Finer ground than most tumbling media, so it didn't stick in the flash holes like the old stuff I had.

 

[Ruger Packer]

http://www.amazon.com/Zilla-11442-Ground-English-5-Quart/dp/B001OVGPH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359000138&sr=8-1&keywords=zilla+crushed+walnut

Just tried this stuff, and it works GREAT. Finer ground than most tumbling media, so it didn't stick in the flash holes like the old stuff I had.

Did you need to add any polishing compound to it??

 

[slippingaway]

I added some of the RCBS powdered compound before I started, but judging by how fast it polished the brass, I don't think I would have had to add any. I was extremely surprised that it polished as fast as it did. Probably about 500 cases that were old and very dirty were bright and shiny in less than an hour. The only reason I checked the brass as soon as I did was to see if I needed to add more compound.

 

[Powderblast]

For a good and reasonably priced, readily available polishing
compound try Nushine liquid car polish available at
Wal-Mart. Works great. Look for the orange bottle in the auto
section. Walnut media from the pet store works fine and is
better when cleaning dirtier brass than corn cob media,
but corn cob will give a higher polish in my experience.

 

[Ruger Packer]

For a good and reasonably priced, readily available polishing
compound try Nushine liquid car polish available at
Wal-Mart. Works great. Look for the orange bottle in the auto
section. Walnut media from the pet store works fine and is
better when cleaning dirtier brass than corn cob media,
but corn cob will give a higher polish in my experience.

I have some of that in the garage. How much do you use?? Capful? 2? 3?

 

[Mobuck]

I tried the pet grade cob crap ONCE. It may work in straight wall handgun cases but it jammed in the smaller rifle cases resulting in some very difficult removal. Considering how long media lasts and the relative cost, I use ground walnut media from a known source. I bought a Dillon tumbler that included about 25# of cob media (1/2 a 15 gallon barrel) and don't really care for it either. I just swapped out the dirty media in all 3 tumblers and found the replacement I'd bought sometime back is much finer grind than what I'd been using. Haven't used the new stuff long enough to develp an opinion.
FYI You can "wash" the walnut media and get another lifetime out of it. Put it in an old pillow case and wash it in a bucket with warm water and dish soap. Rinse same way or under running water. Spread on an old sheet to dry in sunny place. Stir a few times during drying. Make sure it's fully dry or it will mold if put in a closed container.

 

[slippingaway]

I've been using that Zilla ground walnut litter primarily for my .223 and 5.56 cases with no problems. Also ran some 7mm-06 cases, and some .45acp, .40s&w and 9mm pistol cases with no issues. It's a fine grind, and doesn't get stuck in the cases. I can't give an opinion on any of the other corn cob or walnut pet bedding as I haven't used anything else. Take a look at the reviews on the link I posted earlier, apparently most people aren't using it for pet bedding.

 

[Sax.45]

I just use the pet store litter, but people use nu finish with good results. Start with 1 capfull and try that. You don't to add to much or you'll end up with clumpy media.

 

[Moto]

I use the walnut pet bedding from the pet shop, but I have just tried soaking my deprimed and resized brass in Citric Acid that i bought from a pool supply shop, they use it to remove rust stains from pool tiles. soak for ten to twenty minutes and they come out looking great and it also gets rid of the carbon build up inside the cases.
I also only used two table spoons to about 2 litres of hot water.

 

[Kevin]

I use a Lyman 1200 and the Lyman brand "media" that comes in the container (one or two gallons, not sure which.) It works well, I can re-use it and don't add any polish. I used to add polish, but it dried in hard chunks which stuck to the brass occasionally.

I was wondering about cat litter though. Interesting other people use it.

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

Kevin,

I used to add polish as liquid. Drizzle in a very thin stream with the tumberl running. If it clumped (like the kitty litter my wife buys for the cats), I'd break that up by hand and mix.

An alternative is to make you own dry polish (like the RCBS powder). Take your car polish and pour it out in a thin layer. I use the plastic lids from the containers cold cuts comes in. Let it dry overnight and then pop it out, pulverize it, and add the resulting powder to your media.

I'll add polish wet if I don't have a batch of the powder handy.