A question for you veteran Reloaders

[CTS Tactical]

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.

Same here. Never stuck a case or had any problems since switching to Imperial 10 years ago. Still using the first can.

 

[BHPSteel]

It's strange - when palmettomoon mentioned mica, it got the noggin jogging and I started wondering whether graphite would be a suitable lubricant. Then EMC45 came along and mentioned Imperial - so I went hunting and found that Imperial is (now ?) a Redding brand, and they have a product - Imperial Application Media which not only contains graphite, but also solves the problem I anticipated with applying the graphite.

 

[EMC45]

With Imperial I just wipe a little on the cases and every 5th case or so I Q-Tip the inside case neck to lighten the load for the expander ball.

 

[41mag]

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?

Hell yes they work great on pistol brass ! I wouldn’t use anything else. Rifle rounds I can’t attest to, I don’t shoot as much so I don’t load rifle rounds. ( Been hand loading for 40yrs )

 

[drc302]

I've never used anything but carbide so can't make a fair comparison. I use one shot on everything as I have found the smoother the process is it reduces the AOL variance. I am using a 650, might not matter on a single stage but when you are seating the bullet and crimping in the same stoke the less movement/resistance the better. I do pre-process/ de-cap, and size prior to the loading.

 

[Horsehat]

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.

if I can get by with one shot I use it. I have been resizing 7.62x51 brass that has been shot in military rifles and have to roll lube them to get this done. Military rifles seem to have slightly oversized chambers, I would suppose to enhance reliability, this requires a SB die and some force to bump the shoulder back. I use mica to lube the inside of the case necks. On most rifle rounds I generally load single stage on the RCBS rather than on the Dillon. I polish the brass after sizing which removes the lube and gets the brass looking good, I use corn cob for this with some polishing compound and use this tumbler only for this, then prime with an RCBS hand primer. The use of a good lube to slip oversized objects into tight spaces is an imperative to assure a smooth, fluid operation and an enjoyable loading experience.

 

[greg vess]

I guess I will just stick to the One Shot and the standard die. I haven't had a problem until yesterday. I think what happened I the expander ball backed of the threads and hit the bottom of the last case I sized and bent the zip spindle and broke the decapping needle. That's the only explanation I can come up with. I have doing the same way for 8+ years without incident so something when catastrophically wrong with the threads on the zip spindle or something. Oh well I've got a new one on the way and new expander ball so we'll be all right.

 

[1006]

I have Hornady Dies for a couple of calibers. They seem to require more lube than the Lee, RCBS, and Redding dies that I use in other calibers. I got frustrated with several stuck cases in Hornady 300BLK dies while lubing with OneShot. I bought a second 300BLK set from Lee—no more stuck cases with OneShot. I won’t use the Hornady dies with the OneShot Lube in 300BLK-I use a traditional lube pad. Maybe the 223 dies have the same issue.

I have a set of 243 dies from Hornady and they work fine, but do seem to take more press force (up and down) during sizing than other dies.

The free bullets are the only reason I have bought Hornady dies. I have more problems with them than any other die makers product.

 

[palmettomoon]

I have Hornady Dies for a couple of calibers. They seem to require more lube than the Lee, RCBS, and Redding dies that I use in other calibers. I got frustrated with several stuck cases in Hornady 300BLK dies while lubing with OneShot. I bought a second 300BLK set from Lee—no more stuck cases with OneShot. I won’t use the Hornady dies with the OneShot Lube in 300BLK-I use a traditional lube pad. Maybe the 223 dies have the same issue.

I have a set of 243 dies from Hornady and they work fine, but do seem to take more press force (up and down) during sizing than other dies.

The free bullets are the only reason I have bought Hornady dies. I have more problems with them than any other die makers product.

Hornady dies are garbage in my experience. Lee only slightly better. RCBS is what I prefer.

 

[greg vess]

I have Hornady Dies for a couple of calibers. They seem to require more lube than the Lee, RCBS, and Redding dies that I use in other calibers. I got frustrated with several stuck cases in Hornady 300BLK dies while lubing with OneShot. I bought a second 300BLK set from Lee—no more stuck cases with OneShot. I won’t use the Hornady dies with the OneShot Lube in 300BLK-I use a traditional lube pad. Maybe the 223 dies have the same issue.

I have a set of 243 dies from Hornady and they work fine, but do seem to take more press force (up and down) during sizing than other dies.

The free bullets are the only reason I have bought Hornady dies. I have more problems with them than any other die makers product.

I don't have a problem at all with .223 and 6.8spc. Works like a champ.