What sizing lube do you use?

[Branden967]

I was reloading some .223 and the cases were stopping about 1/2 the way up in sizing die. I was using Hornday's spray case lube but I think that was making things worse. I broke down and put a couple of drops of motor oil the die and the case and that seemed to work.

I was thinking of buying some "Hornady Unique Case Lube 4 oz Tub".

What do you guys recommend?

 

[johnjohn]

Imperial sizing wax.

 

[blarby]

Lee case lube on an rcbs case lube mat works for me.

 

[jcwit]

Imperial or Mink Oil for rifle cases. Unique is good to.

 

[Branden967]

Is there a down side to just using motor oil? Other than it makes a mess, and you probably have to tumble the case's before you load them?

 

[jcwit]

Don't know of any downside, just clean things up, heck I even clean cases using the lubes I mentioned earlier.

 

[cfullgraf]

Is there a down side to just using motor oil? Other than it makes a mess, and you probably have to tumble the case's before you load them?

Motor oil is not optimized as a metal drawing lubricant but that said, folks use it.

Proper case lubricant cleans up pretty easily and is designed for the task. It is used sparingly and lasts a loooooooong time.

In 30 years of reloading, I am on my second bottle of RCBS case lubricant. I have a tin of Imperial sizing wax that is 15 or so years old. Not like either of those will break the bank when I finally need to buy more. Of course, usage will depend upon how much one reloads. i process several thousand rifle cartridges a year that require lubricating when resizing.

On the other hand, I have dabbled with spray lubricant and in my mind is not very efficient or cost effective. It goes pretty quick so once I have used up my supply, I will probably not buy any more.

 

[Pendy]

Burt's Bees lip balm, stick form. No messy fingers and easy to wipe off.

 

[Walkalong]

RCBS Case Lube II and Imperial Sizing Die Wax.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Imperial all the way. I tried the pads and the spray lube. Hate em both. The Imperial wax is awesome. I'll never use anything else. I think the Unique is made by Imperial so it's probably the same stuff.

 

[Pat M]

Lee Lube with the finger on the outside of the case, q-tip on the inside of the case neck.

 

[kennedy]

lee lube, dilute with water, put some in a baggy, fill with cases and shake, spread out on a newspaper and let dry. after sizing, use a towel to wipe off lube.

 

[R.W.Dale]

I use weld-aid brand lubematic wire lube.

It's a liquid lube we use at work to lubricate the wire through the liners on wire fed welders. WORKS AWESOME! when applied to a lube pad.


I've used PAM with great results too but got away from the stuff due to the gummy mess it leaves in the top of my dies


Tapatalk post via IPhone.

 

[Palehorseman]

STP, all have used for many years.

 

[Caddisflied]

I've never had any problems using Lyman case lube with lube pad.
As cfullgraf mentioned, a little goes a long way.
It's easy to overdo it with that stuff.
I use just enough to keep the pad moist, a few drops once in while.

 

[ROCKMAN 308]

I use the hornady tub as well works very good no stuck cases and fingers clean up with reg soap/water

 

[BADUNAME37]

RCBS on a large RCBS lube pad.

I carefully lay out about 30 cases on the pad in two or more rows then roll them all back and forth once or twice and resize them taking them right off the pad. If I see that the shoulder on a rifle case is crunched a bit from a bit too much lube, I will then throw a 'dry' case into the sizing die to take up some of the extra lube.

Doing this, though, you must be cautious, as sometimes there is not quite enough lube for the dry case at which point I must immediately STOP and back her down as I know if I ram the thing home, I will be having to use my stuck-case removal tool, and I DON'T LIKE having to use that as it takes away from all the time I was saving!

 

[DM~]

There was a time in my life when i was heavy into wildcatting all kinds of old and new cartridges. I've made/formed thousands of cartridges, and i never found anything better than Imperial Sizeing Die Wax. These days it's all i will use...

DM

 

[subman47]

Imperial sizing wax

 

[Branden967]

Awesome replies, thanks guys. I was using Hornady's spray case lube.....and after 2 stuck cases Im over it.

 

[Pat M]

I'll add that after trimming the cases with my electric drill, I spin them in a rag to take off any residue and saves me the trouble of tumbling them again. Works for me.

 

[jcwit]

I'll add that after trimming the cases with my electric drill, I spin them in a rag to take off any residue and saves me the trouble of tumbling them again. Works for me.

Best way to do it. If you used your tumbler to clean the lube off you'd find that the media will gum up, for lack of a better term.

 

[HOWARD J]

Lee lube on 30 carbine & rifle cases

 

[Whiskey11]

Guess I'm going to be the strange one. When I do FL size my rifle brass, Hornady One Shot sprayed liberally into a baggy or a plastic container with a lid, shake around, apply a little more one shot, shake some more, take lid off container, let sit for a few minutes, go to town on resizing. I've had two stuck cases using this method and both where because I got excited and didn't let the lube dry first. What happened was the lube dried in the die, like a glue... Thank god for Lee's collet design on their resizing pins.

Prior to that I used a tube of the Lee sizing grease, hated every minute of the stuff.

Pistols ammo I don't even run with any grease or lube. Thank God for .45 ACP and Carbide dies

 

[jb27]

+ whatever for Imperial Wax.