Myth Busting Residual Lube Affect On Neck Tension / Bullet Setback

[LiveLife]

Many use One Shot to lube their brass and I wondered what affect the residual lube had on neck tension and bullet setback.

To test this, I referenced the "Myth Busting Neck Tension and Bullet Setback" thread and decided to use X-Treme 100 gr RNFP which has shorter bullet base and Winchester brass which did not experience bullet setback - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...nd-bullet-setback.830072/page-3#post-10715550

Since some requested "standardizing" the application of One Shot, instead of spraying, I decided to swab the inside of case neck with swab dripping with One Shot. To eliminate flaring of case mouth affecting lube application, cases were lubed after they were flared. One Shot lubed cases were tested dry and wet. To really push the limits of residual lube, I swabbed another group of flared cases with Bag Balm, lube I use for resizing .308 brass.

Test pistol/barrel used was Glock 22 with KKM 40-9 conversion barrel along with 9mm magazine. Rounds were chambered from the magazine with slide pulled all the way back and released. X-Treme 100 gr RNFP were loaded to 1.030" OAL.

Bullet setback measured after feeding test rounds from magazine:

Control (No lube):

• .000"
• .000"
• .000"
• .000"
  
• .000"

Bag Balm:

• .001"
• .0005"
• .0005"
• .001"
• .0005"

One Shot (Dry):

• .000"
• .000"
• .000"
• .000"
• .000"

One Shot (Wet):

• .000"
• .000"
• .000"
• .000"
• .000"

Conclusion: The results were not what I expected. I was expecting some measurable bullet setback from One Shot lubed cases but to my surprise, no bullet setback!

So users of One Shot rejoice and spray away.

 

[entropy]

It's all I use-never had a problem with setback.

 

[armoredman]

Nice to know, thank you for doing the work, sir.

 

[Toprudder]

This review from BDS was not what I expected. Short, sweet, and simple.

Just kidding. Thanks, BDS. I always read your stuff, and always learn something.

 

[NWPilgrim]

I use One Shot for .223 and Imperial wax for .30-06, lube inside case necks of both. Never had a problem but always kind of wondered. Thanks for your testing--now I know not to be concerned! Great report.

 

[Walkalong]

Please test with the home made Lanolin stuff.

 

[Jack B.]

Bag Balm? Are you talking about the skin care product as a lube for brass?

 

[Doublehelix]

Awesome results! I am one of those that use One Shot on their pistol cases, so I am happy to see these results!

Thanks as always!

 

[Blue68f100]

The results are a little surprising but not really as to what Hornady has said on their product. I would thing the Lanolin lubes to have a little movenment since those are a thicker film lube.

Thanks for taking the time to run the test.

 

[LiveLife]

Approach to this rather simple test was more involved than I originally thought as I needed to isolate reloading variables. Believe me, I pondered a long time (Yes, I know, pondering is very dangerous ). That's why this myth busting took so long as I first needed to resolve the factor of bullet setback from other variables such as case wall thickness and brass quality.

That's why "Myth Busting Neck Tension and Bullet Setback" was done first to identify headstamp cases which did not experience bullet setback as simply using mixed range brass or even random single headstamp brass would have resulted in bullet setback but not know whether the bullet setback came from residual lube or case wall thickness/brass quality.

And X-Treme 100 gr RNFP was used intentionally due to shorter bullet base which demonstrated greater bullet setback compared to HSM 115 gr RN. So One Shot lubed cases after they were flared not experiencing bullet setback is quite significant.

Bag Balm? Are you talking about the skin care product as a lube for brass?

Yes sir. The stuff that's good for cows' udders and keeping my hands soft is also great for making brass slick for resizing military .308 brass with thicker case walls.

I would [think] the Lanolin lubes to have a little movement since those are a thicker film lube.

That's why I included the Bag Balm for the test as it contains: petrolatum, lanolin and 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate (antiseptic).

FWIW, in addition to many uses, Bag Balm on scalp even showed regrowth of hair for male pattern baldness - https://www.livestrong.com/article/137586-bag-balm-side-effects/

 

[LiveLife]

Please test with the home made Lanolin stuff.

I could see if I can mix up the home-made lanolin lube and retest bullet setback.

Which recipe do you use? I found these.

3 tablespoons (1.5 oz) lanolin to one 12 oz bottle of ISO-HEET gasoline anti-freeze

2 oz. liquid lanolin to 16 oz. of 99% isopropyl alcohol

 

[Toprudder]

Now you need to myth-bust the effects of lube inside the case affecting the powder.

 

[LiveLife]

I lack the equipment to conduct such a test.

 

[Toprudder]

I lack the equipment to conduct such a test.

Ok, maybe I will contribute some testing time to this, seeing as how it is something I have been wondering.

I have One-Shot, Imperial, RCBS, and Royal case lubes. I will start with those.

 

[Jack B.]

Like to know if Bag Balm can affect powder and primers like some lubes do? We don't have it here where I live so I can't really check the ingredients in it.

 

[Walkalong]

Which recipe do you use?

About 3 Oz Lanolin to 16 Oz 99% Isopropyl Alcohol.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...olin-case-lube-portions.832095/#post-10749601

 

[LiveLife]

We don't have it here where I live so I can't really check the ingredients in it.

My can says - "8-hydroxy quinoline sulfate 0.3% in a petrolatum lanolin base".

You can buy it online - https://www.amazon.com/Bag-Balm-Ointment-8-Ounce/dp/B0014CI4X8

 

[Jack B.]

From the test results I'll stick with Hornady One Shot case lube. Don't know about udder cream and hair grow.

 

[reddog81]

I always suspected a small amount wouldn't have any effect. It's good to know that even a large amount has no effect.

 

[Toprudder]

@bds , now you need to fire each of those (including the control) to see if the lube has an effect on velocity standard deviation (byproduct of neck tension).

 

[LiveLife]

now you need to fire each of those (including the control) to see if the lube has an effect on velocity standard deviation (byproduct of neck tension).

Objective of this thread was to test the affects of residual lube on bullet setback.

I will entertain testing other lubes such as home-made lanolin lube requested by Walkalong but feel range testing results will be overshadowed by other reloading variables to clearly isolate the difference to chemical reaction between residual lube and powder burn. If someone is willing to pursue such a thread, my hats off to that person.

 

[Toprudder]

Objective of this thread was to test the affects of residual lube on bullet setback.

Well, the title of the thread is "Myth Busting Residual Lube Affect On Neck Tension / Bullet Setback". If you had only said "Bullet Setback" then, yeah.

Just though I would give it a shot.

 

[mjsdwash]

may be worth it to retest with Blazer brass, I have setback with finger pressure with those, unless I crimp. I use Snowseal/saddlesoap, or whatever wax I have left over for case forming, and motor oil for case lube if you want some ideas. I do not have issues with either.

 

[1KPerDay]

Thanks bds! I am a fan of one shot lube sprayed into buckets of 500-1000 pistol cases at a time and shake it around. Sizing goes much more smoothly. Good to know it doesn't affect setback, at least in your test!

I use imperial sizing wax for rifle sizing. Stuck 4 cases with one shot and gave up.

 

[Toprudder]

I never lubed any of my pistol brass, and was never interested in doing it, until I recently got some new brass that was sticking on the expander (no problem with sizing, though). I ended up using some One-Shot sprayed sparingly into the mouths. I may start lubing my pistol brass in the future.

I may do some testing in the future to see what, if any, effect it may have on velocity.