View Full Version : What case lube do you use?
I've not been reloading .223 for too long, but I've noticed that the cases are quite a bit more prone to sticking than my other rifle cases I reload (primarily .308 and .300 Win Mag)...
A couple of weeks ago, a friend bought a Lee press kit, and gave me the tube of Lee case lube that the kit came with, and for s&g'les I tried it, a white chalky paste, and didn't like it. I've been using RCBS Case Lube 2 for years, mainly because my local gun shop only carries it and Hornady One Shot - which I've never used, nor will ever use because of the horrid reviews I've read.
What lubes do you guys use and recommend for .223 handloading? Thanx!
Redding imperial sizing wax.
Lee Lube dilluted 1:4 w/91% alcohol. Lay cases out and let alcohol evaporate. Every couple of cases a smear a smidge of Imperial at the shoulder and at the base.
Never stuck a case.
6.5 Swede
30/40 Krag
.223 Remington
I've had no problems with 223 or 6.5x55 or 308 or anything when using the Dillon spray lube. It is basically an alcohol / lanolin mix and works well. A little goes a long way.
I did get a case stuck with Hornady One Shot in my Dillon trim die!
Chad
Nice, thanx for the replies. I've been thinking about trying some of that Imperial Size Wax, heard good things about that from several people... I'll be needing to get some more case lube within the next 250 or so rounds, hence this thread. ;)
Curious. Where you read the bad reviews on Hornady One Shot? I've been using that for about two years,about 1500-1600 fl sized .223s with RCBS die. Not one issue.It does seem a bit harder to remove from the case(but that's what the tumbler is for)Am I just lucky with this lube? It is convenient to apply.
Kevin Beggs
07-25-08, 22:04
Used to use Hornady One Shot, it was okay and I'd use it again if there was nothing else. The best lube that I ever used was an aerosol from Hoppes, but they stopped making it for some reason :(. I use nothing but Dillon now.
Curious. Where you read the bad reviews on Hornady One Shot?
I think one problem people have (from my limited experience with it, which is not much), is that people do not let the carrier evaporate. There is a carrier medium to make it fluid enough to spray out and if you do not let that carrier completely evaporate/dry then you run into stuck cases. This is true of the Dillon etc but it is more obvious with the Dillon that it has evaporated [you can tell with experience by looking] than with the One Shot.
Let the carrier completely evaporate/dry [I am not sure what they use as a carrier] and maybe it works fine. People spray, wait a minute, and go, and get stuck cases. Maybe they need some patience and spray, wait 10 minutes, and then go. Something like that
Chad
Yes,I agree Chad.I've found that it takes at least 10 minutes to dry,and most of my loading takes place in Jan or Feb with central heat running.Could even take longer in more humid conditions.On the bottle it states "Dries in 3-5 minutes".I think Hornady does need to modify that statement.
Imperial Sizing Wax for high-quality precision reloads. Nothing beats it.
For quick and dirty volume reloads, Dillon spray-lube. Put three handfuls of 223 brass in a shallow Tuperware container, spray on squirt of lube, close the container's lid and shake it up to distribute the lube. Fast and effective. Too much is bad, though, since accumulated excess lube in the sizing die will cause case shoulders to dimple and deform.
KYPD
DILLON CASE lube.
I think I might Hate ONE SHOT as much as I hate Olympic Arms! :mad: There's NOTHING good I can say about it.
I bought a can of one-shot and hated it after loading about 10 .223 cases. I was constantly getting cases stuck. I switched to Lee Case lube and never had another problem. It smells like fish but other than that I like it a lot.
Thanx for the replies.
The bad wordage towards One Shot that I've heard has come from users on another reloading forum, a website review, and even an old Guns & Ammo review I found in an old issue (I was bored)... and my local gunshop stopped selling it due to it's "poor performance"... and they said they'd rather sell plain old "3 in 1" lube in it's place, stating that it's cheaper and works better! lol
Right now, I have nothing bad to say about RCBS' Case Lube 2 - other than it takes a bit more wiping to remove than does others (for those of us who don't yet have tumblers).
