New Reloading Questions

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macdonda

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I took the plunge & am excited to get started. I picked up a Lee turret press kit, picked up the dies, waiting on primers, powder & bullets. I got it set up today and already have a few questions...

For lubricating inside the neck, Lee recommends case lube on a Q-tip, is this reasonable?

I used a case tumbler with media, I noticed a couple of cases have one or two granules in them even after tapping them good upside down... getting paranoid lol I can blow them out but would a very small amount remaining be detrimental?

I used a Lyman head space/length gauge and a couple of shells needed just a slight push to get them in, even after going through the resizing die twice... toss or keep?

I’m just doing 223 for a semi-auto, for now :)

I’ll appreciate any feedback.

Cheers
 
The only guage that matters is your chamber. The bolt slams shut with more oomph than your fingers. It will shoot just fine.

Don't worry about a bit of media.

Load 2 and 3 gr below max and try them for cycling and accuracy.
 
macdonda said:
I took the plunge & am excited to get started. I picked up a Lee turret press kit, picked up the dies, waiting on primers, powder & bullets. I got it set up today and already have a few questions...

For lubricating inside the neck, Lee recommends case lube on a Q-tip, is this reasonable?

I used a case tumbler with media, I noticed a couple of cases have one or two granules in them even after tapping them good upside down... getting paranoid lol I can blow them out but would a very small amount remaining be detrimental?

I used a Lyman head space/length gauge and a couple of shells needed just a slight push to get them in, even after going through the resizing die twice... toss or keep?

I’m just doing 223 for a semi-auto, for now :)

I’ll appreciate any feedback.

Cheers
Click to expand...

I have loaded thousands of 223 and I will recommend to properly lube all cases. Inside of the neck and the body. The last thing you want is for the case to get stuck. I use spray lube. Either the lanolin/alcohol stuff or Hornady one shot. With either one I lay them I'll down flat in neat rows on paper towel all facing the same direction, give them a thorough spray and spray inside the case neck. Roll the bodies of the case 180 degrees and spray again. I then wait a few min to let them dry/alcohol to evaporate. When sizing pay attention to the feel of the press. If a case feels like it's going in tough, stop pressing, remove the case and give a bit more lube. Let dry and then try again. When all cases are sized I trim and debur/chamfer. They all go into the tumbler for a couple of hours to remove all the lube and polish.

Remember to take things slow until you develop a feel for it. There is no rush in reloading. Try to enjoy it and have fun learning a great new hobby! Remember to ask questions if you have any before proceeding so you don't mess up cases or equipment!
 
To your inside neck lube question, I use a Q-tip with several drops of the RCBS case lube rubbed into it. For the body, I use a SMALL amount of the Lee resizing lube rubbed on my fingertips to put a thin film on the body and the outside of the neck. Avoid lubing the shoulder, any excess lube in this area can cause dents.
To remove the lube from the exterior, I polish with a soft cloth. A patch wrapped around a bronze cleaning brush removes lube from inside the case neck.
I don't size a lot of cases at once, so the slow pace isn't an issue. If you're doing large volumes, you'll want to find a quicker way.
A lot of people seem to like the graphite neck lube dip from Imperial (I think?) and one of the spray lubes.
 
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If you lube the necks, the neck expander won't stretch the shoulder/neck on the way out(could cause chambering problems). I polish all expanders with very fine emery cloth(600 grit), rotating in a drill or drill press. Lee case lube(like white toothpaste) will dry(like a wax), and won't contaminate powder. A tiny amount on a q-tip.
 
I have never gone out of my way to lube the inside of the case neck but I don't clean with an ultrasonic or liquid based stainless steel pin tumbler either. Simple old-school vibrator style cleaner with walnut shell media. For full length resizing, spray bottle with home-made lube made from lanolin and alcohol. Works perfectly in everything I shoot and reload for from .223 to 300WM. I don't like media getting stuck to the side of the case inside the neck. It blocks the dropping of the powder at times. I don't recall undersizing the neck so much that when an expander ball gets pulled back through, it stretches the neck in any way. There is usually plenty of graphite/carbon inside the case to provide sufficient lubrication.

