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Question on lubed 9mm brass


Jory45acp

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I've read that guys are lubing 9mm brass and I'm new to this having previously lubed only rifle cases, not pistol cases. I've seen different methods for lubing but my question is, is anyone taking a step to remove lube once applied after loading or not? If so what method? Any input is appreciated. 

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Bit of Dillon lube or oneshot.  I dont and I suspect the vast majority dont bother removing it. Its not the same as lubing rifles. Most folks are using carbide dies for straightwall pistol, and it takes a pretty small amount of lube to just make then size a bit easier.

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I used to not lube. but after switching off dillon carbide size die to Mighty armory it became necessary. After loading a bunch with lube I didnt like it at first but after switchng die back I realized I did like the lube. The press just works so much smoother

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I throw 9mm cases into the tumbler with walnut media and a dash of Dillon Case Polish.  I run it for between 30 and 45 minutes, separate the brass, spray with One Shot, and toss.  Then I resize, decap and two step expand.  After that they go back into the tumbler for at least 3 hours.  After I separate the media I reload them as normal, but with the sizing die removed.  I do it this way because it takes more effort to resize 9mm cases than it does for 40sw or 45.  If I don't use the case lube I can only resize about 100 cases before my elbow screams quit.  Since I'm loading 9mm major I don't want to leave case lube inside the case, because it might contribute to bullet set back.  

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I use lanolin in alcohol and don't clean them after.

 

I apply it by misting a spray bottle into a gallon ziploc bag and then adding a couple hundred cases and rolling them around. It prevents the spray from going inside the cases and uses it more efficiently. I still use carbide dies (Dillon and Lee) and trust the residue on the sizing ring to take care of any cases that weren't fully covered.

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2 hours ago, Dwbsig said:

I use to clean mine after loading when I used lanolin and alcohol but I switched to one shot and they feel like I can skip cleaning. When I did clean them after loading I only cleaned them for about fifteen minutes.

Did you clean the brass prior to loading or after loaded?

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1 minute ago, Jory45acp said:

Did you clean the brass prior to loading or after loaded?

Yes I clean before loading but as a general rule you should always clean your brass before loading because you can scratch your dies if you have a little piece of sand on your brass. If you do scratch your die it will transfer that scratch to your brass from now on. A piece of sand will even scratch a carbide die.

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13 minutes ago, Dwbsig said:

Yes I clean before loading but as a general rule you should always clean your brass before loading because you can scratch your dies if you have a little piece of sand on your brass. If you do scratch your die it will transfer that scratch to your brass from now on. A piece of sand will even scratch a carbide die.

OK I didn't clarify my question, do you clean the brass after running it through the sizing die BEFORE loading powder/primer/bullet? I know you need to clean dirty fired brass. I'm asking about after lube is applied.

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16 minutes ago, Jory45acp said:

OK I didn't clarify my question, do you clean the brass after running it through the sizing die BEFORE loading powder/primer/bullet? I know you need to clean dirty fired brass. I'm asking about after lube is applied.

 

Negative.

 

If you lube then you go through the entire loading process until you have a finished cartridge.

Exactly the same as if you did not use lube.

 

Then the question becomes: Do you attempt to remove the lube from the loaded cartridge?

Some people do.

Some people don't.

 

When I first started using lube I did remove it.

About fifty thousand rounds ago I stopped worrying about it.

 

Edited to add: All my guns are striker fired guns. Production or CO. Not known to be finicky. 

I have no knowledge about how some gun with a tight chamber might react.

I suppose it is possible there could be some sort of build up that would interfere with function.

 

Edited by ddc
added stuff
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I tumble clean first, then spray some one shot on a terry towel, dump on the brass, close up both ends with my hands and do a "shoeshine" rocking motion for a few minutes. Run them thru my Dillon 550B w/ case and bullet feeders and done. Never found a need to clean AFTER loading but it's easy enough to do the same shoeshine trick with a clean terry towel. Just depends on how anal you are.

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57 minutes ago, Jory45acp said:

OK I didn't clarify my question, do you clean the brass after running it through the sizing die BEFORE loading powder/primer/bullet? I know you need to clean dirty fired brass. I'm asking about after lube is applied.

No I don’t clean my brass after I apply lube. 

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1 hour ago, Jory45acp said:

OK I didn't clarify my question, do you clean the brass after running it through the sizing die BEFORE loading powder/primer/bullet? I know you need to clean dirty fired brass. I'm asking about after lube is applied.

