Delubing loaded pistol brass

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Topgunner

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In the course of generating several hundred rounds of 357 Sig, I thought that there has to be a better way to remove the case lube from the rounds than wiping, since you're not supposed to tumble loaded ammo.

I think there might be a way to very gently and briefly rotary tumble or stir the ammo with some sort of media that would effectively degrease the ammo without endangering the primers or the powder.

Until that way is found, I think I could set up a separate toolhead to deprime and resize the brass, and then clean the deprimed brass. Anyone have experience with lube dies? My GF is allergic to lanolin, which is what the spray case lubes seem to be. I might just dilute the RCBS case lube and put it in a spray bottle...
Then I could just reload the clean, degreased brass.

Still getting the hang of this, but I'm gettin' there . . .

Topgunner
 
After many battles on the battle field of tumbling loaded cases. The consenses seems to be on the side of "Go ahead and tumble those loaded cases". I will not argue with them this time as I haven't seen the tests that a member was supposed to post. But go ahead and do it...;) It should not have any effect if you don't tumble them any more then necessary to remove the lube...:scrutiny:
 
Because

"[W]hy would [you] need to do so? Why don't you lube resize and flair [sic] you're [sic] cases THEN tumble prime charge and seat bullets?"

Because anyone who's loading pistol ammo is almost certainly doing it in sufficient volume to warrant use of a progressive press, which primes at the sizing/depriming station. Interrupting that process is exceedingly awkward and inefficient.
 
Right

Actually, it primes just after the sizing/depriming station.

That's what I sensed when I first started trying to figure out the whole reloading process. Slower, more awkward schemes are fine if you're wringing out all the accuracy you can from a rifle. You're probably weighing and measuring everything every step of the way anyway, so a few more steps hardly effect anything.

When reloading 5000 rounds of 357 sig or bulk rifle ammo (.223, 7.62 x 39, 0.308, 30-06, 8 x 57) it becomes a bit more of an issue.
 
I've heard that you shouldn't tumble loaded rounds, but I'm guessing that would have something to do with the structure and coating of the powder granules. If they aren't significantly affected (broken, coating removed, etc.) by tumbling, it should be okay. (Just guessing that a short run in a tumbler shouldn't be a problem -- we're not talking about running the tumbler for hours here.

As to the carbide dies, (again, not from experience, just remembering some manufacturer's explanation) I think that bottle-neck cases require lubing whether the dies are carbide/nitride-coated or not, as that coating is in a ring near the mouth of the die, and not applied to the entire inner surface.

If you WANTED to, I suppose you could use a progressive press, taking two passes through the machine: (1) lube, size/deprime, expand (or do this on the second pass); tumble lube off; (2) prime, (expand, if not done on first pass), charge, seat, crimp. If you do this, it might be a good idea to check for plugged flashholes, or leave a decapping die in the sizing station to punch out any left over media.
 
Do they not make carbide dies for .357 sig?
Click to expand...
No because it is a bottlenecked cartridge.


since you're not supposed to tumble loaded ammo
Click to expand...
ßú||$h¡t

Go ahead and tumble your loaded ammo. How the heck to you think some of the big 100+ year old ammo companies get their ammo to look so nice?

I just wish this asinine, moronic, stupid, MYTH of tumblers degrading powder would go away.
 
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Bluesbear...tell us what you really think...okay? :D


I too hope for the myth of tumbing live ammo and such would go away...I have done it for my stuff and it came out looking and shooting mighty fine.


D
 
Delubing brass

Give Lee resizing lube a try.A little goes a long way,oderless non allergic,this stuff is fantastic.I've often wondered if I should bother wiping it off.
 
