Case lube with progresive loaders

KJE · December 11, 1998, 09:53 AM

Is thear a way to get away from the sticky mess of case lube when using a Dillion 550? I am loading for a semi auto so i have to full length resize. In a single stage press i just run them through the tumbler to clean them up after sizing.But with the Dillion this kind of wastes the point of having a progresive loader.I am curently using the spray on lube which is better but it still leaves a film. Any thoughts on this would be apreciated. THANKS

Bronco · December 11, 1998, 10:29 AM

why not just buy a carbide resizing die then
you would not have to worry with case lube

KJE · December 11, 1998, 12:01 PM

That sounds good, i use them for pistols.But i was told that with a carbide rifle die "full length resize" that you still need lube or the case can stick in the die.I was told the reason for carbide rifle dies's was to make the "stroke of the handle" easier. Is this true?

Dan C · December 11, 1998, 01:02 PM

Re-sizing rifle cases is much harder than pistol cases. I have never had the need to lube straight walled cases, especially the short cases that most auto-loaders use. Try carbide dies without the lube.

Have fun!

Contender · December 11, 1998, 04:22 PM

KJE, Any case with a taper no matter how slight usually needs some case lube to resize. I have a set of 30 carbine dies in carbide but being that the case has a slight taper I usually lube every tenth case or so.
These dies still have the carbide insert ring. For a bottle neck rifle case, I know they make FULL carbide dies but they are expensive. You would probably still need to use some lube though I'm not 100% sure on this. I can look up a die Company I know of
and get some info for you if you want. Have you tried RCBS's Lube Die? This might cut down on the mess alittle when used with their WATER SOLUBLE lube. Then you can just wipe them with a damp cloth after their assembled with no oily residue like the older lubes.

Walt Welch · December 11, 1998, 08:20 PM

Jeez; the way I do it is tumble the brass after firing it, spray on case lube, resize and decap, then tumble again.

This gives you a chance to look into the case mouth AND primer pocket when you are reloading, to make sure neither contains debris. Further, when you do the next stages, recap, fill with powder, seat bullet and crimp, there is no chance of any lube being inside the case to contaminate the powder.

I then tumble the ammo for about 15 to 20 min to remove fingerprint oils, which will tarnish brass quickly otherwise. Also, when putting into boxes, I put a piece of VCI impregnated plastic (from Brownells) or cardboard (Midway)into the box. This gives added corrosion protection, even for non ferrous metals.

If this sounds like too much work, remember that tumbling for 2 hours takes about 2 min. of actual work.

Be clean, contaminant free, check primer holes and look down inside case as well.

This process yields bright shiny, dependable, long lasting ammo. Walt

KJE · December 12, 1998, 09:49 AM

Walt, thanks for the info. I called Dillon and they also sugested tumbling the loaded ammo.I curently tumble my "MATCH" ammo after resizing and load it on a single stage press. I wonder if tumbling the loaded ammo has any effect on the acuracy of this ammo. What do you think? Also thanks to every one who responded to this post, it is much apreciated.

Walt Welch · December 12, 1998, 05:34 PM

KJE; I have noticed no difference in accuracy in thousands of rounds.

The real question is will protracted tumbling of ammo affect performance (pressure, velocity). Geoff Benze, a gunsmith in AZ is doing a study on this, and on the effect of oil on primers. Will keep you posted. Walt

dundee · December 12, 1998, 10:52 PM

I do pretty much the same as Walt does for
rifle cases. I tumble the dirty cases then
use IMPERIAL wax case lube. in a single stage
press. I wipe my finger on the lube, then
the case. On small cases like the 223 I can
heavily lube about every 8th case and very
lightly lube the other cases. I tumble again
after resizing/depriming. I have just started to do the neck expanding of rifle cases in a seperate step. This seems to privent the streching that leads to trimming.
For higher volume calibers like 223 I love the Dillon power case trimmer.

roboref · March 5, 2000, 10:02 AM

I had heard you should never tumble loaded ammo. Is this just a myth? If I can do it safely it would sure solve my problem with the 550b and the time it takes to wipe each round! I use the Midway spray lube and then take a rag and wipe each one! It takes longer to wipe a 100 rds than it does to load them. So tumbling is OK?

Bill in NM · March 5, 2000, 10:49 AM

For my high volume rounds, I like to go in this order.

Tumble
Lube with Dillon spray lube
Size/trim/decap on single stage or turret press.
Tumble again
Load on Dillon RL550b

While there is a huge debate over whether or not it is safe to tumble loaded ammo, I just don't like to.
Bill

WalterGAII · March 5, 2000, 09:55 PM

I lube and load a bunch of .400 Cor-Bon ammo. I also use a progressive to load my .223 that I shoot through my Bush. You only have to tumble for a few minutes to get the lube residue off the loaded rounds. There's absolutely no danger of one of the rounds going off, and if you don't tumble but for a few minutes, there's no chance that the powder will be deteriorated.

