There are far, far, less mechanisms requiring lubed cases than there were around 1900, but there are legacy cartridges from that era. One of the oldest is the 22 LR. Cheaper 22LR is covered with a wax from bullet tip to rim, that wax melts under the temperatures and pressures of combustion. The better, more expensive 22 LR, it is greasy from bullet tip to rim. Go out and buy a box of SK Standard Plus, Rifle Match, Eley Tennex, and feel the cartridges.
According to George Frost, in his book, Making Ammunition, aluminum case ammunition, the stuff sold as "Blazer" is coated with a wax to break the friction between case and chamber, just exactly as Pedersen did with his ammunition. Without the wax extraction forces would be increased. And just as Hatcher stated, you don't know that it is on the case. I am of the opinion that most of the factory ammunition I have is coated with a wax substance to keep the stuff shiny and bright on the shelf.
The FN 5.7 round is lubricated. Due to the histrionics that FN would have to put up with from the American shooting community if they said the round was lubricated, they call it a "polymer" coating. I think it is a combination of teflon and wax. By the way, grease is a polymer, oil is a polymer, wax is a polymer, telfon is a polymer. There are lots of things out there that are polymers. The general public is unable to make the connection between lubricants and polymers so FN is not lying, they are just relying on ignorance and lack of curiosity to keep the idiots happy in their delusions.
http://www.dayattherange.com/?page_id=3297
Journey Of Reloading The 5.7x28mm
The first thing to pay attention to is that the 5.7x28mm platforms are are blow-back operation. To facilitate this mechanism the cases are coated in a super-ultra-mega-secret-concoction of dry film lubricant. (Many attempts have been made to duplicate this coating and no one has been able to successfully do so, to the best of my knowledge.
Regardless, that coating has to be restored if the round is reloaded. I am of the opinion that some of the Kaboom's attributed to out of battery firing are infact, reloaded cases ripped apart because of insufficient lubricant. This round is a rather high pressure round, and a number of Kaboom's are also due to high pressure, but if the case lubricant is removed, the gun won't function.
Generally the mechanisms that required active lubrication of oils and greases have been superseded by chamber flutes. Chamber flutes reduce the part count and don't require an oil reservoir. Nor do they require pre greasing, as was done with the Oerlikon 20mm machine cannon. And then, grease attracts dirt which will score the chamber and barrel. But trillions of greased rounds were fired by the British, Americans, Germans, and maybe the Japanese. The big, rapid firing WW2 machine guns used on planes and ships tended to use greased rounds until the Russians came up with chamber flutes.
Ordnance Pamphlet 911, page 105
http://archive.hnsa.org/doc/gun20mm/part4.htm#pg105
ORDNANCE PAMPHLET NO. 911
20 mm. A.A. GUN
20 MM. MACHINE GUN MECHANISMS MARKS 2 AND 4
20 MM. GUN BARRELS MARKS 2, 3, 4, AND 4 MOD. 1
20 MM. SIGHTS MARKS 2, 4, 4 MOD. 1, AND 5
20 MM. MAGAZINES MARKS 2 AND 4
20 MM. SHOULDER RESTS MARKS 2, 4, 5 AND 5 MOD. 1
DESCRIPTION
MARCH, 1943
GREASING AMMUNITION
All 20 mm. A.A. Mark 2 and Mark 4 ammunition MUST BE COMPLETELY COVERED WITH A LIGHT COAT OF MINERAL GREASE BEFORE BEING LOADED INTO THE MAGAZINE.
The ammunition is usually packed greased. However, this grease tends to dry off. Whether cartridges are packed greased or not, they should be regreased before loading the magazine.
NOTE-A small amount of mineral grease, applied shortly before firing, to the cartridge case that is visible in the magazine mouthpiece, will assist in preventing a jam in the gun barrel.
Dry ammunition or ammunition with insufficient grease will jam in the gun chamber when fired and extraction will be very difficult, if not impossible. See Page 110 for use of torn cartridge extractor.
106
NOTE-Oil must not be used as a substitute for mineral grease.
Sufficient grease should be present on all cartridge cases to be easily felt by the fingers. An excess should be avoided.
CAUTION-Do not grease the rear end of the cartridge cases as the grease has a tendency to percolate inward past the percussion cap. NEVER USE OIL.
Of course the public has forgotten the 20 mm Oerlikon. This was a blow back cannon, used by the Navy from WW2 all the way through Vietnam. The majority of the shooting community knows very little of the history of firearms. One reference states that 150,000 of the things were made and were in service during WW2. MG Hatcher should have been very familiar with the things as they were in all Army Air Corp fighter planes (with cannons) and his Ordnance Department bought the things. The WW2 era cannons required greased ammunition to function or it would rip the case in half.
You can see at exactly 2:14 on this WW2 video a Sailor’s hand painting grease on the 20 mm ammunition loading machine for the Oerlikon anti aircraft machine guns.
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=9dR3h2HdnBQ
