reloading dies

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Way back in the mid 1970s, when I was first stationed in Kodiak , ALASKA, was told by everyone to always lube, when in doubt lube again.
got there in 1975 left in 78, back again 1983 to 1986. Every one I know used lube. But that was before carbide dies got really popular, and before the spray lube. Once in a while would here about some gut
using spray pam, but was rare. Now everybody uses carbide dies for pistols, and steel dies for rifles. We always used a stamp pad, new of course, or rcbs pad or some other pad, spread the lube on the pad, and
rolled the cases on the pad, sized, then put em in the tumbler to clean.. And I know I show my age now

started to reload again when covid hit. ammo is still scarce here, and twice what it was before covid. have to hoard supplies though, as primers are still rare here, and more expensive than they were.
 
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It is not required to lube using carbide dies or even steel dies. I know this because I did so for decades; however, most people that try it once and feel the difference, will continue to do so.

This is because lube, even with carbide dies, makes the operations so much smoother.
 
as far as dies go, it is still my understand all rifle cases should be lubed. Period!, now question is do you tumble before sizing, and then tumble again after sizing to get the lube off?

cause is kinda hard to size a dirty case, is all I am saying, been there done that
 
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RONALD MORPHEW said:
as far as dies go, it is still my understand all rifle cases should be lubed. Period!, now question is do you tumble before sizing, and then tumble again after sizing to get the lube off?
Click to expand...
I do, tumble to clean, load, tumble to remove lube.
 
I don't tumble after sizing. My process for bottleneck rifle is tumble, then lube, then size and deprime, then trim, charge, seat, and gauge. I usually don't shoot more than 50 yards and my ammo is plenty accurate for me. Might be different if I were shooting longer ranges, and probably would be different if I were competing.

chris
 
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RONALD MORPHEW said:
cause is kinda hard to size a dirty case, is all I am saying, been there done that
Click to expand...
"Kinda" depends on how "dirty" it is. I wipe "dirty" cases off with a soft rag before sizing them. "Been there done that" for 20 or 25 years before I treated myself to a tumbler. As a matter of fact, I still do that - 20 years later. And I don't always tumble the cases even after they're resized - I usually don't care if my cases are all that shiny or not.
BTW, all of that "tumble before resizing to avoid getting pieces of tumbling media stuck in the flash holes" stuff doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Working together, with a couple of short pieces of wire, my wife and I can inspect AND clear (if necessary) a hundred primer pockets and flash hole inside of 5 minutes. :thumbup:
 
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You got yourself a good wife. Mine leaves all that to me. I usually tumble all cases before sizing and depriming, then tumble again to remove lube, then load. My pistol cases, especially 45 colt, and 38 special, tumble again after sizing and depriming. With those two cartridges, usually load with bullseye, and it is not the cleanest powder.
 
If its, say, 9mm brass, I run through a Universal decapper, then wet tumble, then I reload. Let me know if you need more specifics. I can send you videos that will immensely.
 
Lube makes the entire process moth smoother and more consistent. You feel the difference on the Dillon. A little hornady one shot is a wonderful thing.
 
Well I did nothing but wipe off my brass for lots of years with no problems. Then got a used vibratory tumbler. The jewelry bug hit me and it all needs to shine like the sun these days LOL. I recently (7 years ago) found a Thumlers and use wet tumbling with SS pins because I like the shine in the primer pockets. I universal decap, clean, then resize. I load my ammo and tumble for 15-20 minutes in corn cob/NuFinish after to stop tarnish. If loading HP ammo then I polish before loading the ammo. This is the way I loke to do it.
FWIW 1000 reloaders have 1000 ways to skin the proverbial critter. Time vs effort expended to get wanted result at play here.;)
 
I always lube my 9mm and .45acp pistol cases. They just run slicker than snot through my progressive press when they are lubed. Not only is reloading faster but the lower friction gives me a much better feel of what is going on when the cases are lubed.

