Removal of case lube after reloading

[jaybet]

JC, So far I only load handgun, although with my first EBR I'm thinking of starting up some 223. If you're going from rifle to handgun you'll have to dumb down- it's a whole lot easier.

[JC5123]

That's what I have always been told. Truth is I don't shoot handgun enough. However with my GF shooting almost exclusively handgun, (and in the same caliber as mine) it might be time to start.

[WatchManUSA]

Using lube in rifle carbide dies is a very smart idea.  Even in carbide dies resizing fifle brass can become stuck.  I even use a light amount of lube on pistol reloads.  It won"t hurt and it beats getting brass stuck.  I take off lube by tumbling the loaded rounds for a few hours.

[JC5123]

I do a light lube before decapping, then toss them in a ziplock. After decapping, I do not relube before trimming and resizing (yes I do it in 3 steps) but the residual lube on the cases from decapping has always been enough that resizing goes very smoothly. For sure it's a slow process, but when my rounds chamber and extract like butter it makes all the time worth it. Plus my brass is cleaner and shinier than factory. 

[Steve Cover]

I have a problem with leaving sizing lube on cartridges.

The normal sequence of firing a cartridge includes the expansion of the brass to grip the chamber walls.
When the high gas pressure declines, the brass snaps back a little to allow extraction.

When lube is left on the cartridge, it allows the brass to slide back against the bolt instead of being gripped by the chamber walls.
This causes a highly increased bolt thrust against the bolt face and locking lugs.

If you examine factory ammunition, you will find no residual sizing lube.
This is because they tumble the loaded cartridges a few minutes to remove the lubricant from the cartridges.

There is an Urban Legend about tumbling cartridges harming the powder and causing burn rate problems.
In real life this is of no real concern.

One of the people who post on one of the reloading blogs, (Geoff Beneze   geoffb@beast-enterprises.com) performed an extended test that tumbled several different reloaded cartridges for several weeks. 
Every several days a number of cartridges were removed from the tumbler.
Some of these were broken down to examine the powder, and the other were fired for velocity and function.
After several weeks with no perceptible changes in the cartridges, the test was ended.
You may want to contact Geoff for details of the test.
He is a very knowledgeable reloader.

In any case, I tumble all my reloads for about 15 minutes in new corncob material to remove sizing lube before packaging.
(I wear white cotton gloves to handle the freshly tumbled cartridges to keep them clean… Properly stored, the brass will stay bright for years.)

As for me, I’ve been reloading since 1962 and have been an NRA certified Metallic Cartridge Reloading Instructor for the last ten years.

However, for an expert opinion, I’ll defer to Geoff, but feel that his will agree with me on this.

Steve

[Sponsor]

[crocodile_dondii]

I agree totally with Steve's post above.  Brass should be dry to engage the breech, and it will create very high forces on the bolt (that were never designed for) if the case slips in the breech.  DANGEROUS.

Cases should always be clean & dry before they are chambered.

Also what's all this stuff about lubing cases to go into a carbide die?  Carbide dies are used to obviate having to lube cases.  I've never lubed a case that's going into a carbide die...and I've never had one stick or fail to extract from the die.

[ellis4538]

Wait until you get a little older and you will appreciate a little less pressure needed to size (load) a large number of rounds!  You do not need to lube pistol cases but it helps a lot.  I have had no problems as a result of lubing pistol cases but YMMV.

FWIW


Richard

[Rastus]

I'm just getting around to using some of the reloading equipment given me by a couple of friends a few years back and some of those components I bought before Barry was elected the first time.  So...I'm not very knowledgeable on this topic.

However, kudos to the new guys who posted on this thread.  You all brought a lot to ponder and integrate into my practices.

Thanks,
Ken

Yeah, some of you regulars too..... 

[crocodile_dondii]

Wait until you get a little older and you will appreciate a little less pressure needed to size (load) a large number of rounds!  You do not need to lube pistol cases but it helps a lot.  I have had no problems as a result of lubing pistol cases but YMMV.

FWIW


Richard

I'm 66 and I have been shooting competitively (and therefore reloading) since I was 17.  IHMSA in later years, but earlier in rimfire and military with 7.62, 5.56, trap....

I was a sniper.

[DeltaM]

What about lead bullets?  I've tried tumbling lead pistol rounds after reloading to remove case lube but the bullet gets all dingy looking.  I'm not that hung up on looks but if some of the lead gets polished off and in my media the unknown amount of lead particles would be of concern.  Media always creates a certain amount of dust when transferring from storage bin to tumbler.  I'm sure I breathe more than I should.  I don't want to look like a surgeon just to tumble loaded cartridges.  I doubt any danger here but would feel better if someone who knew more had any advice.

Tumbled lead brass looks and feels better but lately I've just been rubbing the excess case lube off pistol rounds with a rag.  Still, not as clean as tumbled.