Lubricating Brass

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Gitz

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I'm thinking about using a lubricant when reloading 45 colt. It takes some effort to resize those long cases on my 550 regardless of Dillon carbide dies. I would like to ask how important it is to remove the lubricant before firing the ammo. In 45 colt I am only loading cowboy action loads for a revolver. (6 grains of Unique 260 grain bullet.)
 
It it most important to remove as much if not all of any sizing lube prior to charging the case with powder as the lube acts like a magnet to anything it contacts.You mention that the case in question here is the 45 Colt and that being a straight walled case presents no special problems other than regardless of which powder is used,the powder will stick to the lubed interior walls and if it is a low velocity target load much of the powder will not be situated in front of the primer flash giving eratic performance.I prefer to wash and then tumble clean cases prior to sizing which greatly reduces the drag and friction associated with carbide sizing dies and prolongs die life also.
jackpine
 
Try some Hornady 1-Shot. It drys up really fast and doesn't leave any sticky residue on the cases.

I usually just spray some in a freezer bag, shake the cases in it for a bit and then dump them in the case feeder.
 
How far down do you have the dies set? It's probably not necessary to set them so they're touching the shellholder, this is probably over-sizing the brass. Back them 1/4 to 1/2 turn from touching the shellholder, and try that. You may be trying to size the webbing area of the case, which is unnecessary and would explain the excessive force required.

Also, make sure the cases are clean (and polished, ideally) first, any grit or silt on the cases will cause problems.
 
reddot said:
Try some Hornady 1-Shot. It drys up really fast and doesn't leave any sticky residue on the cases.

I usually just spray some in a freezer bag, shake the cases in it for a bit and then dump them in the case feeder.
Click to expand...


Good idea with the One Shot!

Have you done rifle cases like that, too?

I get annoyed with arranging them on a cloth when I must do great quantities:)
 
on the other hand i use nothing but hornady one shot for all my rifle cases and nothing at all for my pistols, including 45 colt- for the life of me, i can't see it taking effort at all on the 550- i use a loadmaster for the 45 colt/43m 44 mag- the 550 is strictly for the 308/338 -i've even used the lee 1000 for the 44 mag- there's got to be something wrong
 
I resize my cases, 357Mag/38SPL, 44 Mag, 45 LC & 500 S&W with RCBS carbide dies. IF you're having a problem resizing, with the loads you've noted & using carbide dies, then there's another problem, they should size very easily.
 
I don't lube my pistol cases, but when I load cast bullets the bullet lube tends to get on the cases. What I do is spray a little WD-40 on a rag and wipe them off, then wipe off the WD on a dry rag. Probably not what you want to hear if you are loading large quantities of ammo on a progessive machine - but for me, loading a hundred rounds at a time on a single stage press it is manageable.
 
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