I am a little crazy about making perfect ammo so my process is as follows:

(1)  Dirty, fired brass goes into the wet tumbler for 30 minutes to clean 

(2)  Brass is removed from tumbler and dried

(3)  Lube with lanolin and alcohol and run through a prep toolhead with only a standard resizing die and a U-die

(4)  Brass is polished in the wet tumbler, lube removed

(5)  Brass is removed from tumbler and dried

(6)  Load ammo, no need for lube as all sizing is already complete

 

This is way overkill and obviously takes much more time than is required.  I enjoy spending too much time loading so it's not a chore for me.  This process produces perfectly clean, lube free ammo and keeps my hands and press much cleaner so I prefer it, brass marking is much more effective on lube free cases as well.  The same results, minus the sparkling clean press, could be achieved by dry tumbling loaded rounds as many have described above.  I would just dry tumble after loading if I didn't shoot PD JHPs that pack full of media when tumbled.

 

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8 hours ago, zzt said:

Since I'm loading 9mm major I don't want to leave case lube inside the case, because it might contribute to bullet set back.  


^This
I always wash the cases in hot soapy water after sizing.  No tumbler,  just a bucket....takes all of 5 minutes.  

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wet tumble pistol brass and and then dry in food dehydrator .  Do about 1500 at a time.    get a shallow pan .. put on gloves and spray the bottom of pan with home made lube.  then add brass to pan and spray some lube on gloves and then use hands rub it on the brass.  

 

then start loading on progressive press as usual.  then i put ,usually about 500 loaded rounds into vibrating tumbler with corn cob and some polish.  run for 30 min to an hour to remove the lube and also polish up the rounds.  before i did this step and l found the lube to attract dust and dirt . never had a problem with tumbling loaded rounds. i have watch vids that show even factory ammo is final polished.

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I put a few hundred cleaned pieces of brass in a large ziplock bag. I then put all the brass on their sides with my hand, less chance of the spray going directly into the inside of the case. Then a light spray of one shot, close up the bag and shake them around. I then dump them into a container to air dry for at least 5 minutes. No cleaning after loading.

 

I load 9 major.

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Thx for all the input guys, there is definitely more than one way to skin this cat!! I have seen factory ammo is tumbled after loading for polish, my concern is about 1/2 of the 9's I'm going to load are using Blue Bullets. I wonder if I went the tumble after loading route what tumbling would do to the coating? I have to say back when I started IPSC shooting 20yrs ago reloading was pretty straight forward, now having taken a break and getting back into it I feel like I need an Associates degree in Mechanical Applications LOL!

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38 minutes ago, zombywoof said:

I put a few hundred cleaned pieces of brass in a large ziplock bag. I then put all the brass on their sides with my hand, less chance of the spray going directly into the inside of the case.

Try spraying the bag before you add the cases. Works great and simplifies everything without getting any lube inside.

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3 hours ago, Jory45acp said:

Thx for all the input guys, there is definitely more than one way to skin this cat!! I have seen factory ammo is tumbled after loading for polish, my concern is about 1/2 of the 9's I'm going to load are using Blue Bullets. I wonder if I went the tumble after loading route what tumbling would do to the coating? I have to say back when I started IPSC shooting 20yrs ago reloading was pretty straight forward, now having taken a break and getting back into it I feel like I need an Associates degree in Mechanical Applications LOL!

just tumbled 1k blue bullets and have done more in the past.  it will do nothing to the coating.  

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My method.....Hornady One Shot....shake throughly spray inside of a gallon zip lock bag, add 3 handfuls of 9 mm, shake well and Let dry on paper towels.

As mentioned above if you feel the need to clean after loading....your using to much lube....my lesson learned!!

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44 minutes ago, ysrracer said:

Oy vay, some of you guys are obsessive.

 

Here's my 21 step to reloading

 

1. Tumble the brass

2. One shot of one shot :)

3. Load ammo

 

Hey, I guess it's only 3 steps :)

Is there a thumbs up button ? I scratch my head about the whole wet tumble thing.
Jeesh,, pick up off ground, throw in big dillon tumbler with corncob and a bit of some case polish, run over night. Dump in sifter, shake.  My press has a brass tub on bench ,, I grab  a few big handfuls of brass, throw in bin, give a shot of Dillon case lub, stir around, load and shoot.

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