Page 1 of 1

newbe case lube question

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 4:03 pm
by fishnbob
I did some searching and couldnt find what I was looking for so please dont crucify me if it has been sked before.
I am new to reloading started in December when santa brought me some reloading stuff.
Things have been going very well for me so far getting nice groups out to 200yds and have harvested a couple coyotes the last couple weekends. Dont have a crono yet but would like to get one. I have a venture predator 204 and ll my hunting buddies are jealous.
Now for the question. Like I said I am very satisfied so far with my groups and the reaction coyotes have had to my 39bks so I decided to load 1000 rds with what I have worked up. I have all new ww and rem brass and I have uniformed primer pockets, deburred flash holes, chamfered neck mouth inside and out, neck sized and primed.
About every 100 rounds during neck sizing I have been having a case get stuck in the die. I started putting a light spray of one shot on cases letting it get inside the necks(sizing and spray before they were primed) and have not had a problem sticking since. Do I need to worry about how the bullets will consistently release when fired(pull I think is the proper term)? Should I clean the one shot from inside the necks before I load? If yes, how should I go about it and what should I use. I guess it is more then 1 question. I was thinking about running a brass brush inside to clean the necks on my case prep center. Is that exceptable? Or are there better options, dont worry about it or did I screw up and will get larger groups.
I hope this makes sense and any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Re: newbe case lube question

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:52 pm
by jrwoitalla
Fishinbob,
Never heard of neck sizing dies having problems with stuck brass before. What brand are you using? For neck sizing I would recommend Lee collet dies. Just make certain your necks are clean prior to sizing and you'll likely not have any stuck cases again. I have had my share of stuck cases...but that has only been with full length sizing, and I'm fairly certain in most instances it was my fault due to not cleaning my dies and cases properly before sizing. The lube should not affect your groups as far as I know, but if it makes you feel better, wipe down the cases before shooting. I hope my response helps. Have fun reloading, I spent the day at the range playing with a bunch of reloads today. They are my grown-up toys.

Re: newbe case lube question

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 6:10 pm
by fishnbob
Yep I am using lee collet dies and the brass is new. I set the die according to lee instructions. Thanks for your response

Re: newbe case lube question

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:59 pm
by Ol` Joe
I had a Lee collet die that hung up on occasion when sizing and ended up polishing a couple burrs off the collet and hoseing it down with carb cleaner to remove old manufacturing crud then relubing with a dab of Rigg grease. That has cured the problem so far.
As already atated, you should not have to use any case lube with the collet dies. That is one of the plus`s of these dies.

Re: newbe case lube question

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 3:16 am
by Joe O
Your concern is spray lube inside the necks.Use a dry lube like motor mica or graphite,to dip the necks, before sizing.I do use the spray lube when FL sizing.It does not cause a problem when dry.

Re: newbe case lube question

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 3:17 am
by Joe O
Your concern is spray lube inside the necks.Use a dry lube like motor mica or graphite,to dip the necks, before sizing.I do use the spray lube when FL sizing.It does not cause a problem when dry.

Re: newbe case lube question

Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:19 pm
by Tokimini
I use a Lee collet neck sizing die for my 204 Ruger and I don't lube the cases at all. I have never had a problem with a case getting stuck, in fact it's my understanding that lubing the cases is not necessary when using a neck sizing die. Are you sure your die is a neck sizer and not a full length die?

Re: newbe case lube question

Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 6:11 pm
by Fred_C_Dobbs
Something definitely has gone pear-shaped because a Lee collet neck die is not supposed to manipulate the body of the casing (or even the shoulder) in the least. If you insert a case into the die by hand, there should be no resistance whatsoever until the neck comes into contact with the collet. Using lube won't improve the neck sizing process and just gums up the works.

Re: newbe case lube question

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 12:48 pm
by futuretrades
I, also use a Lee collet neck sizing die for 204 and 223. I have sized untold 1,000's of 204 brass. At one time I did have a problem with the collet not expanding after the necks were sized. When I pulled the die apart, I found that the piece that the collet is pushed into, had actually seized to the collet. I finally got the 2 pieces apart, and found the collet was in fact galled. I used a combination of sand paper and emery cloth to clean things up and polish the collet. I used Imperial neck lube on the collet to lube things up and reassembled. No more sticking. Now every once in a while, I pull the die apart and do the same procedure again, just to avoid having this problem again.

Re: newbe case lube question

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 3:40 pm
by fishnbob
It looks like it probably is gulled up a bit i will try to polish it up a bit. Thanks for the replies