.223 case lube question

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sks

New member
I've been reloading pistol calibers for years and am not beginning to reload rifle. This is a different animal all together. :)

With the Lee Classic 4 hole turret press and carbide dies there has been no need to lube my pistol brass. The tube of Lee resizing lubricant says, "DO NOT lube the shoulder" and then it says to lube the inside of the case. Can someone help to clarify this? What exactly is supposed to be lubed? Why not the shoulder?

Thanks for your input.
 
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rwilson452

New member
You don't lube the outside of the neck or the shoulder. If you do the lube will get trapped on the shoulder and put a dimple in the shoulder. All you lube is the main part of the case, the part below the shoulder. Normally I don't lube the inside of the neck. If you do decide to lube the inside of the neck you must use a dry lube such as ground mica. A 4 oz jar of mica will last years. Using a wet lube inside the neck will work its way into the case and foul the powder charge. don't do it!



With the Lee Classic 4 hole turret press and carbide dies there has been no need to lube my pistol brass. The tube of Lee resizing lubricant says, "DO NOT lube the shoulder" and then it says to lube the inside of the case. Can someone help to clarify this? What exactly is supposed to be lubed? Why not the shoulder?
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Sevens

New member
Wait a second-- do make sure you lube the inside of the case mouth or you will likely shorten it's life and occasionally hear a nasty squeak. I do use that fine powdered mica... BUT... if you use the Lee case lube, it will NOT disturb any primers no matter where you get it. Yes, other lubes can wreck primers. Don't handle primers when handling case lube, but if you buy and use the Lee case lube, you don't need to worry about it.

If you don't use the fine powdered mica for case mouth lubing, you can use the Lee case lube applied with a q-tip.

You are dead-on that reloading rifle brass is a whole different animal. You need to pay serious attention to case trim length. You will find chambering issues as the brass stretches but even worse--if the case is too long but still chambers, the bullet can get pinched in the throat and raise pressures exponentially. It can be a dangerous situation.

No doubt, rifle reloading is a slower process.
 
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Alleykat

Moderator
Ditto, on Hornady One Shot. Have yet to lube a case mouth, with tens of thousands of rounds done so far. I tumble the loaded rounds for a few minutes to remove the One Shot.
 
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Mach II Sailor

Moderator
actually folks the best case lube can be made at home using cosmetic lanolin and 98% rubbing alcohol.

for complete instructions just PM me
 
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sks

New member
Thanks all for the replies. Does the One Shot affect primers or powder if it gets inside the case? Does the tumbling for a short time remove it?

Well at any rate I am going to reload 100 rounds of .223 tonight. Wish me luck! :)
 
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T. O'Heir

New member
Loading rifle is a tick easier than handgun. No flaring the mouth(that's done by chamfering the inside a wee bit) and only two dies for most cartridges. Getting the right OAL is mostly trial and error when setting up the seating plug. Some people will use a loaded factory cartridge for this though.
Lubing the inside of the neck eases the entrance of the expander button. I've always just screwed the case mouth into my lube pad when the expander button sticks a bit.
Read your manual's how-to chapter and you'll be fine. RCBS' site has a how-to with pictures too. Click on 'Reloading Guide'.
 
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jhansman

New member
What Bullet94 said. I rarely full size my .223 cases, but when I do, Imperial Sizing Wax is the best lube out there. I use a q-tip for the inside of the neck, and my fingers for below it. Wonderful stuff.
 
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CPTMurdoc30

New member
the best lube is Imperial Sizing wax. a little on the thumb and booger finger goes for about 200 cases.

It is recommended NOT to tumble loaded ammo. I have never heard of it doing anything. But That is what the powder companies say. I am a scaridy cat and listen to what the experts tell me to do.
 
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TexasSeaRay

New member
It is recommended NOT to tumble loaded ammo. I have never heard of it doing anything. But That is what the powder companies say. I am a scaridy cat and listen to what the experts tell me to do.
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I've been doing it for over two decades. Haven't talked to the powder chemist yet who told me otherwise.

I did as close to a scientific study and comparison as possible some years back. I took samples of powder, took pictures with a 100mm macro lens (which translates into extreme closeup) and kept them for comparison.

I then took reloaded rounds that used the same powder from the same container and ran them through my Thumler's Tumbler for twelve hours. I then pulled the bullets, poured out the powder and photographed it using the same 100mm macro lens.

Placed the pictures side by side, examined with a strong magnifying glass and could not see one iota of difference between the untumbled powder and the tumbled powder.

And, for what it's worth, I've been using the Lee lube since almost Day One and with no problems. I haven't tried any other lubes, though maybe I ought to. But, if it ain't broke . . .

Jeff
 
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CPTMurdoc30

New member
Like I said. Never heard of it causing any problems. But the powder guys do not recommend doing it.

I will not do it. If you want to go for it.
 
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sks

New member
Well my first .223 reloads took a while. My cousin was over to help as he wants to get into reloading. I had lubed a few cases and deprimed them when and things were going well. Then I stepped out for a minute only to come back and find him holding a shell with the depriming pin stuck inside. :) We tried to cut the brass off with a dremel and cut the pin. Not a good start. I was just going to order another one but he wanted to reload right away. So we went to Cabela's and bought another set of .223 dies. Rather, he bought another set. :D

Finally loaded up 10 rounds and was pleased with the results. Not sure I'm happy with the crimp but will work on that a bit more today.

Thanks for all of the suggestions on the case lube. I'll use the Lee lube until it is gone and might try the one shot after that.
 
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Sevens

New member
I'll use the Lee lube until it is gone and might try the one shot after that.
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:eek: :D
Let me tell you right now that if you want to try a different lube, try a different lube. If you try to wait until the Lee Lube is gone, it'll be the year 2043 and case lube will be on sale only at the antique show!

With the Lee Lube, a tiny, tiny bit goes a long, LONG way and it'll take you a freakishly long time to use it all up.
 
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sks

New member
:) Good thought Sevens. Maybe I'll break down and get some One Shot today. Is that known to affect powder or primers?
 
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sks

New member
Another issue has come up that perhaps you all can help me with. Some of the .223 cases I am depriming are pushing the decapper out of the die. They all seem to be the same lot of ammo. This is brass I picked up at the range and it only has numbers on it. No R&P, Federal, S&B, etc.

Any ideas why this is happening? I've done 5 of them and had to reset the decapper each time.

Thanks for your help.
 
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Sevens

New member
Oh yes-- you have military brass and these typically have crimped in primers. (they crimp the primer so the primers don't rattle out of the pocket during full-auto fire in some weapons)

To decap them, you have options: You can buy a decapper and base from Lee which is nothing more than a pin that you hammer and a little base that you place the brass in to when hitting it with a hammer. Or, if you are using a Lee sizing die, try tightening the collet that retains the decapping pin. Or, get the Lee Universal Decapping die which also works well. Lee dies are not the best dies on the market, but they are durable and they offer a helluva lot for the money.

After depriming these cases, you will likely need to remove this crimp or they are a tremendous pain to re-prime. You can use a small chamfering tool to slice it out, or buy a bigger tool from any number of makers. RCBS makes an inexpensive hand tool, Dillon makes a large, bench mounted device.

The other option is to skip milsurp brass and use commercial brass that is clearly marked ".223 Rem"

I use LC military brass exclusively. I do it because I have a lot of it and it's worked very, very well for me. Does take an extra step the first time, though. And running a search on "crimped primer" or "military brass" ought to return you many, many, MANY metric tons of discussion on this subject.
 
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