Submariner
07-31-08, 10:53
DILLON CASE lube.
I think I might Hate ONE SHOT as much as I hate Olympic Arms! :mad: There's NOTHING good I can say about it.
Pretty much sums it up.
Point taken.I know that, just because something has worked well for me, certainly doesn't mean that it's the best. I do respect & appreciate the opinions of other experienced loaders,that's why I'm here.
For those who use ONE SHOT and have problems. Just spray and wait twice as long as you normally wait for it to "dry" (carrier evaporate). See if you don't get better results. Try 10 min or so.
I don't use ONE SHOT but the one time I did I got a case stuck and figured out that I did not let the carrier evaporate
target4fun
08-20-08, 03:39
I use one shot haven't had a problem but after spraying they usally do end up sitting for over 10 min....
Waiting longer hasn't helped me at all. The brass at the end of my run is no easier to work with than the stuff at the beginning of the batch. Even if waiting helped at all, you still face the issue of getting the crap off of your brass.... which if you're loading bulk.. is a huge pain in the ass.
There's really NO NEED whatsoever to suffer with this crappy product. It's not like the alternatives are more expensive.
Demigod,
Do ya think you might be doing something else wrong? LOTS of loaders don't seem to have the problems with it that you've had.
royal purple synthetic.
no more stuck cases as opposed to one shot. After I got a case stuck and all I had nearby was the RP I started using that. It also keeps the inside of my lee dies from rusting like they used to.
I'm using Lyman qwik spray case lube and am about to give up reloading .223 until I can get a carbide sizing die.
I'm using Lyman qwik spray case lube and am about to give up reloading .223 until I can get a carbide sizing die.
Even with a carbide sizing die you need to lube. Bottle neck cases have much more bearing surface to the die than straight walled cases do (which is typically just a carbide ring) and you will get stuck cases.
toddackerman
08-26-08, 13:20
WOW...i usually agree with guys like Demigod, but this time i have to honestly take the other path.
I've loaded at least 20,000 rounds with Hornady One Shot with never a stuck case. Not one!!!
I put the cases in a tray, spray from 3 sides, and go. My sizing die is a Dillon with a carbide expander ball and i make sure that i spray the One Shot at an angle that will lube the inside of the case necks.
I have also tested for excessive "Stretching" after sizing and get about .002" which isn't much.
This is sure a lot easier than rolling the cases (which i have done a lot of with my .308 loads).
What am I missing here????
How long do you wait after spraying one shot? If you wait long enough for the carrier to evaporate it should be OK I think.
My one experience using it left me with a stuck case, but I only waited a couple minutes and the carrier was probably still mixed with the lube, thinning it out.
WOW...i usually agree with guys like Demigod, but this time i have to honestly take the other path.
I've loaded at least 20,000 rounds with Hornady One Shot with never a stuck case. Not one!!!
We can't agree about everything 100% of the time! :D
Are you using the aerosol? I heard someone say that stuff works. I don't know if the formula is different, and the pump is all I've tried. I've never had a completely stuck case. I can usually feel that it's going wrong and back the case out before it's too late. This happens about 5 percent of the time by my estimate.
With Dillon, I can run a few completely unlubed cases after the last lubed case was in the die, and have no problems.
toddackerman
08-26-08, 14:03
We can't agree about everything 100% of the time! :D
Are you using the aerosol? I heard someone say that stuff works. I don't know if the formula is different, and the pump is all I've tried. I've never had a completely stuck case. I can usually feel that it's going wrong and back the case out before it's too late. This happens about 5 percent of the time by my estimate.
With Dillon, I can run a few completely unlubed cases after the last lubed case was in the die, and have no problems.
I use the aerosol One Shot. I spray a block of 50 on three sides, than another block of 50. I don't wait any prescribed time and sometimes start on the first block immediately. Again...never a stuck case and not even the sign that one will stick. i didn't even know they made a pump.
There must be a difference in the aerosol formulation.
toddackerman
08-26-08, 15:32
There must be a difference in the aerosol formulation.
