Dillon/FA/alcohol & lanolin case lube

[CMV]

Switching to this for large batch of 223 & will be sizing with either RCBS small base or Lee die - most likely the RCBS SB.

I've read that lots of people like to use this type lube by putting brass in a 2 gal ziplock, spraying in a little lube, then closing bag & working the bag to distribute the lube everywhere. And I see lots of recommendations for that.

But my concern is - esp with the RCBS SB sizing die - is lube dents. It is way more sensitive than my Lee sizing die as far as lube dents go. But either will easily dent with too much lube, esp at the shoulder. So that method sounds great, but also sounds like it's going to coat the shoulders as much as anywhere else.

I use the Hornady Unique now and like it. Just keeping some on my fingertips usually keeps cases lubed well enough without overdoing it. However, with the case feeder now I won't be handling the brass like before. Could still use that lube, but will be a lot more time to apply it, and a faster method like coating palms & acting like I'm mixing dough will probably put too much on some. Since I've never used the alcohol/lanolin spritz not sure what to expect or if lube dents are a concern with it.

 

[Galil5.56]

Have used the Dillon lube for a long while, and like it well. Never have tried the bag trick - I just spritz on the cases laying on a lube pad, and done. Does not take much, and the die seems to retain the lubricant pretty well... Too well if you go overboard, where a gob of it will hang up near the portion of the die where the shoulder makes contact, and dents can happen. Go sparingly, and I think any concerns of dents won't materialize. Good luck.

 

[Riccochet]

I do the bag method. Spray it in, shake it and massage it, dump in to a bin to dry. The coating is so thin you shouldn't get dented shoulders. After I run a batch through a Lee FLSD I throw a rag under the die and spray brake cleaner in there to clean it out. Found if I don't clean the die it can lead to dents, stuck cases and more force required to resize. I also mix my own lube at 10:1 alcohol to lanolin.

 

[doubleh]

Although not Dillion branded I've used spray lube for many years. I've never had a lube dent with it using RCBS and Lee dies. I use an aluminum pan courtesy of my wife deciding she no longer needed it in her kitchen. Lay the brass in it, spray, wait a bit, shake the pan to roll the brass around, then give them another squirt. No stuck cases.

 

[Whiterook808]

The trick is to let it dry before you start resizing them. I move the cases to loading blocks to dry after treating them in the bag. This allows air circulation on the entire case and I can lube the necks with a q-tip while they are drying.

 

[Blue68f100]

For 223/556 I use Hornady OneShot when using my AP, for it does not need to be cleaned off. I use Imperial all other times. I do have the spray lanalon lube but very seldom use it. Works goo just a lot heavier lube than I prefer. I also need to reset my sizing dies if I use it due to a thicker film.

 

[edwardware]

I prefer to get a smidge of lube into the neck on at least 50% of cases. . . so I rack them stamp-up in a reloading tray, flip them into a pan standing up, and spray necks and mouths first. Then knock them over, and rattle around while spraying bodies.

Never had lube dents with this method, but then again I've never seen a problem for which a SB Die was a solution.

 

[CMV]

Big aluminum trays donated by mrs CMV - i have a few of those Those things are so handy!

I've read that about let them dry & the alcohol to evaporate. Plan to do that.

Will see how it goes. Was just concerned about getting dents since in general I use bare amount of lube and am careful not to let it up close to shoulder, so this would be a bit different since I can't control where it goes. Glad to hear it doesn't seem to be a big issue.

 

[CMV]

I prefer to get a smidge of lube into the neck on at least 50% of cases. . . so I rack them stamp-up in a reloading tray, flip them into a pan standing up, and spray necks and mouths first. Then knock them over, and rattle around while spraying bodies.

Never had lube dents with this method, but then again I've never seen a problem for which a SB Die was a solution.

Me either really on the SB die.....stuff from my plain old Lee ones seems fine. But I have a dozen ARs, a .223 bolt gun, & don't mind sharing a handful of rounds with range guests if needed. So just in case, figure it best to use the SB die so my ammo will just run in anything. If it really does anything to help with that I have no idea. Also saw a lot of guys recommending it to size LC brass prior to cutting down & forming into 300BLK. Again, if it matters/helps at all in that application I have no idea, but bought it for that. Since I have it, use it for general range ammo too....just in case it does have some benefit. It does tend to dent easier, so that alone could be reason to not use it if that becomes an issue.

 

[edwardware]

@CMV : You know, that's actually the best reason I've ever heard for an SB die. Most SB die discussions I see seem to point to lousy press setup, and the SB is just a bandaid.

I'm curious to know if you've measured a reduction in case life.

 

[Galil5.56]

I did the SB die thing for 30/06 for similar reasons... But a bit more wacky.

To make a few extra bucks as a kid in HS, I reloaded ammo for friends/family, etc in 06 and 30/30, and business was good in W. PA, esp around deer hunting season. Look, I know now the error of my ways, and did even back then (1983) when I ended my short stint as a *professional* ammo maker, after I spoke to an attorney. No joke, it was one of those free call to a lawyer type deals and he advised I close up shop... So back to the SB situation of loading for a lot of 'strange' rifles, I figured SB dies would be best, and as it turns out I don't recall a single complaint of ammo not clambering, especially from friends who shot an M1 for fun. Not used as a crutch for bad technique, or any other BS; they simply worked.

Wow, looking back I was slinging ammo in the cafeteria before classes for God's sake... Can you imagine doing this today - Damn near a SWAT team action nowadays, but all of us kids hunted, had firearms in vehicles, walked around with hunting rifles and shotguns after school like kids do today with cell phones... No one gave a damn, and it was normal. *SIGH*, I miss the America I grew up in.

