Case Lube - Is it a must?

[Titanium Eagle]

Hello all

I got my 650 setup for 45 acp. Here is my question. Is case lube required? I have ordered Hornady One Shot but because of shipping restrictions it will not arrive until next week. I should have ordered Dillon Case lube to get me going but I did not, and here I am. Is ther an alternative I can use to hold me over , is it a must, or should I just wait?

Thanks

Pete

[Matt Cheely]

Not required as long as you have carbide dies, but man is it helpful.

[shooterready]

2

[slflr]

Hello all

I got my 650 setup for 45 acp. Here is my question. Is case lube required? I have ordered Hornady One Shot but because of shipping restrictions it will not arrive until next week. I should have ordered Dillon Case lube to get me going but I did not, and here I am. Is ther an alternative I can use to hold me over , is it a must, or should I just wait?

Thanks

Pete

An alternative is to use a silicon gun cleaning rag and tumble your brass in the rag in your hands.

The results will surprise you.

[Titanium Eagle]

Great !!

Thank you!!!

[al503]

Any sporting goods/outdoor shops around town that might have it in stock?

[Titanium Eagle]

Any sporting goods/outdoor shops around town that might have it in stock?

Unfotunately no one in my area (Monmouth county NJ) has the One Shot.

[Duane Thomas]

The Dillon case lube, sad to say, is very nasty stuff. It just feels nasty and sticky. RCBS or Hornady One-Shot is much nicer.

If by "necessary" you mean can you reload without case lube, then yes, you can. Over the long term the amount of force required to operate the press will be very hard on your joints and the machine itself, but yes, it can be done. Seriously, you need to get case lube as soon as possible, but if you want to load in the - short - interim it should do no real harm.

Look at it this way: having had the experience of loading, even for a short while, without case lube you'll be ever so much more appreciative of the difference when you do start using the lube.

[el pres]

I've loaded thousands of rounds without case lube, then I loaded ten thousands of

rounds with Oneshot. Now I ran out of Oneshot and cant figure out how I loaded that

many rounds without lube ?? Yes, it's ok but the press is alot harder to run,

carbide dies do put a nice shine on the cases without lube though !!

[Yankee Dog]

I have been loading 45 on a dillion 650 with dillion carbide dies for quite some time. Never used case lube, never felt the need, never felt the pull was all that hard.

Save your money.

Yankee Dog

[ChrisStock]

Not required as long as you have carbide dies, but man is it helpful.

True... you CAN muscle your way through it, but why would anyone? For a few pennies worth of your chosen case lube, everything moves much smoother. Less fatigue on you, your brass, and your press. It's a win/win/win in my book.

[uscbigdawg]

Throw about 2 handfuls of brass in a box. Spray liberally with lube of choice. Load and then tumble. Done.

It will be easier on a progressive press and you will enjoy reloading more with it than without it.

If the cost is an issue, for the $3-5 for a can of lube, then you probably should have a different hobby.

Rich

[DougCarden]

For me loading at least 1K at a time, Case lube is a must. Period. I am not going to damage my shooting arm loading ammo.............

DougC

[1911jerry]

I can usually load 100 more per hour with the lube. It makes it just that more enjoyable, then without.

I like the Hornady one shot, but it is getting expensive. $11.49 at the Bass Pro shop locally. I ordered from Graf and sons and with shipping, it was about $7.75 per can when I ordered a dozen cans for the next year.

JS

[Duane Thomas]

The easiest way I have found to lube casings is to take a plastic freezer bag, spray one or two shots of case lube inside the bag, coating its interior walls, then dump in brass, seal the bag, and knead the casings around, through the bag, so the case lube evenly coats them. I squirt in the lube first, then add the casings, since I've had issues of lube contaminating powder, leaving to pffffft! instead of bang! if I squirt the lube directly onto the casings - it pools inside the casings and kills powder dead, in my experience. (NOTE: I did the "spray the lube directly onto the casings inside the bag" thing for years with RCBS case lube without a problem; the first time I did it with One-Shot, though: pffffft!)