All i know Mark is that the cases are pretty "Slick Feeling" but more like a "Thick Slick" than a thin slick, and they stay that way until i tumble the loaded rounds after loading. Uh-Oh...another "Hot Topic"!!!!
I know what you guys are saying about the pump sprays, and I think you're right...there is a difference. I also tried RCBS aerosol once and it sucked compared to the One Shot aerosol.
If I had to roll lube my cases i might jump off the bus. What a PITA!!!
Even with a carbide sizing die you need to lube. Bottle neck cases have much more bearing surface to the die than straight walled cases do (which is typically just a carbide ring) and you will get stuck cases.
Ok, so how do you stop from getting stuck cases? I was getting them about every 3-4 cases. One guy told me that I'm not using enough lube and another told me that I'm using too much. I'm wondering if the problem could lie elsewhere.
I'm thinking about getting one of those Lee loaders where it's one caliber per box. I've loaded 1000's of rounds with them although none bottle neck.
toddackerman
08-26-08, 21:44
You use Hornady One Shot Aerosol and spray the cases at a 45 degree downward angle to get the inside of the case necks lubed along with the walls. You want to make sure you have a carbide expander ball in your sizing die and also make sure your cases are tumbled very clean before you start.
This is what i do with absolutley no stuck cases. I fyou're rolling your cases and you get "Dimples" in the case shoulders you're using too much lube. If you're sticking cases you're you're not using enough. A very thin coat of "Roll on Lube" should be all you need. One Shot takes this guess work out of the equation. If you're still sticking cases, you're sizing die might be under sized.
That's all I can say on this.
Ok, so how do you stop from getting stuck cases?
Buy a bottle of Dillon case lube. :D
You use Hornady One Shot Aerosol and spray the cases at a 45 degree downward angle to get the inside of the case necks lubed along with the walls. You want to make sure you have a carbide expander ball in your sizing die and also make sure your cases are tumbled very clean before you start.
This is what i do with absolutley no stuck cases. I fyou're rolling your cases and you get "Dimples" in the case shoulders you're using too much lube. If you're sticking cases you're you're not using enough. A very thin coat of "Roll on Lube" should be all you need. One Shot takes this guess work out of the equation. If you're still sticking cases, you're sizing die might be under sized.
That's all I can say on this.
I've been using Lyman Qwik Spray Case Lube. I was rolling them using RCBS lube, that was slow and unproductive. I have a seperate piece that decaps and expands the mouth of the case. In addtion to that, all of my cases get 24 hours in the tumbler before going through the sizing die. After tumbling the cases are inspected and the flash holes cleared.
I am using Gun Sav'R "Size-All" - It is an aerosol. Not sure if it is even made any more, but it appears I am running out. About 2K done sized of the 10K .223 I have. Last batch of 3K rounds had no stuck cases. I love the sport, but reloading to me is a necessary evil so I do it in bulk to reduce the pain. Prefer the spray-on treatment.
The only issue is in does have that oily feeling. Like Todd I tumple the finished product. Does not take long and comes out great.
nicholst55
09-10-08, 01:49
Redding imperial sizing wax.
+1. This is my go-to case lube. I have tried others, but I keep coming back to this one because it always works!
toddackerman
09-14-08, 09:42
I've been using Lyman Qwik Spray Case Lube. I was rolling them using RCBS lube, that was slow and unproductive. I have a seperate piece that decaps and expands the mouth of the case. In addtion to that, all of my cases get 24 hours in the tumbler before going through the sizing die. After tumbling the cases are inspected and the flash holes cleared.
Save the tumbling for AFTER you have finished your loaded rounds. That's what the factories do. I've done it for 20 years and it is safe, Just don't over due it. 10-15 minutes as a final clean and polish is fine if you started with clean brass.
How many do you put in the tumbler at a time?
I had the same problem with one shot so I use RCBS pump spray. But I am going to try the one shot one more time and let it dry for 10 minutes before I size the brass.That must be the problem with them sticking thanks for the info
Joe
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