Another lube question

M

Micro man

New member
Up until this point in my reloading history I have only reloaded handgun bullets and used Carbide dies to do so. No lubricant being needed with the Carbide dies.
I want to start reloading for several rifles I own and a big question is about lubricating the cases before sizing.
I know you have to lube the outside of the case but I have read differing comments about lube on the inside of the case.

Please give your thoughts so I can save myself some grief and get it right.

Thanks Micro man
 
I have stuck one or two cases in the sizing die when I first started loading, trust me, you wont enjoy doing that, so after it happens you diligently look for ways to lube, so it doesn't happen again.
What works for me now, and I know there are dozens of different methods, is, I roll the bigger cases on my RCBS pad with RCBS case lube, then I stand them upright on a paper towel and spray them all at a 45 deg angle from both sides with One shot, making sure a slight amount makes it into the mouths. Then I let them sit 5 or more minutes, then start sizing, on my smaller 223 cartridges I don't roll them, I just stand them up and spray Hornady One Shot from both sides, doing this, knock on wood, I haven't stuck another case in years, oh yea, and right before I size them, I take a paper towel or napkin and wipe the lube off the slanted neck, so I don't get hydraulic denting. Hope this helps
 
I use a nylon brush mounted to the press, I add lube to the brush as needed and just pass
the case over the brush. More than enough lube for the expander.
Having the case's clean helps greatly, I tumble in SS pins so my case's are
clean like factory.
 
I'm an "average" rifle cartridge reloader (meaning I lube with Mink Oil Boot Dressing Cream, mostly F/L size most cases, trim, and reload my 7 rifle cartridges). While I like getting accurate handloads, I am no way a bench rest level shooter/reloader. I don't bother lubing the inside of the necks of my cases, but I make sure the outside of the cases are lubed, and fortunately in 30+ years of rifle handloads I have never stuck a bullet...
 
I load 223, 6mm Rem, 308 and 30-06 using Imperial Sizing wax (sparingly) and every third or fourth case I drag my finger over the case mouth. Leaves just enough lube to ease the expander button.
 
I always decap and tumble cases prior to sizing so they are good and clean. I have used imperial sizing wax or RCBS lube on a lube pad. The lube pad is quicker. First use an appropriate case neck brush with lube on it and shove it in and out of at least half the cases (this is sufficient to keep the expander ball lightly lubed). Lube the pad lightly and roll the cases 10 or so at a time on the pad being careful to not get a lot of lube on the shoulder of the cases. Run em through your sizing die. This is a simple straight forward means of lube for full length resizing. This works for me with .223, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 Creedmore and .308. Used the same concept with .22 BR and .17 Mach IV.
 
I use a RCBS pad and lube for the volume runs. I just tried the One Shot spray last week, and did not care for the process of spraying the cases from 2-4 sides, waiting for it to dry a bit and so on. I did not have any stuck cases (yahhhhhhhhhh) but just didn't care for the process. Went back to the RCBS pad/lube and moved right along. For lower number of brass to be re-sized, I use the Hornady lube in the tub, it works well and no complaints at all. Some dies and/or brass may "hang" on the expander button so I will scrape the neck of the brass across my lube covered fingers and it smoothes right out.
 
Red Heet fuel line additive and liquid lanolin ( Amazon.com). 10 parts HEET 1 part lanolin. Put it in a spray bottle and let the alcohol evaporate before sizing. I get a few thousand cases per 11 oz
 
For inside the necks, I like dipping them in powdered mica. Tried it first with my Trim Mate, since a little packet of it comes with the tool. It's easy enough to find at an auto supply store.

I thought it did a better job of stretch prevention (while pulling the expander out) than sliding a waxed finger across the neck edge with Imperial wax, or dirtying my lube pad by rolling a neck brush in it, and brushing the neck inside.

Some have dipped in powdered graphite, but I haven't tried it, being that the other works and the graphite is black and gets everywhere.
 
I lube with an RCBS pad. After I roll the cases I drag the case mouth on the pad to pick up a little lube on the first case. Then I do it again when I feel the expander get rough during the down stroke ( usually takes about 3-4 cases). Works for me....but I wet tumble with stainless steel pins, so they are completely clean. If you don't tumble first it may need more lube than every 3rd case.

