Case Lubes

I think it really depends on the application...i.e. what you are resizing. For hard to size military MG fired 7.62x51cases Imperial is the way to go. I can get away with dry lube on commercial .308 cases. Straight wall cases for pistol might not need any lube at all. I tend to spritz a little FA lube on the cases when I put them in the case feeder for .45Colt as it seems to smooth out the operation on the press. .45acp doesn't really need any at all.

I threw out the RCBS pad and bottle of goo many moons ago.

.40

I have stuck three rifle cases using one shot. None with imperial. I have to handle each case regardless so it's not a big deal to touch the imperial every so often and slide the case around in my fingers on the way to the sizing die.

I have also stuck some cases with spray lube, but never again once I switched to the manually-applied stuff (I use Unique, but I'm sure it's pretty much the same stuff as Imperial). It's a hassle, but sticking a case is a bigger hassle.

You can make your own case lube with liquid lanolin and red Heet gas line anti freeze. 10 to 12 parts of Heet to 1 part lanolin. Spray it in a ziplock bag roll cases around and you're gtg

In my experience for things that dont require a whole lot of effort to re-size (bottleneck cartridges included) I just swipe once every few pieces of brass and run my finger around each one. No re-application until after a few pcs of brass have been sized then swipe once again. You probably know already that a little of this stuff goes a long way.

I've heard the stories of sticking dies with spray lube so I've used Imperial exclusively pretty much from the start of my reloading, after i finished a small tube of lee sizing paste. That's the first lube I used and it was fine, but the wax is easier and i dont mind the residue vs. the chalky sort of stuff left behind by the Lee.

Depending on how you run your case prep you might tumble after sizing, mitigating any concern about lubes in the case.

I've gotten to lubing most of my hand gun cases even though I use carbide sizing dies. It makes the resizing soooo much slicker. I tumble the cases after sizing anyway, so no loss there.

I bought one can of aerosol Hornady One Shot and tried it unsuccessfully on rifle cases.

I've had good success using lanolin/alcohol mix sizing 204 Ruger cases. I do find I need to rub the neck and shoulder to make sure there is not too lubricant there that will cause shoulder dents. It should do fine with 223 Remington cases and similar size cases but I have not tried it yet.

Ditto with larger cases like 308 Win or 30-06. I have not shot any of those rifles of late so no cases to resize. Someday, I begin experimenting.

One does have to make sure the alcohol has flashed off before resizing. I usually set up and spray the cases the very first thing and let the alcohol flas off while I'm setting up the press and getting ready to resize.

I've use Imperial Sizing wax and Kiwi Mink Oil shoe polish paste. Both work well but I'll agree about not liking the finger application method.

For rifle cases, I like using a case lube pad and RCBS case sizing lubricant. I hang the neck over edge of the pad to keep excess lubricant getting on the necks. I also do not like handling the oily cases but it is handy to rub the neck and shoulder with my fingers to get a little lube on them.

With Sizing wax or the RCBS lubricant, I resize a dry case every once in a while and it will help keep lubricant build up in the die at a manageable. It takes some feel to know how frequently to size a dry case.

I like the Frankford/Dillon spray lube=Lanolin and alcohol.

Put cases in a bag/tupperware container spray and shake around.

I tray my cleaned cases then spray one shot onto them from both sides at a high angle such I KNOW I am getting it into the case neck. It’s a means of lubing my necks for expanding, as well as seating and firing. I do this spraying inside of a cardboard box, and after the first neck spray in the trays, I dump the trays into the box and spray again the loose rounds, flip the flaps closed, and shake a bit to distribute.

I use Hornady Unique which is similar to Imperial. I find that I can lube ten cases or a hundred cases with about the same effort and the lube can be easily removed by dry tumbling the cases. I've been reloading for 42+ years and I have been fastidious in my case lubrication and so have yet to stick a case.

Hornady One shot works for me

Cleaning cases, lubing, and cleaning again all in the same process makes my brain want to fall out. I prefer to spend my time shooting, making ammo is a means to facilitate that. Cleaning twice sucks, plain and simple. Hornady One Shot is fantastic for that reason.

After using a bunch of different stuff I have settled on 2 types of lube. I use Imperial for neck sizing and Dillon spray for everything else. A little may get into the case neck but I see that as a good thing. If you are sizing fired machine gun brass the hated RCBS goo is still hard to beat.

ohihunter2014 said:

I currently use Imperial sizing wax but I hate swiping my finger, lubing the case and then sizing and doing it all over again.

Click to expand...

Depending on the caliber there are some carbide rifle dies these days. I acquired my dies many moons ago so I don't have any but believe these would be less finicky about the lubing operation. I know what you mean, the dreaded sizing operation, but I did switch from the ink pad/green goo to imperial and found it a vast improvement. Are you saying you lube one, size one, repeat? I lube 50, or 100, and then size, and after all are sized wipe them with a cotton cloth. The imperial fingertip will lube around 5 cases without dipping it again, at least for me.
I've stuck 30-06 with the one shot, and with the rcbs spray lube, but never with the green goo or imperial.

Dudedog said:

I like the Frankford/Dillow spray lube=Lanolin and alcohol.

Put cases in a bag/tupperware container spray and shake around.

Click to expand...

I use the same, but instead of a container I line the cases up next to my press, spray some lube on my index finger & thumb and then roll over the cases lightly. It only takes a minute to lube a few hundred, plus I don't get any lube on the inside of the cases. It softens the hands at the same time also

I like Hornady’s Unique lube but it’s still a “finger” application lube. I am not a fan of One Shot, if I am using a spray lube I prefer Dillon’s lube or a homade Lanolin/alcohol mix.

I use a bankers box lid, dump some cases in, a few squirts over them and shake back and forth to distribute.

You want stuck rifle cases, use spray lube. You want trouble free RIFLE case reloading, use Sizing Wax. Pistol cases are fine with a spray lube. Use One shot on all my pistol cases.

If I’m sizing 20 each 7mm RM cases then I use a lube pad, carefully. 1000 each of .223? Gallon size freezer bag sprayed with home brew lanolin mix, throw in a few handfuls of 223 and squish around. Repeat process spraying bag as needed. Dump into plastic box. Resize, trim, chamfer, swage. One hour in wet tumble and one hour in food dryer. Then run’em through Loadmaster to prime, powder, seat, crimp. Ain’t got time for those little rounds that everyone just blows thru in their AR’s, anyway. Safe and consistent enough.

Same for pistol but go easy on lube. Let the lube dry more in the bag to keep from getting in cases. Again, a little and dry. Just trying to smooth out the press. Tumbler after they’re loaded.

Never had an issue doing .223 or 7 Rem mag with the Dillon spray lube. YMMV

Made some spray lube with 16oz 91% iso and 1 tube of Lee lube. Spray in a freezer bag, roll around a bunch of cases, give about 10 minutes to dry and start loading. Using this for pistol and although not necessary, makes sizing a helluva lot smoother.

I use Hornady One Shot sprayed over a bunch of 223 cases in a 12 X 18 cookie sheet. No stuck cases.
RCBS Lube Pad for my other lower volume cases.
I don't lube pistol cases.

I tried the Dillon spray but didn't like the lanolin residue and found it difficult to remove completely.

The only downside to Hornady one shot is sometimes I run out of it. If you stick a case using it it’s because you didn’t get any on it.