Wouldn't have thought that a case lube would have made that much differance

[Reloadron]

I’ve been asking around for several years now to try to understand what guys could be doing wrong with Hornady One Shot which yields stuck cases. I lube and size all of my rifle brass with One Shot, for something around 13-14 years now, even including case forming. I rack a hundred or four hundred brass, spray the necks from two sides, dump the racks and tumble for about 30 seconds by shaking the tub - and then immediately start sizing. Hundreds of thousands of rifle rounds, without sticking a case. I wasted time for over a decade before that to clean Lube from cases while using different products like Imperial, Unique, homemade lanolin recipes, Lee, RCBS, and frankly, I just don’t see the productivity in it - it’s a time-sucking process step dictated by choosing the wrong lube products.

I often wonder if the guys which report trouble with One Shot are using the One Shot Gun Cleaner and Lube (black can, red lid) instead of the One Shot Case Lube (red can, black lid). Because otherwise, I really can’t figure out how guys creating failures with the product.

Going to be loading some .308 Winchester in the near future. Guess it's time I bought an aerosol can of One Shot and gave it a try. Some guys like yourself have no problems while others have a nightmare on reloading street.

On a side note all of the RCBS aerosol cans I am using go back to early 90s. They still work fine. I also had a pile of the little RCBS pump sprays and every one of them the alcohol evaporated leaving only a small powdery residue in the plastic pump spray bottles. I kept the little pump spray bottles in case I start rolling my own.

Ron

 

[nettlle]

I'll keep using One Shot for the straight walled pistol brass on my progressive with carbide dies. One shot is easy to apply. But from now on it's Imperial for my rifle brass. When using One Shot the 308 cases were failing my case gauge 100% and the cases were sticking in the chamber. I resized 100 cases tonight withe Imperial and they all passed the case gauge check. No way I would go back to One Shot for 308 in my M1A.

 

[Hugger-4641]

I wonder if different dies just work better with different lube?
Most all my rifle dies are RCBS or Hornady, most of my pistol dies are Lee Carbide.

 

[Charlie98]

I used One Shot on rifle brass for a while, you have to really hose it down with it, and make sure it is dry. If it isn't dry it will be hard to resize.

That... +1.

When I first started using OneShot, I kept sticking cases. Then I read the directions. You have to hose the brass down... making sure you get it all the way down the case to the base... and then go get a cup of coffee or something, a few minutes at least. Then it's resize city.

I sized 350 .348WCF cases this weekend... which can be very difficult to size. No problem with properly applied OneShot.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

That... +1.

When I first started using OneShot, I kept sticking cases. Then I read the directions. You have to hose the brass down... making sure you get it all the way down the case to the base... and then go get a cup of coffee or something, a few minutes at least. Then it's resize city.

I sized 350 .348WCF cases this weekend... which can be very difficult to size. No problem with properly applied OneShot.

I admit I’m a different kind of loader. I use the lube process as a mid-process inspection time. I lube the case and look it over thoroughly in case I missed something before tumbling the brass. Keep in mind, I decap my brass in a separate step so I’ve already handled it twice - once to corn tumble and a second time to decap - then tumbled in walnut before sizing so it’s clean before it goes in the sizing die. I look each one over and make sure it came out of the sizer okay after too. I like to be on a first-name basis with my brass. . I know very few folks who handle even rifle brass that much but, I’m not in a hurry. Life’s just too short to be in a hurry. I’m not racing anybody to the funeral parlor.

 

[doubleh]

I have used the one shot stuff for around twenty years except mine says Cabela's on the bottle. I place my cases in an old aluminum ice tray from long ago and spray them, shake them around some, and spray once more to make sure each is covered. Then I hit them for a few seconds with a cast off hair dryer courtesy of my wife and they are ready to go. No stuck cases plus fast and easy. The only pistol brass I spray is 44 mag simply to reduce stress on my rebuilt shoulder. I even made a shorter lever for my press for the same reason. I no longer reload anything big as I don't shoot anything bigger than 22-250 except for a black powder rifle and I only use the press to slightly flare the case and seat the bullet with that one.

 

[Charlie98]

I even made a shorter lever for my press for the same reason.

A shorter lever would decrease your leverage... increasing the muscle required to work the ram.

 

[Charlie98]

I like to be on a first-name basis with my brass.

I pick and choose.... although I admit, because I segregate all my brass by headstamp, I am at least familiar with ALL my brass... but, for example, I KNOW my .348WCF brass because I work with every single piece, my 5.56mm brass, for example, not so much. I am not cavalier about any of my brass, however.

 

[doubleh]

I'm old and have learned a few things in life and how to use leverage is one of them. I was simply showing that with lube on the 44 mag cases I no longer need the leverage of the longer lever to baby my shoulder. 44 mag brass is tough compared to lesser calibers.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

A shorter lever would decrease your leverage... increasing the muscle required to work the ram.

...but shortening the distance required for the joint in the rotator cuff to travel. Lube decreases effort; a shorter lever decreases movement. It makes sense if you do the movement, even without a press. I can lock my shoulder and lean into the lever without using any more or less muscle if the lever throw is short enough.

 

[Charlie98]

I'm old and have learned a few things in life and how to use leverage is one of them. I was simply showing that with lube on the 44 mag cases I no longer need the leverage of the longer lever to baby my shoulder. 44 mag brass is tough compared to lesser calibers.

I wondered if that wasn't what you meant... but then you also mentioned you size .22-250, which isn't necessarily a high-leverage proposition.

 

[kalielkslayer]

Used the old RCBS pad and lube for years.

Only found 1 shot a couple of years ago. I do everything the same. I lay the cases in a box, spray, shake box, spray again. With rifle cases I’ll spray heavier than pistol cases.