 

[CMV]

@CMV : You know, that's actually the best reason I've ever heard for an SB die. Most SB die discussions I see seem to point to lousy press setup, and the SB is just a bandaid.

I'm curious to know if you've measured a reduction in case life.

I can't measure this. I have a stream of new 1x brass since I supplement my reloading with factory ammo at times. Also invite guests to my range, so they're contributing new brass sometimes. Varies how much I shoot, but not uncommon to go thru a 30cal ammo can of .223 in a month. So i have no idea how many times a piece of brass has been loaded. In general though, if I'm discarding .223 brass it's a split neck. Otherwise I stepped on it, ran it over with the tractor, bush hog caught it, etc. I'm more likely to simply lose it before wearing it out. I don't think I have much brass with more than probably 7 reloads on it - and not all that was with the SB sizing die.

 

[cougar1717]

Anytime lube is put on the shoulder of a case, a little will stick on the part of the die that touches the shoulder. There are varying round counts and film thicknesses, but at some point, the die will cause lube dents when enough lube is transferred to the die. All that is required is to clean the die (with various methods). For most, taking less than 5 minutes to clean the sizing die is a small price to pay for the time savings of lubing rifle cases in large batches.

 

[jmorris]

Switching to this for large batch of 223...

Let the Dillon lube “flash” or “dry”.

I would also avoid running a huge amount of brass through right off the bat. IIRC you are having some teething pains with the new press, better to not mess up a large quantity of brass in one sitting.

 

[CMV]

it worked really well. Apparently my initial thought of "that's about enough" was correct. Nothing stuck, no lube dents except a couple tiny ones here & there. I let it dry overnight - just because I happened to be at a point to do it later at night.

 

[jmorris]

You don’t need to wait that long, a minute or two is plenty. I use a bankers box lid and squirt a batch and shake. Let it sit while I am loading what’s in the collator. When needed, dump in the collator and repeat.

 

[CMV]

Only waited that long because it was later in the evening It was easy to tell when it was dry.

I tried angling a bunch so I could get inside the case mouths with the pump spray mist. I didn't like the feel of that in sizing die so went back to a dab of the Unique lube in the mouths for 1 out of 10 like I had done previously and it felt a little better sizing like that. Is this stuff acceptable for inside mouths too? If so, just spraying ok or does it need a more deliberate application like a q-tip?

 

[SCC]

I use the bag method for pistol brass. 2 squirts in the bag then press it flat and rub to distribute the lube in the bag and eliminate any droplets. Then add 1 quart of tumbled 9mm brass still with old primers, press the bag flat again, seal and rub/roll them around for a bit. This results in minimal lube getting inside the cases which will be going straight to the press. Finished rounds are tumbled to remove the lube.

For rifle I just dump the cases in a large plastic bin, spray them with a bunch of lube and stir them around with my hand. This gets some lube in the necks of most cases. Then off to the press for sizing and decapping. The lube gets washed off with simple green in hot water before the brass goes to the tumbler for a polish. Haven't noticed any denting on .223.

My lube mix is 6ml lanolin per 100ml of isopropanol.

I just realized that the above sound like cake recipes.

 

[cfullgraf]

I use a quart Zip Loc storage container to lubricate my cases in. In terms of rifle, I have only used lanolin/alcohol lube on 223 Remington and 204 Ruger cases. (I use alcohol/lanolin alot with handgun cases)

I spread the cases out on a tray to "dry" while I am setting up the press.

To minimize the chance of lube dents in the cases, I wipe my fingers over the neck and shoulder of the case. Seems to keep dents at a minimum.

I use small base dies with all my cases that are used in semi-auto rifles. It is a small insurance factor that the cases will chamber in my rifles. Dies are set up properly. For cases fired in my rifles, it is probably over kill except where I have multiple rifles chambered in the same cartridge.

I have two AR-15's chambered in 223 Remington and cases fired in one of the rifles and resized in a standard resizing die will not chamber in the other rifle.

I see no difference in the occurrence of lube dents between using standard sizing dies and small base dies.

I have not tried alcohol/lanolin lubricant on any rifle cases larger than 223 Remington. At some point I will but not currently.

 

[DukeConnor]

for 5.56 and other high volume loading, I throw about 500 in a box, spritz, mix, spritz, mix ,spritz, mix and let dry. then toss them in the case feeder and crank.

 

[lightman]

I'm another that uses a ZipLoc bag. I think I use the gallon size. Lube dents have not been a problem. Many different calibers and both Redding and RCBS dies.

About the small base die discussion. If I remember correctly RCBS recommended small base dies when loading for such rifles as the BAR, BLR and maybe the Savage 99. I've found them useful for the first sizing of some really sloppy military brass for the first loading. I never needed them for Remington 742's, Winchester 100's, M1-A's, M1's, H&K's or AR's. There is such a small difference between regular fl dies and sb dies that it probably don't matter very much.

 

[Dudedog]

I toss the cases in an old plastic bowl, squirt a couple times, stir, wait a bit then load.
In the summer when it's 110 a bit is about a couple minutes.

 

[Skipmeok]

I use the lanolin/alcohol method all the time and have for years, 9mm, 223, 6mm Creedmoor, and 308. Make sure your alcohol is 99% as it dries faster. I spread my cases into one of those large turkey tin foil pans...spray with the mixture and walk away for about 5 minutes. When I come back the cases are all dried off and ready for the resizing process. Check them in the case gauge for proper length and trim if needed. If a case gets trimmed, it then goes into the annealer, resized, then tumble them for a few minutes to remove some of the lanolin, then prime, add powder, a bullet and the round is ready.

Happy and safe reloading
Skip