Do you lube handgun brass with carbide dies?

[megasupermagnum]

Do not lube cases for carbide dies. I tried that once and the case got stuck. I thought I would never get it out.

What were you using, gorilla glue? Lube can't do anything except make it easier.

[Big Wes]

Yes, I lube handgun brass but NOT with One Shot.
Not a fan of spraying brass with lube, so I "tumble-lube" with some cloths moistened with STP or Bag Balm.
I have been using the same premoistened cloths for 1000s of rounds without adding more lube.
Note the small hole poked into the STP foil top, easier to pour small amounts, and 20-year-old rags:
Attachment 309171
Bag Balm:
Attachment 309172
Square Plastic nut "jar":
Attachment 309173
Actually, the rags are usually on at the bottom and the brass (more than pictured) is on top.
With the container about 1/3 full, I just screw on the top, grab it by the top, and swirl it around for 10-20 seconds to uniformly/lightly lube the brass.
no spray, no waiting to dry, no lube inside cases or in primer pockets, easy-peasy,
jmo,

Edit: I make no attempt to remove the lube after loading as it aids in the feeding/ejecting when fired.

This process is outstanding, after reading your post I went out to the shed and tried it out with Bag Balm, and a few pieces of rag. Excellent works like a charm. Thank you for the awesome tip.

[sukivel]

Yeah I learned a new way to try lubing cases as well….


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[lx2008]

i`m a sometimer...just when sizing large dia. brass ( .45, 44mag) makes the process smoother/easier.

[Kenstone]

This process is outstanding, after reading your post I went out to the shed and tried it out with Bag Balm, and a few pieces of rag. Excellent works like a charm. Thank you for the awesome tip.

Thanks for reading my post and I'm happy it worked out for you.
I'm also surprised you actually used Bag Balm instead of some other "case" lube.
I'm not sure this will work for bottle neck cases though, never tried it, and don't load that stuff.

.

[Big Wes]

I had a can of bag balm already and have used it on a RCBS lube pad. It worked well on the few 308 casings I threw in the container. I did squeeze out some excess lube with a paper towel as you recomended. I did have a bit to much on the rags.
Thanks again for the tip.

[n9tkf]

Never lube pistol brass or 350 legend brass. All other rifle casings I lube

[trapper9260]

Yes, I lube handgun brass but NOT with One Shot.
Not a fan of spraying brass with lube, so I "tumble-lube" with some cloths moistened with STP or Bag Balm.
I have been using the same premoistened cloths for 1000s of rounds without adding more lube.
Note the small hole poked into the STP foil top, easier to pour small amounts, and 20-year-old rags:
Attachment 309171
Bag Balm:
Attachment 309172
Square Plastic nut "jar":
Attachment 309173
Actually, the rags are usually on at the bottom and the brass (more than pictured) is on top.
With the container about 1/3 full, I just screw on the top, grab it by the top, and swirl it around for 10-20 seconds to uniformly/lightly lube the brass.
no spray, no waiting to dry, no lube inside cases or in primer pockets, easy-peasy,
jmo,

Edit: I make no attempt to remove the lube after loading as it aids in the feeding/ejecting when fired.

Now I found another use for Bag Balm , thanks for the tip. I normally use it for my hand when they get dry and crack. now I got another use for it .

[upr45]

I do not lube brass, i do clean dies when new and when they get dirty. after cleaning i do spray then lightly wipe silicone spray, which is a lube.

[Bmi48219]

Short answer: yes

[pcmacd]

I do not. A recent thread though prompted a lot of folks saying that they did indeed lube pistol brass that is run through a carbide sizing die. It does make it easier but it is not needed unless you are using new or squeaky clean brass. For new brass I run it through my tumbler so there is a fine dust on the brass. This negates lubing for that first time.

I’m interested if it’s the norm for folks to lube pistol brass or not. I say not but I guess the poll results won’t lie.

