Before I give in to the temptation to do this on purpose...

[pathdoc]

... has anyone here put an unlubricated cartridge case into the workflow for a 9mm Luger (Parabellum) Lee Loader?

If so, what happened?

Lee themselves recommend the cases be lubed for this task, but I just know I'm going to forget one day (because my other Lee Loaders are all bottlenecked rifle, neck size only jobs)...

 

[Snyper]

If Lee says "lube" why would you do otherwise?

 

[xandi]

Its a little rougher in mine ( in 357 mag)
Hope this helps

 

[Shadow9mm]

depends on the dies. i tumbles and ran my 9mm brass straight into my hornady carbide dies no probelm, same for 45acp. worst case scenario you get a stuck casing and get to spend some time with a hammer, vise, and wrenches and have to replaced the decapping pin. i was trying a new lube for .223, i failed to follow the instructions for the lube, jammed casings are no fun, but not the end of the world.

 

[krunchnik]

If the dies are carbide there is no reason to lube-the whole reason behind using carbide.I have never lubed any of my pistol brass-I have all Lee Carbide 4 die sets.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

You are worrying about something like this? Get over it, buy carbide dies, or not. It will happen and will make a lasting impression. If you want to know that bad, do it and be done with it.

Have a blessed evening,

Leon

 

[849ACSO]

Are you talking Lee Loader that you use with a hammer? If so, I think you swing the hammer harder to get it out. If you're talking about a press, the case MAY get stuck and you MAY rip the rim off, and right after that, you will get carbide dies.

 

[pathdoc]

Yes, I am talking about the Lee Loader that you use with a hammer.

I should add that I have the Lee four-die set in a turret press, and the sizing die is carbide. I just wanted to know what's the worst that could happen if I'm in the field away from the usual press, Lee Loader only, and I accidentally forget the lube on one case.

 

[1100 tac]

I think I would just carry enough ammo and not worry about reloading "in the field".

If you stick a case, you are done until you get it out. Why experiment with doing things wrong "to see what happens"?

 

[g.willikers]

If you're going to use cave man equipment, just lube with some spit - and get a bigger hammer.
Purty sure those Lee loaders were just meant to be conversation pieces.

 

[Unclenick]

I know a number of folks who use Lee Loaders for load development at the range, a practice that can save you some extra trips to the range. I actually keep a whole separate range loading kit for that reason, but I am using a hand press. The discontinued Lee Speed dies were great for that. The Lee Loaders, though, also represent good portability in a SHTF scenario if you don't have a kit like mine rigged.


Pathdoc,

Usually if you miss just one case, enough lube is in the die from the previous cases that all that happens is the unlubed one is a little harder to do, but not a lot.

 

[mikld]

Personally, I don't think it's an issue. I have 38 Special .44 Magnum Lee Loaders (I used to have a 45 ACP but either gave it away or lost it). I don't lube cases except those fired in my Puma .44 Magnum, which has a generous chamber. If a 9mm case is "stuck" in a Lee Loader (if you can tell) using the same procedure to pound it out with the priming stem as in normal loading, it will dislodge it easily. There is no shell holder to rip off the case head/extractor groove....

I think Lee Loaders are the best thing to come along since smokeless powder. My first was in 1996 and I now have only 5 left (along with my 3 single stage presses, one hand press and one turret press plus .75 metric tons of assorted dies, tools, etc.) and when I feel "retro" I'll get one out and pound out a few rounds. Lee Loaders got me started in reloading and I'm sure they did the same for about a million more...

 

[Scorch]

9mm Parabellum is not a straight cartridge, it is a tapered case. As such, it has much more contact with the die when you resize. More contact, more lube. No lube, stuck case.

 

[g.willikers]

Lee Loaders got me started in reloading and I'm sure they did the same for about a million more...

Me, too.
Mine is for .44 mags and specials.
Still have it in the original box, along with all those Lee powder scoops.
But soon after buying it I got a real press and drum type powder dispenser.
Would never get rid of it, though.
It's just too primitively cool.

 

[pathdoc]

Unclenick and mikld, you are thinking exactly along my lines. For sure, any serious volume reloading I do in 9mm (or anything else, for that matter) will be done on a press, but the nearest range is an hour's drive away from me, and the ability to add a touch more or less to a load to see how that changes things, or to knock up a few more rounds for extended shooting, without having to drive home is a thing worth having. Ditto the ability to reload indoors in the basement when the snow is up to my knees and the shed is just too d@mn cold.

 

[BigJimP]

Gwillikers.....made me snort diet Pepsi up my nose......and go change my t-shirt...


Gotta love the cave man comment....!!

 

[BigJimP]

On a serious note....I load 9mm on a Dillon 650 ....with carbide dies / but I lube all cases - and it makes the press run significantly smoother...

I use Dillon spray lube....lay a few hundred cases flat in a shallow cardboard box lid....spritz them -roll them around - spritz them again.....let them dry for 15 min and they are ready to go ( in my case I dump them into the case feeder)...

-----------------

But a bigger hammer - and some spit.....might work !!

 

[jdscholer]

Don't worry. One case or even more would cause no big problem. Your Lee Loader will be capable of manufacturing ammo long after you have crossed to the other side. jd

 

[Unclenick]

One reason, per Scorch's comment, is the Lee loaders I have only work on the neck where the bullet is seated, and don't try to mess with the wider area below that in a tapered case.

 

[pathdoc]

Don't worry, folks; I know I would be a fool to go there knowing it's not a good idea - that's why I asked (isn't that what this place is for?).

Still, I guess I like playing around with worst case scenarios so I know how to get out of them next time they happen.e.g., had a stuck case in a Lee die once - thank God for that design and the centre-punch drive-it-out trick - and a couple of times I've not lubed the neck enough and had the expander ball pull out, but I know how to deal with that one routinely too. PITA at the time, but all solvable with the much appreciated benefit of others' experience.