December 11, 1998, 09:53 AM	#1
KJE Junior Member Join Date: December 8, 1998 Posts: 14	Is thear a way to get away from the sticky mess of case lube when using a Dillion 550? I am loading for a semi auto so i have to full length resize. In a single stage press i just run them through the tumbler to clean them up after sizing.But with the Dillion this kind of wastes the point of having a progresive loader.I am curently using the spray on lube which is better but it still leaves a film. Any thoughts on this would be apreciated. THANKS

December 11, 1998, 10:29 AM	#2
Bronco Junior Member Join Date: December 11, 1998 Posts: 6	why not just buy a carbide resizing die then you would not have to worry with case lube

December 11, 1998, 12:01 PM	#3
KJE Junior Member Join Date: December 8, 1998 Posts: 14	That sounds good, i use them for pistols.But i was told that with a carbide rifle die "full length resize" that you still need lube or the case can stick in the die.I was told the reason for carbide rifle dies's was to make the "stroke of the handle" easier. Is this true?

December 11, 1998, 01:02 PM	#4
Dan C Member Join Date: October 27, 1998 Location: Seattle, WA USA Posts: 18	Re-sizing rifle cases is much harder than pistol cases. I have never had the need to lube straight walled cases, especially the short cases that most auto-loaders use. Try carbide dies without the lube. Have fun!

December 11, 1998, 04:22 PM	#5
Contender Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 1998 Location: NY Posts: 680	KJE, Any case with a taper no matter how slight usually needs some case lube to resize. I have a set of 30 carbine dies in carbide but being that the case has a slight taper I usually lube every tenth case or so. These dies still have the carbide insert ring. For a bottle neck rifle case, I know they make FULL carbide dies but they are expensive. You would probably still need to use some lube though I'm not 100% sure on this. I can look up a die Company I know of and get some info for you if you want. Have you tried RCBS's Lube Die? This might cut down on the mess alittle when used with their WATER SOLUBLE lube. Then you can just wipe them with a damp cloth after their assembled with no oily residue like the older lubes.

December 11, 1998, 08:20 PM	#6
Walt Welch Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 1998 Location: Alamo, CA Posts: 424	Jeez; the way I do it is tumble the brass after firing it, spray on case lube, resize and decap, then tumble again. This gives you a chance to look into the case mouth AND primer pocket when you are reloading, to make sure neither contains debris. Further, when you do the next stages, recap, fill with powder, seat bullet and crimp, there is no chance of any lube being inside the case to contaminate the powder. I then tumble the ammo for about 15 to 20 min to remove fingerprint oils, which will tarnish brass quickly otherwise. Also, when putting into boxes, I put a piece of VCI impregnated plastic (from Brownells) or cardboard (Midway)into the box. This gives added corrosion protection, even for non ferrous metals. If this sounds like too much work, remember that tumbling for 2 hours takes about 2 min. of actual work. Be clean, contaminant free, check primer holes and look down inside case as well. This process yields bright shiny, dependable, long lasting ammo. Walt

December 12, 1998, 09:49 AM	#7
KJE Junior Member Join Date: December 8, 1998 Posts: 14	Walt, thanks for the info. I called Dillon and they also sugested tumbling the loaded ammo.I curently tumble my "MATCH" ammo after resizing and load it on a single stage press. I wonder if tumbling the loaded ammo has any effect on the acuracy of this ammo. What do you think? Also thanks to every one who responded to this post, it is much apreciated.

December 12, 1998, 05:34 PM	#8
Walt Welch Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 1998 Location: Alamo, CA Posts: 424	KJE; I have noticed no difference in accuracy in thousands of rounds. The real question is will protracted tumbling of ammo affect performance (pressure, velocity). Geoff Benze, a gunsmith in AZ is doing a study on this, and on the effect of oil on primers. Will keep you posted. Walt

December 12, 1998, 10:52 PM	#9
dundee Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 1998 Location: mytown,mi,usa Posts: 162	I do pretty much the same as Walt does for rifle cases. I tumble the dirty cases then use IMPERIAL wax case lube. in a single stage press. I wipe my finger on the lube, then the case. On small cases like the 223 I can heavily lube about every 8th case and very lightly lube the other cases. I tumble again after resizing/depriming. I have just started to do the neck expanding of rifle cases in a seperate step. This seems to privent the streching that leads to trimming. For higher volume calibers like 223 I love the Dillon power case trimmer.

March 5, 2000, 10:02 AM	#10
roboref Junior Member Join Date: January 20, 2000 Posts: 8	I had heard you should never tumble loaded ammo. Is this just a myth? If I can do it safely it would sure solve my problem with the 550b and the time it takes to wipe each round! I use the Midway spray lube and then take a rag and wipe each one! It takes longer to wipe a 100 rds than it does to load them. So tumbling is OK?

March 5, 2000, 10:49 AM	#11
Bill in NM Member Join Date: January 21, 2000 Posts: 95	For my high volume rounds, I like to go in this order. Tumble Lube with Dillon spray lube Size/trim/decap on single stage or turret press. Tumble again Load on Dillon RL550b While there is a huge debate over whether or not it is safe to tumble loaded ammo, I just don't like to. Bill

March 5, 2000, 09:55 PM	#12
WalterGAII Junior member Join Date: November 7, 1999 Posts: 1,516	I lube and load a bunch of .400 Cor-Bon ammo. I also use a progressive to load my .223 that I shoot through my Bush. You only have to tumble for a few minutes to get the lube residue off the loaded rounds. There's absolutely no danger of one of the rounds going off, and if you don't tumble but for a few minutes, there's no chance that the powder will be deteriorated.