I've Old School Dillon dies for 357, and I've found it is necessary to lube the cases so I don't get a buncha brass bulging at the head of the case.

This is the only exception. So, no. I don't normally lube brass for carbide dies.

[gloob]

I just find there's a bit of extra work to size 9mm due to the taper. And possibly due to the generous size of my 9mm chambers. I can size them without lube. And if I couldn't adjust the length of the lever on my press, I probably wouldn't bother with lube. But since I can with lube, I do. And then I can set the lever as short as with all my other pistol sizing to get a shorter quicker throw.

[LAH]

It is very true that carbine dies require no lube for what we commonly call straight wall cases. I'm in total agreement. The thought of lubing such cases for such dies never occurred to me until the conversation I had with a commercial loader. At that time he set a 5 gallon bucket of freshly tumbled brass on the floor. [His tumbler was some 6 foot high if memory serves]. He used a coffee can to pour that brass into another 5 gallon bucket. As he poured each can of brass he would spay it with Hornady One Shot. Once the brass was transferred from one bucket to the other he would then pour the lubed brass back & forth between the 2 buckets several times. After this the brass was left until time to load it. He used a 1050 Dillon for loading purposes & told me on a run of a bucket or 2 there was a very noticeable difference in the fatigue he experienced. I tried this & found his words to be true. For the hobby loader it is probably over kill but I do this for my 1050 & 550. I can sure tell a difference in the effort it takes. YMMV.

[Cap'n Caveman]

As a rule I do not however I ran into a problem loading the 10mm with Dillon dies. Called them and lube was always recommended by them no matter what.

[mdi]

Maybe after 135 posts, one may have noticed a consensus, but I didn't read all posts. On occasion I lightly lube some handgun cases, but nothing like bottle necked brass. Especially my 44 Magnum brass which is a bit harder to size than some of my other cases. After 100 or so 9mm cases, a bit of lube on one out of four or five makes it a bit easier on my arm...

[Pereira]

A waste of time to me.
Why even buy the carbide dies of your going to lube the cases any way?

RP

[Doughty]

Kenstone, Thanks for the tip. I deprime and then clean my .45 ACP cases with the wet stainless steel pin method. I lubed some old T shirt pieces with Bag Balm as you suggested. Put them in a mayonnaise jar with some clean cases and gave them a swirl. Could barely tell there was any lube on them but made a noticeable improvement with my CH Mark IV inline press. Worth the little extra effort to me.

[Kenstone]

Kenstone, Thanks for the tip. I deprime and then clean my .45 ACP cases with the wet stainless steel pin method. I lubed some old T shirt pieces with Bag Balm as you suggested. Put them in a mayonnaise jar with some clean cases and gave them a swirl. Could barely tell there was any lube on them but made a noticeable improvement with my CH Mark IV inline press. Worth the little extra effort to me.

Thanks for the acknowledgement.

Your results are exactly what they should be, barely noticeable amount of lube that I don't bother to remove as it aids in gun function.

I dropped some loaded rounds lubed that way at the range this week.
The dirt here is like talcum powder and those dropped rounds had a thin/even coating of dust stuck to the lube.
That dust confirmed the presence of lube, I set them aside and shot something else and cleaned that dust off when I got back home.

It's surprising how that minute amount of lube aids the loading and shooting process.
Post back after you have shot them as I'm interested in knowing if anything changes relative to tumbling/removing the Bag Balm.
Ken

[megasupermagnum]

A waste of time to me.
Why even buy the carbide dies of your going to lube the cases any way?

RP

If I could buy steel dies, I would.

[mdi]

A waste of time to me.
Why even buy the carbide dies of your going to lube the cases any way?

RP

Read the post directly above yours. Just one reason I , and many others, occasionally use lube on carbide dies (can one even find plain old steel sizing dies for handgun calibers today?). Not entirely necessary, but makes resizing some calibers much easier. Lubing handgun brass is different than bottle necked cases, which with steel sizing dies is absolutely necessary and needs to cover more of the case...