I’ve never waited for the lube to dry thinking the wet lube would coat the inside of the die but the lube is definitely dry before I get very far into my session.

With approximately 4,000 9mm and 2,000 .223 on the progressive, the only stuck case I’ve had was when I forgot to change the baseplate, twice in a row.

With the single stage, approximately 300 22-250 and 200 .243, not a single issue.

For me, 1shot is a miracle product I wish I had found earlier.

 

[ballman6711]

I lay the cases in a box, spray, shake box, spray again.

This is how I use One Shot as well, but only on pistol. I also walk away and do something else for a few minutes while it dries. Works great for me.

chris

 

[doubleh]

I wondered if that wasn't what you meant... but then you also mentioned you size .22-250, which isn't necessarily a high-leverage proposition.

Of course it is a necked case and has to have lube and it isn't difficult. My factory handle just rests in a drawer where it is handy if I ever need it. I even manage to remember which drawer it's in.

 

[BigBlue 94]

Recently used Forster's high pressure lube on some wildcats... 223 necked and formed into 256 WM without annealing. Same with a 22-250 case being necked up to .257". The stuff is super slick, not sticky like the ol pad lubes.

 

[gwpercle]

For tough resizing / reforming jobs ... buy a clean ink pad and a small bottle of STP Oil Treatment .
A bottle of STP is about a lifetime supply . It will work on 303 British cases that have been fired in a Machine Gun ... the cases were so oversized from the machinegun chamber that STP was the only lube that would allow them to go into the die and then be pulled out the die ... that was when they wanted to stick . And I had to FL size the cases twice to get them to chamber in my 303 British Enfield No.4 MK I bolt action rifle .
Soak the ink pad with STP and wipe off excess ,,, lightly roll the brass across the surface ... if the case starts going in the die hard ...stop ... with draw the case and roll on the pad again ... you may get an oil dent but it beats a stuck case Seven Way's to Sunday !
Gary

 

[Ironicaintit]

I feel so naive in that I've been using tubes of Lee lube with zero issue. Put a dab on my thumb, grab a case and give it a twirl between my fingers to apply a light film. I have some Unique too, but the Lee stuff lasts a looong time.

Ive used a 50/50 mix of STP/30w too, and it makes the toughest cases size with ease. It takes but the merest film on the body, and I've never dented a case with it. Wipe it off with a rag, and she's done (the residual lubricity left doesn't scare me)

I do have some Oneshot, but that's only because I want to experiment with different dry lubes in sub-zero temps.

 

[markr6754]

I wasn't convinced that Hornady One Shot spray lube would be enough to resize my rifle brass, so I acquired several tubs (meaning 2 lifetimes) of Unique Case Lube. And then the problems began. Hydraulic dents all over my beautiful 6.8 Rem SPC cases. Never had an issue with 6mm ARC (even converting from 6.5 Grendel), 300 AAC Blackout (including 223/5.56 converts), or .224 Valkyrie. Using the slightest dab on my finger and wiping the entire case with that little dab...dents in every single case.
Went back to Hornady One Shot...zero issues. It sure doesn't take much of a film, not visible to the naked eye, to cause hydraulic dents...and that just sucks.

 

[rdinga]

Imperial sizing wax for rifle, One shot for pistol cases. Press runs much smoother with lubed cases.

ymmv

 

[mmb617]

I feel so naive in that I've been using tubes of Lee lube with zero issue. Put a dab on my thumb, grab a case and give it a twirl between my fingers to apply a light film. I have some Unique too, but the Lee stuff lasts a looong time.

You're preaching to the choir here friend. The Lee lube thinned with water is all I use and I've never had any problems. One tube lasts forever. I lube the cases just as you're described after first swabbing a little inside the neck with a Q-tip.

 

[Ironicaintit]

You're preaching to the choir here friend. The Lee lube thinned with water is all I use and I've never had any problems. One tube lasts forever. I lube the cases just as you're described after first swabbing a little inside the neck with a Q-tip.

I never thought to thin it....
For the necks, I have a small container full of graphite powder that I dip the necks in just before sizing.

 

[FROGO207]

There are as many ways to lube your brass as there are reloaders it seems.

I have tried over a hundred different things to lube my brass with over the many years I have reloaded. The Lee lube, One Shot, Imperial wax, and home made Lanolin mix all worked the best for me. Went to the lanolin mix because OS was expensive. When my current batch of home brew runs out I am going to try using wire pulling lube instead of lanolin. The key to using spray type lubes is coverage. I put my brass in a gallon ZipLoc freezer bag spray a few squirts in, close the bag, massage the brass around well and then dump them in a large container to let the alcohol flash off. Then I get to resizing. Have not stuck a case in forever now. I also use lube on my carbide dies in 30 carbine and 500 S&W cause they are so difficult to size without.

Sorry about the thread drift LOL.

 

[WeekendReloader]

I never thought to thin it....
For the necks, I have a small container full of graphite powder that I dip the necks in just before sizing.

I thin the LEE lube with 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol. I squeeze1oz of lube into 10oz of alcohol and shake it until it dissolves. This mixture goes into a spray bottle. Just give it a shake to mix before use. A spritz or two lubes the cases well. The alcohol evaporates off quickly and leaves the wax lube behind on the case. I use a hair dryer to speed the drying process.
No need to clean the lube off after sizing.

I've been using this for years for rifle and pistol and I'm still on the same tube of LEE lube.

 

[kennedy]

Lee lube for me, squeeze some out in a bowl, add water, mix well, pour in large baggy, pour in rifle rds, shake it like shake and bake, spread out on newspaper until dry, size, then use your wifes favorite towel and wipe off the lube.

 

[ballman6711]

then use your wifes favorite towel and wipe off the lube.