Topgunner, I will start reloading .357 Sig as soon as I get dies. To get away from lube, I read you can resize and deprime with a carbide .40 die, than run it through the .357 to size the neck and allready sized case so you dont need lube. I read it on the Midway site looking up lee dies, reading the product reviews. Hope this works! JDGray
 
If you're going to shoot these loads in the same gun why not try a partial full length resize with the sig dies.This is like neck sizing a rifle round using a full length die.Adjust the full length die to were the case body almost touches the die.I still lube for full resize(white wax lube) and mica on the case mouth.Makes for a very concentric in line with the bore load.Works great in my Python only one chamber is a little tight, but I can live with that when they'll hit paper at 200 meters.
 
Full length resizing has generally always been recommended for ammunition used in autoloading firearms.
re: neck sizing - since the .357SIG is essentially straight below the shoulder the die will still have contact. All you will do is not correctly set the shoulder.


Using the .40 and then the .357SIG die trick might work IF the .357SIG die isn't too tight at the base. If it is then you're going to have the same problem.
And in a progressive press you've used up another station.

Run it through the press and then remove the lube after all is said and done.
You should always inspect your ammo anyway and wiping it off with a towel can serve a dual purpose.

Or you can go ahead and tumble it.
 
Switch to Hornady One Shot and leave the lube on the cases, it won't attract grit and won't hurt anything else.
 
I know that people will think this is strange. It works however.

I resize 357 SIG with one of those little Lee hand presses. I use green soap for a lube. A little dab'll do ya! (Showing my age). I usually resize sitting on the deck, watching the world go by.

Then I wash the cases in hot water. After drying, I can re-prime watching TV, (sounds like a Lee commercial, I know). Then, I seat the bullets on my old RCBS single stage press. That way I get to examine the powder level in each case.

Not as fast as a progressive loader, but part of the process is combined with more enjoyable activities. When the powder can comes out, I forget everything else and concentrate on loading.

I like to resize and decap outdoors, because of the primer residue, but if I am using new brass, the whole process can be done inside. You can load a large volume with this method, and have a high quality reload, with a minimal investment in tools.

Yes, I understand it is not fast enough for some. It works for me, very relaxing.
 
Quote"Do they not make carbide dies for .357 sig?
No because it is a bottlenecked cartridge.
Click to expand...

Incorrect. Dillon makes carbide dies for the 357 Sig and 223. In both cases, you are required to lube the cases before using them.

http://dillonprecision.com/template/p.cfm?maj=46&min=0&dyn=1&

I have a set but replaced the crimp die with a Lee FCD. Like it much better.

Since Bushmaster made reference to the tumbling experiment I promised, I'm happy to report the first of 3 test groups is going on its second day of tumbling right now. I just finished loading the N340 rounds and am working on imputing variance data for the rounds right now. I took samples of the brass, bullet, and cartridge parametrics and will make a couple nice graphs showing the parameter statistics as well.

Yes, the process is slow, but ich studiere jetzt am abends Deustch. Meine Freizeit ist sehr beschränkt denn meine Arbeit ist zu viel. Verzeihung!
 
Technically correct, but since the cases still have to be lubed, they are not the same as traditional carbide dies.

When the average person says "carbide die" what they really mean is "a sizing die that doesn't need lube".
 
JDGray said:
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=736431 Read the reviews under the five stars. Im gonna try it! JDGray
Click to expand...
If you're talking about the reviews where they say they're forming 357 sig from 40 S&W, don't do it! You end up with a too short case and the 357 sig is a higher pressure round than a 40, so you could blow a case!

If you mean using a 40 S&W die to size the body, then the steel lee die to size the neck/shoulder, that sounds like it would work.
 
Reaching conclusions based on a false premise is exactly like the old computer geek saying, "Garbage in, garbage out."

Anybody who's ever watched the mixing action of a vibratory tumbler would have to know that there's no possibility of detonation. You only need to run the loaded, lubed cartridges through the media for four or five minutes. Nothing is going to happen to the structure of the powder in four or five minutes. All commercial reloaders "tumble" loaded ammo.
 
I dont think forming brass is a good idea. The resizing trick is a good idea, if it works :) JDGray
 
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