ArkansasFatboy
Member
Guys should I lube my .45 cases when I resize and deprime I have herd yes from one friend and no you don't have to from another so what do I do I'm new to this and I don't want to mess up my brass or dies
Lubing .45acp cases
- Thread starter ArkansasFatboy
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Sheldon
Member
If you have steel dies you need to lube, but with carbide dies you don't have to. You can use lube with the carbide dies if you want to and it will make it easier, but the mess is not worth it to me.
The-Fly
Member
i'd recommend lubing anyways. With Hornady one-shot lube, you just spray the brass, wait 30 secs or so for it to dry, then load away. No need to do anything fancy with it.
huntershooter
Member
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2005
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I use Hornady "one shot" on virgin brass only. It's a lot easier.
wolfe28
Member
Lube some, but not all.
I reload 45 ACP on RCBS carbide dies, and I lube about 10 cases out of every 50 or so. Due to the size of the 45 brass, even with carbide dies, there will be a decent amount of pressure required to resize the brass. So, I will lube a few cases, resize one of those, and then go with unlubed brass for a while, and when the resistance increases, I go with another lubed case. Mind you, I'm doing all my reloading on a single stage press, but I have found that one lubed case will leave just enough lube on the dies to make resizing 5-10 unlubed cases fairly easy.
D
I reload 45 ACP on RCBS carbide dies, and I lube about 10 cases out of every 50 or so. Due to the size of the 45 brass, even with carbide dies, there will be a decent amount of pressure required to resize the brass. So, I will lube a few cases, resize one of those, and then go with unlubed brass for a while, and when the resistance increases, I go with another lubed case. Mind you, I'm doing all my reloading on a single stage press, but I have found that one lubed case will leave just enough lube on the dies to make resizing 5-10 unlubed cases fairly easy.
D
I think that the slickest dies out there are the Redding Titanium Carbide dies in 45ACP. I notice consderable effort difference between them and Dillon Carbide 45ACP dies that is why sold them and got the Reddng Pro Series for use on the 550.
I sneak a lubed case into the production runs of 9mm ammo every so often, but I do not when loading 45ACP. I think the effor required to size cases depends on the platform the case was fired in.
One some of the competitive forums reloader use Hornady One Shot to lube all the cases run through 650's or 550's or 1050. Just makes the ease of operation better.
I sneak a lubed case into the production runs of 9mm ammo every so often, but I do not when loading 45ACP. I think the effor required to size cases depends on the platform the case was fired in.
One some of the competitive forums reloader use Hornady One Shot to lube all the cases run through 650's or 550's or 1050. Just makes the ease of operation better.
The Bushmaster
Member
If you have resizing/decapping dies that do not require lube on the case. Why lube them. You'll only have to clean the lube off before you load them. And that goes for One Shot too. So why add two steps that are not necessary.
Jim Watson
Member
I agree with huntershooter. A very light spritz of spray lube on new or chemically cleaned cases will run them through a carbide sizing die a lot easier. It is not necessary or even much help on used brass unless you tumble it very bright or chemically clean them. Which I don't.
Ben Shepherd
Member
Bushmaster:
Here's why I do it that way.
Dies and presses live longer due to less friction/effort in the resizing step.
A light quirt of hornady one-shot while all the cases are laying on a cookie sheet. Then into the case feeder, or into the case holding block. Go through all the steps of reloading.
Then all the loaded rounds go into a dedicated tumbler for a 10-15 minute run to remove all lube(with with the one shot it is such a tiny amount it isn't really needed), fingerprints, etc. Now all the clean rounds are seperated with gloved hands into the ammo boxes/cans for storage.
Here's why I do it that way.
Dies and presses live longer due to less friction/effort in the resizing step.
A light quirt of hornady one-shot while all the cases are laying on a cookie sheet. Then into the case feeder, or into the case holding block. Go through all the steps of reloading.
Then all the loaded rounds go into a dedicated tumbler for a 10-15 minute run to remove all lube(with with the one shot it is such a tiny amount it isn't really needed), fingerprints, etc. Now all the clean rounds are seperated with gloved hands into the ammo boxes/cans for storage.
