to lube or not to lube?
- Thread starter CALIFORNIA
- Start date
saskgunowner101
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- near Prince Albert
There is a noticeable difference between sizing a 9mm casing and a .40 S&W. Nobody is saying you'll get a hernia, but it's one of the first things I noticed especially without case lube.
Lee lube mixed with alcohol in a spritz bottle works well.
A rough, or brass smeared expander/flaring tool will increase effort going in and coming out. Polish by hand or in a large drill press chuck , with steel wool and/or very fine emery(400-600 grit). I have seen 9mm brass with lacquer bullet sealer, very awkward. Never noticed a difference of effort for .38, .45, or 9mm in my 650. good luck
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
lee lube dries, and shouldn't be an issue if used as directed.
Never tried saskgunowner101 's suggestion but it sounds good.
Never tried saskgunowner101 's suggestion but it sounds good.
saskgunowner101
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- near Prince Albert
I forget the ratio (only had to mix it once!) but think about a one inch bead mixed with a 100-150 ml rubbing alcohol in a spritzer bottle. Spray n roll spray n roll, dry. The brass ends up looking a bit like water spots on washed dishes.
Would a powder company back this claim?
Or seen it in written in a load book?
I suspect the US legal types would play that call on the side of safey.
I could be wrong here...
What problem are we trying to solve here anyway?
Your pistol jams in the cold?
Mild loads, gun still has the factory spring?
Me I shoot a revolver mostly
Never had a problem with my CZ shadow or springfield XD using IPSC loads in the cold that I recall.
cheers
Leaving lube on the cases makes them a) pickup dirt b) not grip the chamber walls, possibly a bad thing. It's certainly a bad thing in some calibres where I've seen significantly-increase pressure signs on the base of the case (pressure marks from the bolt) when lube is left on.
What brass are you using? There was recently a bunch of RUAG 9mm ammo sold by The Shooting Edge that had very small flash holes. This stuff definitely takes quite a bit more effort to resize the first time because the depriming pin punches out the flash hole to normal size in the process or removing the old primer.
Other than that, I find that 9mm brass takes little effort to resize with my Dillon 550 using Dillon carbide dies.
Other than that, I find that 9mm brass takes little effort to resize with my Dillon 550 using Dillon carbide dies.
Same here.
Same here except for 500 S&W carbide dies which RCBS suggests lubing every 10th brass due to the size of the casings. If you are using carbide dies why cause extra work for nothing, lube is not needed, I have RCBS 9mm carbide dies that I have been using for over 25 years in my Dillon progeressive reloader and they are still working perfectly.
once you spray a bit of the Hornady One Shot on your 9mm brass you'll wonder why you never did it before. I can honestly say it's one of the biggest improvements to my reloading since I first started over 20 years ago. I use RCBS Carbide dies too, but the amount of force needed with a lightly lubed case is significantly less than with a dry case. It takes me all of 1 minute to lube about 500 cases and dump them in my casefeeder.
I'm not reloading 9mm (45 ACP) but I'm using NO lube either. I posted this elsewhere as it illustrates my cleaning routine but it solves this problem also;
1) Resize / de-prime brass on my Single Stage press. (use lube if necessary)
2) Wet tumble 4 hrs with mixture of 1mm ceramic beads + Cabelas cleaner/additive.
3) "Shake & Bake" (2 min by hand) brass in plastic tub containing Corncob media, this dries pistol brass 100%.
4) Pick brass out of Corncob & Corncob out of brass, (OK a 20 min PITA but I get dry brass without using heat).
Result = shiny inside and out INCLUDING primer pockets and sized. When loading, I don't need to stress the powder charge linkage on my L&L AP with a "powder through expander" and still have space for a "Factory Crimp" die and RCBS "Lockout" die. No case lube near the L&L AP = no guck to deal with near powder/primers/AP machine,,not necessary but nice.
This operation is an extravagance in terms of equipment used but WTF, if you've got the gear, may as well use it. I'd bet a majority of progressive users, like me, also own a single stage press. IMHO its not Heresy to incorporate it into your routine.
1) Resize / de-prime brass on my Single Stage press. (use lube if necessary)
2) Wet tumble 4 hrs with mixture of 1mm ceramic beads + Cabelas cleaner/additive.
3) "Shake & Bake" (2 min by hand) brass in plastic tub containing Corncob media, this dries pistol brass 100%.
4) Pick brass out of Corncob & Corncob out of brass, (OK a 20 min PITA but I get dry brass without using heat).
Result = shiny inside and out INCLUDING primer pockets and sized. When loading, I don't need to stress the powder charge linkage on my L&L AP with a "powder through expander" and still have space for a "Factory Crimp" die and RCBS "Lockout" die. No case lube near the L&L AP = no guck to deal with near powder/primers/AP machine,,not necessary but nice.
This operation is an extravagance in terms of equipment used but WTF, if you've got the gear, may as well use it. I'd bet a majority of progressive users, like me, also own a single stage press. IMHO its not Heresy to incorporate it into your routine.
