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 Lubricating pistol brass? 
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 Post subject: Lubricating pistol brass?
PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 11:55 am 
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I recently came across an article (I think in Shooting Times, a great magazine) that advocated lubing every 10th or so pistol brass case -- even though you are using carbide-insert dies.

The reason given was that the dies will otherwise become scratched, and then engrave the scratches onto brass.

I have not had this problem, but I wonder if anyone else has. Maybe, in my case, it's not a problem because I clean the inside of every die thoroughly with Outer's solvent, which leaves a slight oily residue, every time I change calibers on my RCBS turret press. And I change back and forth a fair amount.

So -- has anybody here heard of lubing these cases, or experienced brass scratches from scratched carbide dies?

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PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 1:11 pm 
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I lube all cases that go through my press with Midway or Dillon lube, carbide dies or not. The simple reason is I'm lazy and it takes much less effort to work the press with lubed cases rather than dry ones.
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

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PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 2:27 pm 
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Selurcspi wrote:
I lube all cases that go through my press with Midway or Dillon lube, carbide dies or not. The simple reason is I'm lazy and it takes much less effort to work the press with lubed cases rather than dry ones.
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D


But then there's the extra step of lubing, which would seem to put some effort back into the operation. I do see your point, though.

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PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 5:18 pm 
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Dave Matheny wrote:
Selurcspi wrote:
I lube all cases that go through my press with Midway or Dillon lube, carbide dies or not. The simple reason is I'm lazy and it takes much less effort to work the press with lubed cases rather than dry ones.
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D


But then there's the extra step of lubing, which would seem to put some effort back into the operation. I do see your point, though.


I dump enough cases to fill a Dillon output box and spray them with lube, give them a shake and dump them into the plastic box and start reloading.
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

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PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 5:27 pm 
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I load on a Dillon and I have never lubed my cases. I clean them very well before sizing and I think that makes the difference. I do not like to lube them and then have to clean the lube off after loading them.


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PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 8:12 pm 
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I have dillon 40 cal dies and hornady 45 dies and lee 38 spec, dies that have all had way over 20K cases thru them and they have never had a scratch. The 45 dies may have 200K rounds thru them.

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PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 8:52 pm 
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1911fan wrote:
I have dillon 40 cal dies and hornady 45 dies and lee 38 spec, dies that have all had way over 20K cases thru them and they have never had a scratch. The 45 dies may have 200K rounds thru them.


I neglected to mention that I clean mine thoroughly, too. Generally speaking, if a case ain't gleamin', it ain't going through any of my dies.

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PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2007 7:48 am 
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I figure if you tumble your brass thoroughly, you shouldn't have any grit on the cases. Any cases with burrs or splits are caught before I size them.

Lubing pistol cases is a drag, because then you have to make sure you wipe the lube off later too so you don't run into chamber pressure problems.

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PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2007 8:30 pm 
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I give everything a spritz with Hornady One shot - makes everything run smoother.

Not necessary - but a nice touch.


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 Post subject: As Penn and Teller would say, BULLSHIT!!!
PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:08 pm 
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I have a VERY well used 34 year old 9mm carbide die that still doesn't appear to be scratching cases, and I had a 45 ACP die that gave up the ghost at age 30 when the carbide ring pulled out of the steel trying to resize a stretched out 45 Super case, and it was still fine until that point.

In addition, a few small scratches on your brass are no big deal - the primer pocket is probably going to enlarge LOOONNNGGG before the rest of the case wears out.


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PostPosted: Thu May 31, 2007 5:52 pm 
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DeanC wrote:
I figure if you tumble your brass thoroughly, you shouldn't have any grit on the cases. Any cases with burrs or splits are caught before I size them.

Lubing pistol cases is a drag, because then you have to make sure you wipe the lube off later too so you don't run into chamber pressure problems.


Do you have a citation for this chamber pressure claim? I've never heard of this.

I have lubed a few thousand cases (10mm, .41 mag, .44 mag and now .223 Rem) without cleaning off the lube. No jams or misfires or any other problems.

I even tumbled some of the loaded 10mm rounds because they got a little too well lubed and were a touch tacky, which violates another truism/UL about reloading.

Hornady One-Shot is great. Easy to apply and if you don't go nuts with it, doesn't leave the cases gross. I pretty much had to lube the .41 and .44 cases (new nickel-plated) or I would have looked like Popeye after sizing them (and I much prefer looking like Wimpy instead....)


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PostPosted: Thu May 31, 2007 8:20 pm 
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I have at least 100k through 9mm RCBS die set and have no scratching. Never lubed...


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 Post subject: Lubing Cases
PostPosted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:42 am 
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Lubing the brass has nothing to do with keeping them from getting scratched.
If you don't lube rifle cartridges they will get stuck in the dies. This is true even if you have carbide rifle dies.
As for pistol brass... I lube (Hornaday One-Shot)40, 44 mag, 9mm and 10mm brass even with using carbide sizing dies. It helps the brass slide in and out of the sizing die without causing the brass to flow.
As for cleaning off the lube, I just throw the rounds back into the tumbler (vibratory type) for about 5 to 10 minutes. It doesn't do any harm to your loaded rounds to tumble them for a short time.


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