The Bushmaster
Member
Ben,
Yes. Some people lube straight wall cases. The most common reasons are to ease press operations and to extend the life of their dies. I'm a little guy at 140 lbs and almost 64 (this month). I have no problem squeezing my revolver and pistol cases down to size without lube on them using my Lee turret and my Lee carbide dies which, for the most part, are 20 years old and show no wear. I do tumble the cases for 15 to 20 minutes before I resize them though. Incidently I prefer moderate to hot loads. I have a can of One Shot and it seems to work on my .30-30 cases but not on my .30-06 cases (I hate cases that are stuck in my dies:banghead: ). However, I did find a use for that can of One Shot. It works real good on my wife's noisy rocking chair.
I will continue to use my RCBS lube pad for rifle cases.
Good to see ya out there, Ben .
Mike
Yes. Some people lube straight wall cases. The most common reasons are to ease press operations and to extend the life of their dies. I'm a little guy at 140 lbs and almost 64 (this month). I have no problem squeezing my revolver and pistol cases down to size without lube on them using my Lee turret and my Lee carbide dies which, for the most part, are 20 years old and show no wear. I do tumble the cases for 15 to 20 minutes before I resize them though. Incidently I prefer moderate to hot loads. I have a can of One Shot and it seems to work on my .30-30 cases but not on my .30-06 cases (I hate cases that are stuck in my dies:banghead: ). However, I did find a use for that can of One Shot. It works real good on my wife's noisy rocking chair.
I will continue to use my RCBS lube pad for rifle cases.Good to see ya out there, Ben
.Mike
Ben Shepherd
Member
Bushmaster:
One shot doesn't work well on bottleck calibers, like you say, BUT:
Try the dillon spray lube on bottleneck cases(try it just once, and you'll only use your lube pad for nastalgias sake, I promise). Works well. Also much less wipe down needed then with a lube pad. And it's so much faster than the lube pad method it's ridiculous.
One shot doesn't work well on bottleck calibers, like you say, BUT:
Try the dillon spray lube on bottleneck cases(try it just once, and you'll only use your lube pad for nastalgias sake, I promise). Works well. Also much less wipe down needed then with a lube pad. And it's so much faster than the lube pad method it's ridiculous.
Lube & Carbide Dies
I've loaded thousands of .45 cases without lubeing. For years it was a RCBS Carbide die and when Midway had the .45 Redding Titanium Carbide dies on sale so I tried them. They are slicker than regular carbide. I bought them for 9mm & .40 S&W also.
My Hornady nitrided die in 9mm wore out in about 1500 rounds. The nitride just wore off. Replaced it with a Lee Carbide die which I used for years before recently replacing with the Redding recently which I really like.
9mm is tougher on dies and brass as it is a tapered case.
I don't lube any pistol cases when using carbide dies, but it doesn't hurt a thing if you do.
Tumble & clean the brass well and make sure your dies are clean.
I've loaded thousands of .45 cases without lubeing. For years it was a RCBS Carbide die and when Midway had the .45 Redding Titanium Carbide dies on sale so I tried them. They are slicker than regular carbide. I bought them for 9mm & .40 S&W also.
My Hornady nitrided die in 9mm wore out in about 1500 rounds. The nitride just wore off. Replaced it with a Lee Carbide die which I used for years before recently replacing with the Redding recently which I really like.
9mm is tougher on dies and brass as it is a tapered case.
I don't lube any pistol cases when using carbide dies, but it doesn't hurt a thing if you do.
Tumble & clean the brass well and make sure your dies are clean.
The Bushmaster
Member
There is something to say about Lee dies. Bought a 9mm X 19 Firestar and 9mm Lee die set in 1992 and have been feeding that Firestar a steady diet of 115 grain JHP every time I go to the range and now at my own private range (out my back door). Neither one, the pistol nor the dies, have worn out yet. Not to mention the extra 10,000 resized and cleaned 9mm cases set aside in storage. Not to mention all the .45 ACP, .38 Spec, 357 mag that I have loaded plus the extra cases set aside in storage for each calibre for the last 20 years. And you say the expensive dies wear out? 
I have yet to replace any of my Lee die sets. WOW!!!
The only cases that I lube are rifle bottlenecks.
Ben,
When I see or get a chance I'll try the Dillon spray lube. Rather difficult to get a lot of products here in the backwoods of Missouri.
I have yet to replace any of my Lee die sets. WOW!!!The only cases that I lube are rifle bottlenecks.
Ben,
When I see or get a chance I'll try the Dillon spray lube. Rather difficult to get a lot of products here in the backwoods of Missouri.
Ben Shepherd
Member
Bushmaster-check PMs please.
The Bushmaster
Member
Ben-Check PM's please, too
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