Case Prep Question

CalCoyote

CalCoyote

New member
Case Prep Steps I follow on brass I have fired:

Step 1) I inspect each case.

Step 1) I de-prime all my cases with a universal de-primer die

Step 2) I clean the primer pockets

Step 3) I clean the brass in a tumbler

Step 4) I spray the cases with Hornady One Shot lube. I carefully hold the can at a 45 deg angle so some of the lube can get inside the case mouth.

Step 5) I resize the brass with a FL sizing die.


Here is my question: After I resize the cases should I be running my brass through my tumbler again to get all the case lube off or just wipe off the outside of the cases with a clean paper towel. I have heard guys say that having a little bit of residual case lube on the inside of the neck makes it easier to seat the bullet. Which is best?
 
I wipe mine off with a towel, seat a primer, dip the necks in Redding Imperial dry neck lube, fill with powder, seat a bullet, then wipe the residual graphite neck lube off the outside of the necks. I wipe them off after mostly so my fingers and hands don't turn black handling the loaded ammo later.
 
I run all mine through the tumbler to remove the lube from both outside and inside the case mouth. I want consistent bullet grip. Some cases could get more lube and others less. An easily removed bullet upon firing is going to impact differently than one with more friction. We are not bench rest shooters but every case should have the same dimensions and bullet pull. Tumble them again so they are all the same.
 
1) Tumble first for 15-20 minutes

2) De-cap & clean primer pockets

3) Anneal

4) Full length size

5) Wipe off lube with a shop rag

6)Tumble for 15-20 minutes

7) Prime & load
 
Originally Posted By: alf1) Tumble first for 15-20 minutes

2) De-cap & clean primer pockets

3) Anneal

4) Full length size

5) Wipe off lube with a shop rag

6)Tumble for 15-20 minutes

7) Prime & load

so why do you do #5, if your next step is into the tumbler?

your tumbling media will strip any remaining lube off for you.

or are you using that time as part of your visual inspection process?
 
Originally Posted By: CalCoyoteCase Prep Steps I follow on brass I have fired:

Step 1) I inspect each case.

Step 1) I de-prime all my cases with a universal de-primer die

Step 2) I clean the primer pockets

Step 3) I clean the brass in a tumbler

Step 4) I spray the cases with Hornady One Shot lube. I carefully hold the can at a 45 deg angle so some of the lube can get inside the case mouth.

Step 5) I resize the brass with a FL sizing die.


Here is my question: After I resize the cases should I be running my brass through my tumbler again to get all the case lube off or just wipe off the outside of the cases with a clean paper towel. I have heard guys say that having a little bit of residual case lube on the inside of the neck makes it easier to seat the bullet. Which is best?




hornady one shot lube does not need to be removed before powder/bullet/primer stage. some lubes do, but not that specific one.


tumbling post processing can be done as a method of lube removal for those lubes that need to do so. it will also final polish your brass for you if you want that extra effort look put into it. wet tumble at this stage can also be used to knock any small leftover burrs from chamfer/trimming off your case mouth as the pins will usually knock them free.

that said, all my tumbling is done before i size, trim, chamfer & deburr my cases. i do a quick dry tumble pre-decapping to get any range crud off the cases and keep it out of my case feeder, then a wet tumble with pins post decapping to actually clean the brass, primer pockets included.

i use one shot, and dont take any extra removal steps after applying it and turning my casings into loaded ammo.


one thing i will warn you - do NOT put one shot on and then anneal. the smell is ridiculous. bleh. i only did that once with some pre-lubed-ready-to-process cases from before i had my annealer... nope. never again lol


hth
 
Everybody is different.I tumble ,spray One shot,deprime and FL size,dump powder,seat bullet and shootumLeft out the trimming every case
 
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For rifle brass I:

Tumble
Spray One Shot (be sure to let it dry before sizing)
Deprime/FL or neck size as suitable
Clean and/or uniform primer pockets if once fired brass
Trim/chamfer/debur
Tumble again

Bag it up & it's ready for when I want to load
 
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Originally Posted By: Plant.OneOriginally Posted By: alf1) Tumble first for 15-20 minutes

2) De-cap & clean primer pockets

3) Anneal

4) Full length size

5) Wipe off lube with a shop rag

6)Tumble for 15-20 minutes

7) Prime & load

so why do you do #5, if your next step is into the tumbler?

your tumbling media will strip any remaining lube off for you.

or are you using that time as part of your visual inspection process?

