Lubing the inside of case necks

[Alpha1]

I dip my case mouths in graphite powder before resizing then clean the inside of the neck with a brush.
I would never lube a bullit before seating.

[1066]

Inside neck should be lubed for resizing with the point off cleaning it off afterwards is ensure CONSISTENT neck tension on the bullet.

Having some or a little lube on inside or even adding more creates a variable that cannot contribute to consistency

Read the manuals and they specifically state it should not be lubricated

How do you not lube a Moly coated bullet?

[Straightshot]

I have used several hundred HBN coated bullets in both my 22.250 and my 257 and yes they do become very slippery to touch, now that they are all gone i will not be coating anymore.
The only difference was a slight drop in velocity with the coated bullets, otherwise any gains in barrel life would be in my opinion only realised over a couple of years but if you are a high volume user you may reap the benefits of HBN coating.
I did a group buy with 3 other guys from the guntrader forum we had quarter of a pound each and i do remember that it came from canada.
I gave 2 oz away to a mate as 4 oz is enough to coat nearly half a million bullets.

Ian.

[Individual]

Gentlemen,

interesting topic.

when FL re-sizing I lube the case necks with imperial sizing wax, by swiping a finger across the case neck - easier to do than explain. I do this because I find that it gives more consistent sizing and I figure that has to be a good thing. An un-lubed expander ball can (er might?) grip the neck on the way in/out and I'm 1/2 convinced that it sometimes pulls (or pushes) the shoulder an inconsistent amount as it does so.

Try FL sizing some neck lubed vs. un-lubed cases on your set up. Check the amount of shoulder bump. Your set up might give different results. You might not care :-) It might have different effects in different dies.

Also seems to me that it might introduce another inconsistency, especially if using non coated bullets so I put the cases back in the tumbler once I've done my case prep. so they are nice and bling again before reloading.

It all takes time and I really can't say that it leads to a worthwhile improvement, my scores remain firmly in the 'could do better' category. But I figure its worth doing so I don't have to worry about the consequences of not doing it....if that makes any sense.

[Mike357]

Gentlemen,


Try FL sizing some neck lubed vs. un-lubed cases on your set up. Check the amount of shoulder bump. Your set up might give different results. You might not care :-) It might have different effects in different dies.

Welcome to FBUK Individual!

If I was to try the above, I'm sure I'd end up with the case stuck in the die. When trying to de-prime 303 brass in Lee dies I cant even get the primer out of my FL die before the case becomes tight in the die. That doesn't seem like good practice????

[TattooedGun]

Welcome to the forum individual.

I follow the same train of thought - theres a few steps that may or may not influence my made cartridges that i do, and I only do them because it MAY help, and if it may help then why not! can't hurt!

i do exactly the same thing with the imperial sizing wax... rub it all around the case neck and then swipe my finger slightly so some wax rubs off on the inside of the neck... otherwise, as you say they get awfully tough to pull back out - until now I hadn't really thought about the effect that might have on the neck - but you make a good point.. when they get stuck they could be changing the shoulder bump!

Interesting first post, highly informational and thought provocative :)

[dromia]

Seems to me that process for lubing case mouths was to help with the expander balls fitted to most decapping stems in full length resizing dies. I do not like expander balls and remove them from all my dies. Also most modern dies seem to have better made balls and the risk of damaging the case with one seems a lot less so the process looks to be all but redundant.

[ovenpaa]

For the most I only neck size, and it is years since I used expander balls as my concern was also what they would do to the shoulder angle plus they play havoc (for me) with neck run out.

[dromia]

Die castration, way to go.

Just out of interest does anyone use the expander balls on their dies? As i said I don't as they seemed to cause more problems than they were worth.

[Tower75]

I use them, didn't know I could take them out* or whether the die would work without it.

* I found out you "could" pull it out when I forgot to lube a .303 case and the case pulled the ball/decapper pin out of the die. [Rude words were uttered]