[atbarr]

The easiest way I have found to lube casings is to take a plastic freezer bag, spray one or two shots of case lube inside the bag, coating its interior walls, then dump in brass, seal the bag, and knead the casings around, through the bag, so the case lube evenly coats them. I squirt in the lube first, then add the casings, since I've had issues of lube contaminating powder, leaving to pffffft! instead of bang! if I squirt the lube directly onto the casings - it pools inside the casings and kills powder dead, in my experience. (NOTE: I did the "spray the lube directly onto the casings inside the bag" thing for years with RCBS case lube without a problem; the first time I did it with One-Shot, though: pffffft!)

So, in you opinon, RCBS case lube is the way to go?

A.T.

[ChuckS]

Case lube must? Nope

Case lube should? Yup

You can hike up the ski hill but why ignore the chair lift?

I lay out a towel, drop the cases on it and knock them over. This allows me one more chance to sort. I hit them briefly with One Shot. I then pick up the corners of the towel, roll the cases around a bit and then dump them into whatever container they are going into. 8 years, no pfffffts!

Later,

Chuck

[Duane Thomas]

So, in you opinon, RCBS case lube is the way to go?

Both have their pluses and minuses. In my experience the RCBS evaporates faster than One-Shot. This is probably why I never had any issues with it contaminating powder. By the time the casings make it it out of the bag, through the machine and into the powder drop station, the lube is gone. The bad thing about that, of course, is that you don't get the effect of lubed casings for nearly as long, from the time you first lube the casings until the effect is gone, with RCBS vs. One-Shot. Overally, I'd say One-Shot is the best choice, just squirt it into the bag FIRST.

BTW, when I'm using the casings after lubing, I dump them out of the bag a few at a time, then press the air out of the bag around the casings still inside it, then reseal the bag until I need more casings. This stops the lube on the casings from evaporating for a much longer period of time. Just my procedure, that may be a bit too, um, detail-oriented for some folks.

[DougCarden]

Throw a big handful of cases on cookie sheet that wife will never miss, or at least never get back.

Knock cases over. Pump Dillon case lube liberally over cases. Roll them back and forth and side to side. give them a little more. Let the sit for a couple of minutes.

Throw them in the case feeder and load away! It is that simple.

I use only Dillon case lube since it was developed for my machines, and works really well, especially on rifle cases.

DougC

[Titanium Eagle]

Price not an issue. Only real issue is that the two cans I orderd do not arrive until the 24th. But I am going to get started tomorrow night.

Thanks for all the info!

[Duane Thomas]

Yer welcome.

[Duane Thomas]

Only real issue is that the two cans I orderd do not arrive until the 24th.

Should make a helluva Christmas present to yourself.

[B.Reid]

I've got a commercial brass sizer and I always found that when I used a case lube of any brand it would gum everything up to the point where stoppages occured. Once I recleaned it all I tried WD40. WOW!! What a difference. The cases are repolished for about 4-6 hours after being resized and I have no issues whatsoever with loading or shooting. I've done this with Open 9 and .40's as well. I'm hooked.

[CJDOUBLETAP]

The Dillon case lube, sad to say, is very nasty stuff. It just feels nasty and sticky. RCBS or Hornady One-Shot is much nicer.

If by "necessary" you mean can you reload without case lube, then yes, you can. Over the long term the amount of force required to operate the press will be very hard on your joints and the machine itself, but yes, it can be done. Seriously, you need to get case lube as soon as possible, but if you want to load in the - short - interim it should do no real harm.

Look at it this way: having had the experience of loading, even for a short while, without case lube you'll be ever so much more appreciative of the difference when you do start using the lube.

Thats exactly what I would say.

[wisconsin]

Since I have not used case lube in the past with my 650. My reloading arm had a talk with me the last time we reloaded and the arm won. My only question is after the reload is completed do you have to wipe off the brass before firing the round?