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Lubing pistol cases


67camaro

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Just two quick questions I want to see what you guys think. First off when you use a spray type lube like hornady one shot for example, do you size and then tumble it off or do you just continue and load with lube on. The other question is I'm loading MG 124gr FMJs and when seating to 1.250 maybe 1 or 2 out of 10 seats out longer at say 1.270 it may just be the difference in the ogive of the bullets but it never seats them too deep just a few hundreths long. Should I be concerned about that or just keep going like everything is ok?

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I have carbide sizers in all my pistol die sets and they require no lube. When I load for my rifles I use One Shot lube and tumble them in corn cob to clean it off after. I have one 9mm cast bullet I load that varies in seating depth occasionally, but not more than .010" (I think the caster has a mold or two that has been damaged and repaired and the noses look different on some). As long as your loads go through the magazine and gun it should be okay.

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OAL is determined by your seater die and really shouldn't be affected by anything else. Lube in a carbide die is time and money wasted. I load 15,000 plus rounds a year and need to spend as little time loading as possible.

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I also use carbide dies but recently bought a bottle of lube that I plan on trying. I have the Lee bulge buster kit and sometimes feeding a .45 ACP through it can be hard. I want to see if a little case lube will help. I don't plan to tumble the loaded cartridges afterwards. I'll just give them a wipe down with a rag before putting them into the blue MTM boxes I use.

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I also have carbide dies but things get a little sticky on the sizer and expander. Any suggestions on the coal variances?

those oal variances are fine in my opinion. I lube and load a complete round. If I want to spiff them up, which I generally do, I tumble them for 15 minutes after loading to buff them out and get the small amount of lube off.

Don't listen to the nay sayers about lube. Use it! Once you have lubed for awhile and you get a dry case in the mix it is ridiculous how much harder it is to load. AND, your oal's will stay tighter with lube.

Hornady one shot is the best for not leaving much residue.

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I also have carbide dies but things get a little sticky on the sizer and expander. Any suggestions on the coal variances?

those oal variances are fine in my opinion. I lube and load a complete round. If I want to spiff them up, which I generally do, I tumble them for 15 minutes after loading to buff them out and get the small amount of lube off.

Don't listen to the nay sayers about lube. Use it! Once you have lubed for awhile and you get a dry case in the mix it is ridiculous how much harder it is to load. AND, your oal's will stay tighter with lube.

Hornady one shot is the best for not leaving much residue.

+1

Try some lube and see for yourself. they will size easier and the oal will be more consistant, especially with the 9mm. stop if you don't see any benefit. don't know till you try

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Hornady One Shot is the way to go carbide dies or no carbide dies. It speeds up the loading process and takes a lot less effort. You put a couple hundred cases into a 1 gallon ziplock bag or some other good quality bag, spray some One Shot into the bag, rub the cases around, turn the bag over and repeat. Done in 30 seconds or less and then dump them into the hopper. Everything runs smooth and with little effort.

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I too have a carbide size die... and I ALWAYS use lube.... dump couple hundred cases in a plastic container.. spray... wait 10 minutes... then dump in case feeder.. it sure makes loading a breeze...

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Same here, I spray a mist of One Shot into my 'ready to load' can, close it and shake a bit, then into the hopper it goes. Even w/carbide dies, it smooths things out noticeably.

I don't remove One Shot from Pistol rounds after loading. YMMV, etc.

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I use One Shot when I load large batches of competition ammo, it really helps smooth things out and makes it easier.

I don't like to leave it on the loaded ammo (I know it doesn't matter) so I spray it with alcohol and sling it in a towel to take it off.

Neal in AZ

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By all means lube, even with Carbide dies (at least IMHO). Makes loading much easier. I hit mine with a light coat of Hornady 1-shot then load them up. Nice thing about 1-shot is that it doesn't leave a residue, at least one that I can easily detect and does not cause any problems with feeding, chambering and/or fouling the barrel.

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I load thousands of rounds every day with carbide sizing dies and I always lube. I make my own lube 10% liquid lanolin and 90% of 96% isopropyl alcohol. Get it on Amazon, cheap.

I tumble in corn cob media for about 30 min to get it all off and bring them to a nice marketable high polish.

I run progressive Dillon 1050's with mixed HS brass and nickel and my OAL variance at most is +/- .004

Lube it...you will never go back to not using lube

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Work smart, not hard. LOL Seriously though, try the one shot. I also loaded thousands of rounds without using it, but a friend suggested I try it and now I use it every time. Makes the press run like greased lightning.

Edited by MDlineman
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Anybody recommend One Shot yet? :roflol: Seriously, cases in a one gallon zip lock, spray of One Shot, shake them around, and load. Makes it much easier to run through a U-die than dry. I don't normally tumble them after loading.

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