So saying, if you are using a cleaning method that cleans both the inside and outside of the case removing all the beneficial carbon, then lubing the inside of the neck might be necessary.
 
I lube necks inside with finely powdered graphite. I have an old pill bottle, ¾ filled with #9 shot, and then I drop a heaping tablespoon
of powdered graphite into it, close it up and shake well. Simply dip case neck into the shot, give it a twirl, and you are done. Never
need to worry about the graphite, since it is dry, but sure stops any drag when the expander button pulls through the neck. If you find
the residual graphite on the outside of the neck is making things dirty, you can wipe most of it off before FL sizing the case. Dave.
 
Lube inside the neck makes the stroke smoother and reduced case stretch.

I usually load several thousand rounds of 223 at a time. This week i have been loading 1000 rounds of 223 loaded with the 75 gr Hornady match for some bolt rifles; 1000 rounds of 77 gr Nosler match for my heavy barrel AR-15 and 2000 rounds of 55 gr FMJ for CQB and plinking.

This is how I lube the cases, which also puts a tiny dab of lube on the case mouth that gets carried into the neck. It takes about a minute to lube several hundred cases at a time.


The size of the round container can be varied to suit how many cases you are processing. I suggest something in the 2 to 4 litre size. I size with a Lee Carbide die.
 
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stevebc said:
Hmm... I've never used lube inside the case neck. Never seen a need.
Click to expand...
:agree:
I thoroughly clean the inside of the neck with a copper brush attached to an electric drill but no lube.
I've heard of some using mica powder.
Uniform neck tension from round to round is essential to accuracy.
The Lee factory crimp die also helps in this regard because the deleterious effect of small differences in trimmed case length is minimized or eliminated over conventional roll crimping.
 
Some don't know how to adjust their dies and resize their case necks way too small.
Just enough to hold the bullet in place is all that is necessary.
For revolvers and guns with tube mags the bullet neck tension needs to be solid enough to resist movement.
Too small a neck diameter can cause case buckling and if a lubing agent is necessary then your going overboard on the neck resizing operation and need to adjust your dies.
 
Inside the case necks I use Imperial dry neck lube, which is similar, and undoubtedly more expensive than Eagleye's generic powdered graphite. All you need to do is dip the neck in the lube prior to lubing the outside of the case. The lube I prefer on the outside of the case is Imperial Sizing Wax, just a extremely thin smear around the circumference of the case ensures easy passage through the sizing die, once the inside surfaces of the die are coated, which only takes a couple of cases. Despite the apparent small size of the container, this stuff will lube many thousands of cases. After sizing, all that is required is wiping the case off with a clean paper towel to remove any trace of the lube. Regardless of which lube you use, keep it well below the shoulder of a bottle neck case, otherwise you will observe grease dents in the case shoulder. This poses no safety issue as they will press out under the pressure of firing, but they are unsightly, unnecessary, and are a neophyte's mistake. After your brass is resized, check the length to see if it needs trimming. After the brass is resized, trimmed, and the case mouths cleaned up, run it through your rifle to ensure it chambers without difficulty. If it is difficult to close the bolt, yet you had firm contact between the shell holder and the die, you might have to resort in thinning the height of the shell holder, out of spec shell holders are common, and often they are too tall. After bullet seating, the round should again be carefully cycled through the rifle, if the bullet is seated too long, the ogive will contact the lead, and again you will observe abnormal resistance when turning down the bolt handle. The solution is to seat the bullet slightly deeper in the case.
 
Boomer said:
Despite the apparent small size of the container, this stuff will lube many thousands of cases.

Regardless of which lube you use, keep it well below the shoulder of a bottle neck case, otherwise you will observe grease dents in the case shoulder.
Click to expand...

Yes. I've lost count of the number of cases I've resized using my current tube of Lee sizing lube, but it's probably over 1000 and I doubt I'm halfway through it. A tiny dab on your fingertips is plenty. That is one of the reasons I don't use an aerosol type lube, like spray paint a lot gets wasted.

I usually lube the body of the case first, then wipe a smear of lube around the neck. Like Boomer said, keep it off the shoulder as much as possible.
 
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