A question for you veteran Reloaders

[greg vess]

Don't ask me how but I broke the zip spindle and ball on my .223 sizing die. One thing I hate is having to spray all the brass down with Hornady one shot so I can resize them without them getting just jammed in the dye. Well I ordered a replacement zip spindle for the die I have but I was wondering this. Do those carbide dies really work good without using lubrication for sizing? I've been contemplating buying one of the carbide dies just so I don't have to lubricate the casings but I wanted to know if they indeed do work as advertised. If they resize the case and don't need any lubrication and are smooth and dependable? Well will a couple of you guys give me the skinny on the carbide dies?

 

[Cartman]

I run carbide dies. I use lube for sizing rifle brass, but not for pistol brass. I make my own lube as well, I don’t use the One Shot spray.

 

[greg vess]

I run carbide dies. I use lube for sizing rifle brass, but not for pistol brass. I make my own lube as well, I don’t use the One Shot spray.

The one shot works very well for me. Of course I give it a good spray but it provides a smooth entry and exit with the casing. I've never had a problem other than them just covered in that residue from the spray. All I do is rifle brass so if it takes lubrication to do those as well it doesn't seem like it's worth the extra coin.

 

[danrum]

No matter if you use steel or carbide dies when dealing with rifle, you MUST use a lubricant to size & deprime. I wasn't happy with One Shot for rifle so I found a formula on the internet by making my own and have used it for years. Look for "Making Homemade Case Lube." You can get the Lanolin and 99% Alcohol off the net too. It may also be purchased locally if you look around. There are many formulas. Most make a quart or so and will last for many thousands of cases. Be very care about "over lubing" rifle cases so you do not develop "case dents" in the shoulders of the cases. Regular tumbling will remove it if you add just a bit of mineral spirits, or it can be wiped off. I actually lube ALL reloading brass, yes pistol brass too! It is recommended by Dillon Reloading and reduces the effort of sizing many times over. I love it and have been doing so for 30 years or more. Just my way.

 

[palmettomoon]

I used to roll them on an RCBS lube pad with their #2 lube. That was up until about 2011. I began using Unique from Hornady then. Your cases need to be clean, and keep touching the lube with your fingertips every third or fourth case and just smear a little on the case body as you place it into the shell holder. No mess, nothing gets inside the necks like sprays do. You could use lanolin mixed with 99% isopropyl alcohol in a spray for mass quantities of rifle brass but I've not found that necessary as I only load about 1,000 rds at a time.

In either case, it's a good idea to wipe the cases down after sizing (I use a rag with a mild acid and it works great to remove the case lube). You can also run them through a tumbler (Thumlers) to remove the lube but keep that media separate from that you use to "shine" up your brass as it becomes filthy quickly.

I have never in my life lubed a pistol case and used carbide dies since I began reloading in 1991. I have maybe 45,000+ cases through my original 9mm case sizing/decapping die (RCBS).

I've broken maybe 3 or 4 decapping stems in all that time due to either misalignment or a Berdan primed case slipping into the production stream.

Only ever had one stuck case where I had to use the RCBS stuck case remover.

As others have pointed out, you MUST use a lube for rifle cases no matter the die type, or cartridge case type, bottleneck or straight walled.

 

[gyppo]

There are several factors that determine if lube is needed. Case length and taper, case surface condition and how much the case expanded when fired are a few factors that come to mind.

I mostly reload 556, it is a relatively short case with a fair amount of taper. Those factors reduce the amount of resizing force needed. In most instances with Dillon carbide dies I do not need case lube. It does require a TNT shell plate. With the Dillon shell plate I would occasionally break the shell holder in the shell plate when pulling the shell out of the resizing die. Wet tumbling in a mix with a small amount of car wax reduces the force needed to resize. I don't consider that case lube but it could be debated.

 

[Rusty Shakleford]

That unique case lube is all I use too I’ve had the same little tub for 4-5 years

 

[kuduman]

As Palmetto and others mention, you must lube rifle brass. There is no way around that. Though also as Palmetto states, it need not be very much lube.

I use One Shot, but I use it in a gallon ziplock on a bunch of cases at a time. With a bit of experience, you'll get plenty of lube on and not have to tumble to remove. It depends on what you are loading for though... If I'm doing bulk .223, I'm going to do the traditional lube and tumble to remove... since I'm doing large batches anyway, and I don't want the end product attracting dust if I drop them in the dirt at a match. For target shootin', I use the One Shot and leave 'em greasy if that's how they end up. Those will never touch the ground and not be exposed to dirt or dust.

Leave too much on though and you can't write on the cases with a Sharpie.

 

[palmettomoon]

Has anyone tried a powdered mica lube for case bodies? I use it with a brush inside the necks of brass I anneal and shoot many times over (I have 7.62x54r cases with 30+ firings on them) when decapping/necksizing, but haven't tried it on a case wall. I'd wear a dust mask like a Covidiot so as to avoid inhaling any since it can be harmful to breathe.

 

[EMC45]

I use Imperial. My can is ollllldd and it has a slight dent in the wax, and I've used it a bunch. It lasts forever and is the best imho.