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I run RCBS lube dies in station 1 of my Dillon 650. They eliminate the need to manually lube pistol cases via what ever means.

But, NO, it is not necessary to lube pistol cases when using a carbide resizing die.

P.S. RCBS lube dies are worthless for bottle neck cases because they do not lube the case necks.
 
truth is I really do not need my ammo to look like store bought ammo, as long as it works. I usually tumble, size, deprime, and tumble again. especially with 38 special and 45 colt. I usually load these with lead bullets and bullseye powder, and that is a very dirty powder. I do try to get all the black stuff off the cases. That usually means to tumble again after sizing and depriming. Rifle cases , tumble size and deprime, clean around primer pocket and the neck area, and if necessary tumble again. My ar - 10 works better with really clean brass My 30-06 bolt action RUGER, and HENRY 45-70, usually as long as kinda clean works fine. Semi autos seem to prefer clean brass

at least is my experience. My 3 rifles work ok with IMR 3031, but am looking for other powders, any recommendations
 
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The Iosso liquid will clean brass but leaves the outside a frosty brass color. The longer you leave it in the stuff the frostier it becomes until it turns a dull copper red color indicating it has removed the zinc from the surface. It is not good at removing carbon stains or heavy tarnish either. If you use it be sure to rinse the brass several times to remove all the soap and citric acid before loading.
 
Say what?

Have you ever used Iosso?

Follow the instructions on the bottle and your brass will shine! I've used it on plenty of surplus brass and got great results.

As I said, if you want it extra shiny, tumble it for 30 minutes!

If Iosso doesn't work for you, reread the instructions as you did something wrong.
 
RONALD MORPHEW said:
cause is kinda hard to size a dirty case, is all I am saying, been there done that
Click to expand...
I bet you would have a hard time identifying a fired round from a fully prepared one in my box if you didn't look at the primer.... my cases don't touch anything but my chamber and the box... it really depends on what your starting with. I dump mud out of some of my range pickups and the only die they touch is a universal decaper. .
 
question folks, when reloading 30-06 for a ruger american left handed bolt action, do you you use a two die set or three die set, and how often do you use the third die. Just curious, as almost all rifle dies I have are two die sets.
Only difference is a RCBS 3 die set for 45-70. Because of the size of bullets I understand that.
 
RONALD MORPHEW said:
question folks, when reloading 30-06 for a ruger american left handed bolt action, do you you use a two die set or three die set, and how often do you use the third die. Just curious, as almost all rifle dies I have are two die sets.
Only difference is a RCBS 3 die set for 45-70. Because of the size of bullets I understand that.
Click to expand...
All strait wall cases use 3 die sets and has nothing to do with size.... I use the same process on all cases I buy and use a mandrel expander and ditch the expander ball.
 
The 3rd die in a rifle set is usually a neck sizing die. You can usually get away with neck sizing only for a couple/3 reloads before needing to use the full length sizing die.

The neck sized brass should be kept separate for each rifle. It might not fit from one rifle to the next, due to differences in chamber dimensions from one manufacturer to another.
 
I have a lyman set for 45-70, a lee set of 45-70, and RCBS set for 45-70. I also have a mixed set of 45-70. all the 45-70 sets are three die sets. I also have a LEE fractroy crimp die. I know that the 45-70 is almost a straight wall case, but is there real reason for all 4 sets to be 3 die sets? With that large a bullet, it just seems right to have a separate case mouth expander die.

I like to full length resize for all my rifles expecially my AR - 10, 308 WINCHESTER, it does not like just neck sized brass.

But I have also heard that seems to be a generic problem with semi auto rifles.
 
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I think neck sizing should be left to those than can explain exactly why they choose to do it.... I do it for my 7.7 jap and that's it. There are many ways to use a full length die most of them more useful than a neck sizer. If I could afford a custom sizing die for the 7.7 that is the best way to go....
 
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