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View Poll Results: When do you use lube when reloading straight cases?
Never 34 64.15%
Sometimes 12 22.64%
Always 7 13.21%
Voters: 53. You may not vote on this poll

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Old February 20, 2010, 07:38 PM   #1
SIGP220
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When do you use lube when reloading straight cases?

1. Never

2. Sometimes

3. Always
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Old February 20, 2010, 07:42 PM   #2
Tex S
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No lube is needed for 45 acp, 380 acp, or 10mm if carbide dies are used. These are the only 3 pistol calibers I load for.
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Old February 20, 2010, 07:48 PM   #3
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RCBS reccomends to lube 30 Carbine about 1 out of every 3 cases. Other than that I don't know of any that need it with carbide dies.
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Old February 20, 2010, 08:07 PM   #4
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Always lube mine. Makes things run smoother.
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Old February 20, 2010, 10:30 PM   #5
Sevens
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I always lube 10mm, 9mm, .30 Carb.

I will occasionally lube a handful of .38 Special/.357 Mag so that maybe 1 out of every 5 is lubed.

I never lube .380 or .45.

I use Imperial and it does a HELLUVA job at smoothing up the operation. Difference is like night and day. Yes, you can size till the cows come home without lube if you have carbide dies, but if you try a bit of lube (just the tiniest, minuscule amout) you may change the way you do things at your bench.
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Old February 21, 2010, 12:14 AM   #6
Lost Sheep
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Me? never. My friend, sometimes.

All my pistol dies are Tungsten Carbide and I don't use lube. The only straight-walled cartridge I know of for which lube is recommended (even with T-C dies) is the 500 S&W.

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Last edited by Lost Sheep; February 21, 2010 at 12:15 AM. Reason: spelling
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Old February 21, 2010, 01:39 AM   #7
freakshow10mm
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Sevens, I didn't believe it either, but someone told me about it and I tried it. Big improvement in smoothness. Now I lube all pistol, especially tapered stuff like 9mm. Lubed 9mm with Redding Pro Series dies on a 1050 is a wonderful thing.
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Old February 21, 2010, 01:48 AM   #8
AcridSaint
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I bought carbide dies for 9mm because I didn't want to lube cases any more. I still have to lube the 9mm cases because I about rip the press off the bench without it I use carbide dies with 357 and the work fine without lube.
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Old February 21, 2010, 02:51 AM   #9
FrankenMauser
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Quote:
I bought carbide dies for 9mm because I didn't want to lube cases any more. I still have to lube the 9mm cases because I about rip the press off the bench without it
It shouldn't be that bad. Recheck your process and equipment. Even a properly lubed rifle case shouldn't make you feel like you're 'about to rip the press off the bench'.



I use a tiny amount of Imperial Sizing Wax every... 15-30 cases, for 9mm. I haven't found the need to use it for any other straight-wall cases (but might lube every 30, or so, anyway).
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Old February 21, 2010, 03:33 AM   #10
That'll Do
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I usually lube every 5th case when re-sizing straight pistol cases. Even though I have carbide dies, I was shocked at how much less effort was required when lube was added to the equation.

Less force is a good thing in my book.
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Old February 21, 2010, 11:21 AM   #11
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With Lee Presicion carbide dies you do not lube for sure.
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Old February 21, 2010, 12:27 PM   #12
AcridSaint
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Quote:
It shouldn't be that bad. Recheck your process and equipment. Even a properly lubed rifle case shouldn't make you feel like you're 'about to rip the press off the bench'
Hi - I didn't think it should be like that either. I was thinking that maybe my Lee dies came on the tight end of spec. Here's what I have and what I do:
3 die Lyman non-carbide set
4 die Lee Carbide set
RCBS Rock Chucker
RCBS shell holder
Lee Shell holder

The press is firmly bolted down, I've used both shell holders interchangeably with no difference. If I use just a bit of one-shot on the cases and inside the die they run through smooth as silk, unless I run across a piece of brass that is crimped, which I generally just throw away.

I've sized about 1500 pieces between the two dies, I've run once-fired brass from my guns as well as mixed fired brass bought from the local range and cannot see a difference, which I think eliminates my chambers being out of spec. I have tried Blazer, Win, CBC, PMC, R-P, FC. etc and see no difference in any brass, other than nickel brass running through easier.

The only thing I've found to make it a little easier is to run the decapping pin out longer, it seems that popping the primer free takes away some pressure? I tear down the dies and clean them every couple hundred rounds. If anyone has any suggestions as to how to make them run smooth without lube, I'd love to know it because I hate the film that it leaves on the cases.

