One Shot case lube causing feed problems ?

[Tikka]

Today while reloading and handeling the cases I noticed that the cases I had srayed with "one shot" the previous night almost felt tacky. They run through the sizing die just fine but its like pushing them through molasses or something. It got me to thinking: Could these "tacky" cases be some of the reason for my failures to feed? I do get the occational stove pipe jams from the mag but I also get failures where the bolt doesn't quite close all the way. What do you think?

[ChellieWiles]

most likely, yes. you gotta wipe that stuff off after you finish reloading. I like to soak a rag in denatured alcohol to get all the soiling off. It should fix any feeding problems or sticky stuff happening.

[Drifter]

I don't use that particular lube, but I tumble after case prep (after sizing, trimming, etc, but before priming and loading). Cases are clean.

[stokesrj]

If your cases feel tacky something is wrong. How much are you putting on? Are you sure it is one shot case lube (red can), Hornady also makes one shot dry lube (black can) as well?
Assuming you have one shot case lube, you should be coating the cases very lightly, it will disperse and cover the whole case. The way I apply it is with a single layer of cases in the bottom of a shoe box, spray lightly, just enough to get some on all cases and then shake the box enough to tumble the cases against one another several times. The actual lube is wax but it is suspended in a carrier that disperses it and then evaporates. The evaporation takes a few minutes and you should not resize until it has evaporated for most consistent results. After resizing there should only be a very thin layer of lube and it should feel slick and almost wet.
Conventional wisdom and probably best practice is to then clean cases. However it is a common practice in national match high power circles to skip this process and shoot them with the lube on. There is much controversy about this and not all agree it is a good practice, however, many teams do this even in matches with no alibis for malfunctions. There is no detectable rate of failure to feed and this is with hundreds of people shooting rapid fire stages at the same time where it would be easy to observe if it were a problem.
Reloading manuals universally warn of the dangers of firing a cartridge with case lube left on them causing excessive bolt thrust and case stretch. I can tell you that at least with the AR platform that is all old wives tales. This is based on seeing thousands upon thousands of rounds fired with the lube left on. My junior team leaves the lube on and has had zero alibis this year so far.
Now for me, personally, I clean the cases, because I don't like the fact that cases with lube pick up dead grass and dirt. When my junior team dumps their brass into the case cleaner there is several times more trash along with them than there is with my personal brass.
All this is said to help you look for the real culprit in your failures to feed, it isn't the lube.
Bob

[fanofflyn]

One note of caution, and I may be corrected if wrong. I've been told that if you tumble ammunition with a vibratory tumbler after loading that it can change the characteristics of the powder by breaking it up. This is apparently especially true with rod, and shaped powder granules. You could then be shooting an experimental powder with different characteristics. I'm now afraid to do that. Also, I quit using a spray lube after a trip to Africa wherein I had primer malfunctions. I probably overused the spray lube, not yet knowing what stokesrj posted above, and eventually the lube found its way to the primers. I now just use a lube pad lightly and wipe the cases off. I think using the spray lube as indicated above is obviously fine.

[Dogue]

I tumble my brass after sizing but before loading, and I think most follow that procedure. You'd have to tumble live rounds for a long time to effect the powder. I believe that lube will affect the powder more than a short period of tumbling will. I've also heard that some ammo mfg's tumble the live rounds briefly prior to boxing them up???

Here's a good read about one test on AR15.com.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/303242_.html&page=1

[ricsmall]

Sounds like you are using too much lube. Tumble after all prepping is done. If you need to tumble live rounds, do so for about ten to fifteen minutes with a full load of media to keep rounds from hitting each other too hard. Hope this helps.

[mongoosesnipe]

all of the lubricant should be removed from the cases after sizing you can either wipe it off by hand or tumble them for a few minutes i tumble by cases after sizing before loading

[fanofflyn]

Here's a nice rational discussion on the subject of tumbling live ammo, with both sides discussed. http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...n-loaded-ammo/

[mongoosesnipe]

tumbling live cases is not the greatest idea it can cause the powder to break into smaller pieces and have vastly different burn characteristics resulting in over pressure

[Michael]

I’m a new reloader, but a friend of mine who has been reloading for years turned me on to this method. Tumble brass prior to resizing, trimming (he states this will keep your dies cleaner/lasting longer). Put in Harbor Freight sonic cleaner w/Lemi Shine for a couple of cycles. Rinse then dry the brass thoroughly (oven at 150 for about an hour when the wife is not home works well, if not set out in the sun for a couple of hours), chamfer, debur, prime, load. If you are a shinny brass guy, you might not like it, as you will occasionally have water spots on your brass. They have never seemed to effect accuracy of the hundred or so I have done this way. Adds an extra step, but I think it’s worth it.

[mongoosesnipe]

i tumble before sizing for a few hours then after sizing to clean the case lube off

[LR1955]

I’m a new reloader, but a friend of mine who has been reloading for years turned me on to this method. Tumble brass prior to resizing, trimming (he states this will keep your dies cleaner/lasting longer). Put in Harbor Freight sonic cleaner w/Lemi Shine for a couple of cycles. Rinse then dry the brass thoroughly (oven at 150 for about an hour when the wife is not home works well, if not set out in the sun for a couple of hours), chamfer, debur, prime, load. If you are a shinny brass guy, you might not like it, as you will occasionally have water spots on your brass. They have never seemed to effect accuracy of the hundred or so I have done this way. Adds an extra step, but I think it’s worth it.

Mike:

Ahh, the obsessive brass cleaning syndrome. Always an interesting subject.

If it takes a number of hours to do and the result is no improvement in performance over leaving it dirty, how is it 'worth it'?

How will trimming keep the dies 'cleaner'? Normally the dies stay clean by cleaning them. Of course I wouldn't lube up a piece of brass coated in mud or was thrown into sand (maybe), but certainly the minimal fowling caused by a rifle with a decent chamber and gas system (if a gas blaster is used) won't hurt a sizing die.

You need to trim brass if you are using extremely high pressures such as magnums, or if your chambers are sloppy, or if using soft brass (Lapua isn't soft brass).
Always an interesting subject.

LR1955

[Michael]

LR1955 - the time spent is more waiting than work - at least how I do it. The sonic cleaning step takes the lube off and cleans some of the residue out of the inside of the brass. As to tumbling prior to sizing, cleaning the brass is recommended in both the 'ABCs of Reloading', and 'Hornady's 8th edition of Cartridge Reloading'. While my brass used has not been exceptionally dirty, I still want it clean so I can inspect it prior to doing anything else. A step I should have mentioned in my first post.

Not all of my cases need to be trimmed, but I check them all to maintain consistency.

I can see your points, and don't dispute them. I realize I lean towards OCD/anal retentiveness. Currently I am using Hornady brass (know it is softer than Lapua), and have about 200 Lapua standing by. Hoping will be able to nix the trimming on subsequent reloads as it is the most time consuming part of the process.

[capt greg]

[LR1955
uses moderate loads with good brass like Lapua, he may have to trim once every twenty uses.[/QUOTE]

Iam gonna have to get me some "good" lapua brass.. In my 30+ years of reloading I have never ever gotten no where near 20 uses before having to trim cases. Ive always use hornaday an nolser brass for rifles... rem. for pistols