45 Raven Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 I guess after loading ammo in steel dies for many years and having no choice except to lube cases, I was just so happy to get carbide dies and progressive loaders many years ago that it has never crossed my mind to go back to lube again. I know I am a dinosaur, and have been reloading ammunition for 43 years now. If I don't have to lube, I won't. At my advanced age, it still doesn't require much effort to load up 250-300 rounds of pistol ammo (9mm and .45 ACP) a week on my RL550 loaders. More power to those who prefer lube, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
191138sc Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Question: if the lube gets inside of the case will this affect how the powder works? does the lube that gets inside of the case evaporate? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiggerJJ Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 (edited) Question: if the lube gets inside of the case will this affect how the powder works? does the lube that gets inside of the case evaporate? ThanksSquirt or spray the lube into an empty appropriate container (I use a Tupperware bowl with lid), add brass, cover and shake, dump into case feeder. Result is no lube inside the cases... and the cases are properly lubed.Eta, lube inside the cases won't affect the powder,but is really tough to measure a powder throw when 1/4 of the powder sticks to the inside of the case. jj Edited May 26, 2015 by RiggerJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDA Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Question: if the lube gets inside of the case will this affect how the powder works? does the lube that gets inside of the case evaporate? Thanks Assuming you are using one of the many commercial lubes or the lanolin/alcohol mix, NO. If you are using something else to lube, I suppose it is possible you risk powder/primer contamination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 I lube my cases with NuFinish while dry tumbling. Works pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11287 Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Been loading for over 25 years and never used lube on any of my pistol cases. Then I read this post and gave it a try on my last reloading of 9mm major. Wow, what a difference. The loads seemed to be more consistent in OAL and in the powder throw weights, not to mention the ease of the handle pull. By the way, used One Shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SISIG Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I use pledge, smells good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob DuBois Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Lubing cases makes the whole process easier on the brass, dies, press and the operator. Loading on a 550 and 9mm on a 65I recommend and use Lee's first stage sizing die on every pistol caliber I load. Lee's sizer will size closer to the extractor groove and a little tighter than other brands. Seen guns with tight chambers that wouldn't run start running just by switching to Lee's sizer. Spend a little time inspecting 9mm brass, it varies a lot if your shooting range brass. Discard Military brass along with others that are swagged makes the loading process easier. Using three plastic factory trays and a box pour a hand full into the trays most will fall base down. Look inside for trash, chigger bites on the case mouth, berdan primers etc. turn the tray sideways to check case height. Remove 380's Supers or any others that worked there way into the tray. Take an empty tray place it over the top and flip to check the bases for swagged brass, brand etc. Once cleaned, inspected and Lubed your ready to rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorfish Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) Spend a little time inspecting 9mm brass, it varies a lot if your shooting range brass. Discard Military brass along with others that are swagged makes the loading process easier. Using three plastic factory trays and a box pour a hand full into the trays most will fall base down. Look inside for trash, chigger bites on the case mouth, berdan primers etc. turn the tray sideways to check case height. Remove 380's Supers or any others that worked there way into the tray. Take an empty tray place it over the top and flip to check the bases for swagged brass, brand etc. Youtube Video of the process of counting/sorting/inspecting 9mm brass: https://youtu.be/BpkUnUqMo8U Edited May 27, 2015 by razorfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtp Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I guess after loading ammo in steel dies for many years and having no choice except to lube cases, I was just so happy to get carbide dies and progressive loaders many years ago that it has never crossed my mind to go back to lube again. I know I am a dinosaur, and have been reloading ammunition for 43 years now. If I don't have to lube, I won't. At my advanced age, it still doesn't require much effort to load up 250-300 rounds of pistol ammo (9mm and .45 ACP) a week on my RL550 loaders. More power to those who prefer lube, though! A single can of One Shot is cheap, and doesn't need to be removed. Give it a try, and you may just be smiling afterwards. (I don't use OneShot for rifle, but it's damned great for lubing pistol cases for loading..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuickMick Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Need to? No. Is it measurably easier if you do? Totally. Once I started I won't go back to not using it. I take about 200 9mm cases and throw them in a gallon size ziplock bag. I lay it on the bench and push the cases around till they almost all are laying on their sides. Then I spray in two pumps of the Dillon case lube. Seal the bag and shake it for about 20 seconds and leave it open on the bench for the time it takes me to fill up a couple primer tubes. Then I dump them in the case feeder and load as normal. I do zero post processing. I use a Dillon 1050, normally load 300-400 rounds every couple days. I use a EGW U die and a Lee factory crimp die as well. When the last of my Dillon case lube runs out I might think about making my own lanolin and alcohol home brew case lube. Works good for me, too, instead of cleaning them in a tumbler before reloading..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Did anyone else notice FPS increase after the cases are lubed? I usually don't lube pistol brass, just let NuFinish in my tumbler do the lube. However, seeing this post, I tried Imperial Wax on 9mm cases. I did wipe them off with a towel. Even with that, I found the ones lubed have about 30fps-40fps (my 147gr non-lubed are usually 870fps, but with the lubed ones it goes up to 900fps) more than the non-lubed ones. Everything else are identical - same powder amount, seating depth, etc. I repeated this experiment one more time yesterday, with same result. Very strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habba8 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Hornady One Shot Easy Peasy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I ended up with a can of Lyman Quick Slick and it seems to work well. Doesn't seem to linger on the cases as long as the alcohol/lanolin mix. Have tried it on both rifle and pistol and seems to work ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taroman Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Just tried lube on 9mm cases after many many years of sizing them dry. WOW! Estimate that effort required is decreased by two thirds. I'm a convert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokewagon Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 A few folks who wet tumble have mentioned using Meguiar's wash and wax instead of dawn which leaves cases lubed a bit. I haven't tried it yet though so I'm not sure how well it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorfish Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 A few folks who wet tumble have mentioned using Meguiar's wash and wax instead of dawn which leaves cases lubed a bit. I haven't tried it yet though so I'm not sure how well it works. I've always heard to avoid any product with "wax" in it as it builds up on your dies. Nupolish is popular in dry tumbling because it contains no wax. I suppose it could just be an old wives tale that wax is an issue. Has anyone had any "real" issues with wax based products on brass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habba8 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Nufinish works well for me. I cut it 20% with thinner. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_striker Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 (edited) Nufinish works well for me. I cut it 20% with thinner. I clean with mineral spirits and corn cob in one tumbler and then polish with Nu Finish and corn cob in another tumbler. Brass sizes very easy. Maybe this is why I never understood why people use lube. I tried One Shot and didn't really see a big difference except for the tacky residue that it leaves on finished ammo. Maybe it sizes a LITTLE easier with lube but not enough for me to deal with the residue. I know you can tumble the finished ammo but I don't like doing that. Edited June 3, 2015 by d_striker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellyrubber Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) I've been reloading with carbide dies for 3yrs.now.I just made up some spray lube with lanolin oil and 99% alcohol.WOW,good stuff. I got the lanolin at nature's finest health store for 9.99. The alcohol at Safeway for 2.69. I mixed 1 shot glass of lanolin and the 16oz. bottle of alcohol. It works just fine. Couple of sprays in a 1qt.ziplock bag,filled it up with 9mm brass and shook it around. Dumped it out on a tray,let it dry a few minutes.Started loading,when done 20min.in tumbler with corncob media. So much easier on the arm. Edited June 4, 2015 by bellyrubber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x45 Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I never have needed to lube in the last 17 years. My cleaning method is walnut loaded with mineral oil, followed by corn loaded with NuFinish. The cases are plenty slippery from the NuFinish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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