By the way, I tumble all of my cases in walnut shell media before sizing and after loading. I wipe them all down before tumbling so I don't foul up my media with that case lube.
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Old February 21, 2010, 12:57 PM   #13
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I use a little lube on every 3rd case or so even though I'm using Lee carbide dies . Makes it so much easier and the cases come out looking alot better after the full length resizing stage .
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Old February 21, 2010, 01:03 PM   #14
Don H
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AcridSaint
I bought carbide dies for 9mm because I didn't want to lube cases any more. I still have to lube the 9mm cases because I about rip the press off the bench without it I use carbide dies with 357 and the work fine without lube.
The difference is because 9mm are tapered cases and aren't straight-wall cases like the .357.
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Old February 21, 2010, 01:05 PM   #15
Sevens
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Quote:
With Lee Presicion carbide dies you do not lube for sure.
You don't. Others do.
You might try it, just to see what you think.

Go ahead... then come back with some thoughts.
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Old February 21, 2010, 03:59 PM   #16
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Never. I use carbide/nitride dies for all my straight wall cases. Clean the dies evey so often, and use clean brass.......no worries.
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Old February 21, 2010, 04:13 PM   #17
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Seems I've been lucky with my carbide pistol dies! I bought carbide dies from RCBS, Lee and Dillon to avoid having to use lube. I lube my .45-70 and .45 Colt cases because I don't have or need carbide dies for these cartridges. I guess if I ever have a problem with my carbide dies I'll use my handy can of Hornady One-Shot to solve it.
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Old February 21, 2010, 05:42 PM   #18
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I will try it. No reason to be bull headed. Got the Lee sizing lube sitting right there. I only do straight wall - .45 Colt and .38/.357 but will check it out and report back.
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Old February 21, 2010, 06:23 PM   #19
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I ultrasonically clean my cases after decapping and resizing, therefore, I resize dirty cases. I spray them with a bit of oneshot. I use carbide dies.

The ultrasonic removes EVERY trace of lube present from the cases, and if I don't lube them, (Yes, even already sized 9mm cases, or something that easy.) will stick in the die,. So I give them a tiny spritz of oneshot.
This way the round just fly through the dillon with no hint of a problem.) I process the brass on a loadmaster.

There IS lube present on your rounds, if you don't believe me, process your brass to remove EVERY trace of lube, and run it up into your resizing die.
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Old February 21, 2010, 07:09 PM   #20
VaFisher
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My 45-70 cases load much easyer with a little lube.
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Old February 21, 2010, 07:28 PM   #21
David Wile
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Hey folks,

All of my pistol die sets are carbide now. I still have old 9mm, .357 Mag, and .44 Mag die sets that are not carbide, but I have long ago replaced them with carbide sets. I do not use any lube with any pistol carbide die sets. I do use an old fashioned lube pad for bottle neck as well as straight walled rifle calibers.

Back around 1960, I bought a regular three die set for loading 9mm Luger rounds. It was not a carbide sizing die. After a few months of lubing and loading the 9mm with the regular steel sizing die, I looked at the taper of the 9mm and wondered if I could get away without using any lube for sizing. I did the first case very slowly buy running it up a little, backing it out, and running it up again in several stages until it was fully sized, and it did not get stuck. After doing more with fewer strokes, I realized I could size these 9mm cases without lube and without getting them stuck. I simply ran a case up the sizing die somewhat slowly and never had a problem.

Over the years, I continued to size my 9mm cases in that same sizer die without any lube whatsoever. In 1984, I was loading a bunch of 9mm cases with the same old die set and no lube when I found a case come out of the die with two scratches on its side. I did a few more cases, and they all had the same scratches. Apparently, one of my earlier cases got something inside the die that scratched the die which then started scratching the cases that followed.

I figured I had over 20 years of not bothering to lube those 9mm cases and that it was worth the loss of the die, and I really did not mind replacing the 9mm die set with a carbide die set. By the time this happened, I already had all my other pistol die sets in carbide sizer dies.

In spite of my success in sizing 9mm without lube in a regular steel sizer die, I never tried sizing any .357 or .44 cases without lube when I was using the old steel sizer dies. I would not recommend that anyone buy an old steel sizer die set for 9mm and do what I did back in 1960. The cost of carbide die sets is a lot less now than what they were compared to regular die sets in the 1950s and 1960s.

The appeal of the carbide die set to me was the fact that one does not have to use lube for sizing, and I am one of those who never uses lube with my carbide die sets. I never have any problem sizing without lube with the carbide sets, so I am surprised to find those who do have such problems.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile
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Old February 21, 2010, 08:10 PM   #22
Russ5924
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I load .38/357. 9MM,.45ACP,45 Long Colt and .44Mag and have never owned any type lube. If you clean and use a good polish on your brass it's never needed
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Old February 21, 2010, 11:17 PM   #23
P5 Guy
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Never

Carbide dies need no lube.
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Old February 25, 2010, 05:10 PM   #24
drjavelina
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never used lube...always used Lee carbide dies.
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Old December 2, 2019, 10:53 PM   #25
misterc01
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Case lube pistols cases

Just starting with pistol brass. I plan on lubing. I use a mix of lanolin and Heet Red (97%alcohol). Use it on my rifle cases and it makes sizing smooth and easy.
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