I wipe them off first so as not to contaminate the media any more than necessary.
 
Wipe the outside off, the one shot in the necks will lube for seating. If you are using a universal decapping die, have you gutted the sizing die and using a mandrel to set ID of the necks? If not have you checked the diameter of the expander(I would at least polish the expander).
 
I don't tumble, just wipe down before I do any thing. It's worked for me for 60 yrs

Wipe

Lube.either imperial or lanolin based

Size and deprime at the same time

Trim every loading, I'm set up with.multiple trimmers so I never have to adjust trimmers

Load

Wipe any excess lube.

Anneal when needed


Kill stuff and punch holes.
 
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Originally Posted By: spotstalkshootWipe the outside off, the one shot in the necks will lube for seating. If you are using a universal decapping die, have you gutted the sizing die and using a mandrel to set ID of the necks? If not have you checked the diameter of the expander(I would at least polish the expander).

I recently looked into to doing that but have not tried it yet. I started measuring the shoulder bump when I noticed that some of my brass was hard to chamber after I ran them through the FL sizer. My theory is that I was not spraying the One Shot lube at an adequate angle so that some of the lube got inside the neck and the expander ball was pulling the shoulder back out when it sized the neck. I have been more careful to make sure that some of the One Shot got inside the neck and that seems to have solved it. I tested this my measuring the shoulder after sizing it with the expander ball removed and then measuring it after putting it back through the sizer die with the expander ball in the die. Even though my shoulder issue is resolved, I am still looking at using a mandrel sized .003 under in my 243 and if I like it buy mandrels for the other calibers I reload for. I am not a benchrest shooter but would like to have as much consistency as possible. The brand I am looking at is 21st Century.
 
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I'm not a benchrest loader either. Set up your sizing die gutted, than install the expander/decapping rod. I use a mandrel to avoid numerous issues and inconsistencies that expanders can introduce. Also seems to reduce the need to trim cases. I use pin gages in bullet puller collets to set the I.D. on some cartridges I load for, cheaper than mandrels if you have the puller already.
 
One shot is thought to not affect or degrade powder.

I almost always tumble the lube off for around an hour because that is my lube of choice for large batches.

With smaller batches of brass with bolt and lever rifles, i usually use Redding Imperial, Lee sizing lube or the RCBS roller. For 25 rounds or so i just wipe them down. Sometimes i use a very light mixture of simple green sprayed into the rag as a degreaser, to aid in getting all lube off.

If you don't get all that lube off you will get excessive bolt pressure.

Wiping down is somewhat superior as you will almost always get an ultra fine non visible dust from the tumbling media coated on your brass. (When using walnut anyway)

One shot is very toxic. I spray the cases outside only. Then i wear a respirator while sizing them when i bring them back inside.

Some folks i have seen fill a plastic bag with brass and spray into the bag. Regardless, breathing that stuff in a poorly ventilated area could give you cancer in 15-20 years.

Despite its horrendous effects on your health w/o proper PPE it no doubt sizes the brass the best as there is by far less resistance coming out and back through the expander ball.

Spotstalkshoot's method is great method to counter this.

Blah Blah Blah
 
To me, it depends on how much brass I'm working with. If its only 20-30 pieces, I just wipe off the lube with a rag, more than that & I will tumble it again after sizing.

suggestion - add a primer pocket uniform to your prep. Just a few spins cuts the primer pockets to the same depth & makes the "feel" of seating much better. Also, be sure to get the lube off well, excess lube on the case will cause bolt thrust & unnecessary
wear.
 
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Originally Posted By: Coyote#1
suggestion - add a primer pocket uniform to your prep. Just a few spins cuts the primer pockets to the same depth & makes the "feel" of seating much better. Also, be sure to get the lube off well, excess lube on the case will cause bolt thrust & unnecessary
wear.

Yeah. You are right. Up until now I have not done anything with the primer pockets other than making sure the flash hole is deburred on new brass. I need to do more.
 
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