FYI I didn't use lube inside the case mouth until I started wet tumbling. The cases started to really get sticky without a coat of powder residue to slide on. But the dies got dirty faster due to the residue. Cases were not running through nearly as smooth without lube, but it worked. Probably ground the neck sizing button down a little too. Didn't do that for very long, and I don't recommend it.
 
Imperial Case and Neck Lube

As you can tell here there are dozens of good ways to lube cases. What I stick with is mainly Imperial sizing die wax for the case body. Imperial is now marketed by Redding. For the case necks it's also an Imperial product. There is a neat kit that includes a pre-charged media and extra graphite like lube. It works great and is not messy.

I have also been using some RCBS Lube and lube pads also. These products work very well for me if doing a large number of cases for the first time. Good stuff.

Sticking a cartridge case is one of the "yets" in reloading. I suggest an RCBS stuck case extractor.

Added: When using the Imperial Wax, I keep some on my finders and apply small amounts on each case. A little goes a long way. Each case also gets the neck lube.
 
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Thanks for the many reply’s. I guess there are many different methods to lube a case, now I just have to figure out what works best for me.
 
+1 on the home made Lanolin mix. I have a dedicated plastic container with a lid that I just dump the brass into, spritz with the mix, cover and agitate. It gets enough inside the case mouths that I don't have to worry about lubing those separately. Dump it out and let it air out for a few minutes and the alcohol will flash off.
 
I've been using the home made lanolin mix for many years. I full length size with a body die and neck size with a Lee collet neck sizing die so no lube needed inside the neck. I then anneal the neck. Before annealing every time I could feel differences in the pressure needed to seat bullets, even in brass from the same rifle using the same loads. Since adding the annealing I can tell seating pressure is much more consistent by the way it feels. By using this method my runout is always .001 or less. Not that I'm any more accurate, but at least no more excuses for that one flyer.
 
Another related question I have is do you guys tumble the cases either in wet or dry media after lubing and sizing is complete? I typically tumble with SS pins after primer removal for my handgun reloads, just wondering if I will have to do it twice for long gun ammo.
 
Lube the outsides w/ Imperial Sizing Wax, and inside the case necks w/ they Dry Neck Lube, then wipe-off.

Another oft-asked question.
 
Ill toss in my 2 cents because I haven't seen it mentioned.

I use a spray lube made by Frankford arsenal or Cabeles, it is a lanolin alcohol mix of some sort (doesn't say on the bottle). I first tumble cases in walnut, then toss the cases in a plastic bin the size of a shoe box. give them 3-4 squirts of lube and shake them around thoroughly making sure all of the cases are coated. Too much lube is a bad thing, too little also bad. I will then set the cases in a loading block to dry for 5-10 min, alcohol evaporates leaving the lanolin behind. I will then FLRS a batch of 100-200 cases, then trim, camphor and deburr, primer pocket cleaning or swage, then tumble them in corn cob or untreated walnut to remove any residue (lube or brass trimmings). From there these cases are ready to load.

The box you lube in will eventually also be coated in lube, reducing the amount of lubricant needed per batch. It is important to keep this box clean. Little bits of walnut, brass or cob will stick to the sides contaminating the batch. Too much lube will cause dents in the shoulder of a case (air pockets that cant escape?) too little WILL cause a stuck case. Advantage of this method is some lube will reach inside of some of the necks, but all traces of lube and fouling will be removed in the second tumbling.

Again just my 2 cents. I load for 13 different rifles, this works for me.
 
My Ops have evolved over time. The most recent one was a bad can of Hornady spray lube that jammed up the dies. Its happened a bit before so now I am using the Lyman stuff as lightly as I can and I do not do the inside but with a caveat.

I hate the neck size plugs on the dies, they yank.

My brother suggested using a Lyman M die, so the plugs are out of the dies and I do another step with the M die.

That requires some lube inside necks, so I have the Hornady white paste lube, may be every 4th round gets the neck stuck in it to get a dab on it and onto the M die form.

It does not hurt powder but I run them though the tumbler when done (not before, I keep my cases clean and resize first)

That cleans any residue out of the necks.
 
I use redding imperial wax. Get my fingers waxy and rub brass as I am putting it in press. About every 10 or so I rub my fingers on the wax again. I NEVER stick brass.
 
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