Case lube vs. neck tension

[Hopalong]

With the need for good neck tension on the 450b I'm wondering about the need to make sure the inside of the neck is free of resizing lube? Any thoughts about whether that is good, bad, or a non-issue?

Thx...

HH

[Siringo]

Definitely remove the case lube. I got into the habit of sonic cleaning my brass after sizing to remove the lube and any carbon in the neck. I was trying to get it as close as possible to factory new!

[Jim in Houston]

I clean the brass, then lube and resize, and don't make any special effort to remove the case lube (Hornady One-Shot Spray Lube) before seating the bullet. I have chrono'd over 150 rounds and for those with 38 gr of Lil Gun the velocities have averaged 2200 fps +/- 40 pfs with a spread of around 200 fps between highest and lowest and an SD in the 50's.

I have not compared a batch where I have carefully cleaned off the lube before seating, but I will give that a shot next time. Since the spray lube uses an aerosol carrier, perhaps it evaporates during time between sizing and seating?

On a related note, I have been hesitant to size brass before I clean it. Couldn't that damage the die or embedd "stuff" on the case walls? I know some loading instructions recommend that, which would also clean out the primer pocket, so you might avoid having to use the primer cleaning tool after before putting in a new primer. Comments?

[Hopalong]

Yeah I worried about gunk on fired cases so I deprime all my cases and run them in the ultrasonic cleaner. Cleans the primer pocket that way too without any wear from a mechanical cleaner. I don't know if that crud on the case would do anything, particularly if you clean the dies once in a while, but I feel better and the cases look good.

Hop

[Hoot]

Since 99% of my reloads are shot over a chronograph in the pursuit of some experiment, I'm fastidious about making sure all my cases are as similar to one another as possible. That includes chucking each case in a drill and while spinning it , laying a cue tip dipped in TriChlor inside the neck to the depth that the bullet seats and then letting drag while slowly retracting it. Some tips come out black, some gray, some relatively clean. I rotate the cue tip 90 degrees 3 more times and can do 4 cases per tip.

You should see my process checklist for cases. It's fastidous, but it's just part of being Hoot.


Hoot

[wildcatter]

Hoot is not as fastidious, as you might think.

Good bullet pull is critical and how you achieve that is your own pejorative. Which is why I use the LeGendre-Side-Crimp, so much. The SC is not necessarily the best crimp for a particular mission, but it is a fairly good trade-off. As Minute-of-Grizzle, is more than enough for me. But then again, MOG is usually under two MOA in real life, which at three hundred yards, I see 6-7" groups all the time and of course, we have enough, still on the bullet, to kill anything that needs a little kill'en.

Myself, I am quite lazy. I lay the cases on paper towel, on a slight tilt, all facing the same way. With Carb-Cleaner, I hose down the inside and outside of the case. This method is not as thorough as Hoot's or maybe your method, but it works for me..

..t

[Colohunter]

I through my cases back in the tumbler after sizing with lube. Not as complete as some of you guys, but it gets the lube off.

[Hopalong]

I'm headed out to the range tomorrow. I ultrasonically cleaned the cases after sizing and I'll post anything of interest I see.

Hop

[Hoot]

I through my cases back in the tumbler after sizing with lube. Not as complete as some of you guys, but it gets the lube off.

I've heard of reloaders doing that, but I was always restrained by the question, So then where does the lube go? It would seem that after doing that enough times, the corn cob, walnut, or whatever you use will have soaked up enough of it to start leaving a lubricating film on the brass. Maybe not, but it always dissuaded me from trying that approach. My walnut media lasts a year or two in the tumbler before it loses it's sharpness. That's a lot of cycles.

I cut 3" wide strips of paper towel twice as long as 5 cases side by side. Holding the paper in the palm of my hand, I lay 5 lubed cases on half of it, give them a spritz of TriChlor, fold the other half over them to form a sandwich and roll them between my two palms. I discard the towel and repeat with another for every 5 cases. They're degreased so well that they squeak. No need to worry about the chamber walls getting slippery from them.

Keep in mind, this is not a special technique I use for the 450b. I use it on all calibers. WRT the inside of the necks, WC is right. If you crimp your cartridges until the bullets are staked in with a stab type crimper, any amount of slipperiness inside the case mouth from lube contamination or powder residue, will be inconsequential compared to the retentivity of that kind of crimp. Kinda like worrying that the Vise-Grip pliers have some motor oil on the inside of their jaws. Not a big factor.

I have an ultrasonic cleaner and using the liquid recipe from the 6mmbr.com site, it gets the cases so clean, aside from the scratches, they look like new. It's just that, well it's a messy process and you got to dry them and yatta yatta... I do it once in a while, but not every cleaning pass, preferring the vibratory tumbler for ease of use. Ditto on those SS pin and lemonshine rigs, though they sure produce a nice looking result in a fairly short time. Dry is good...

Hoot

[Colohunter]

I suppose it may lubricate the media over time. I have never really tested to see if they are lubed or not. I figure I can always clean out the media or replace it if I need to.

I have thought of going with either stainless steel media or an ultrasonic cleaner. But I haven't wanted to add the extra drying step.