One Shot case lube causing feed problems ?

[LR1955]

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

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[/QUOTE]

CPT G:

In my 35 + years of reloading, I found out that using the best brass plus match grade chambers and collet sizing dies that a shooter will wear out the brass before trimming is absolutely required for safe function.

I normally get about twenty shots fired per piece of Lapua Grendel brass and after that, the brass is so trashed that it needs to be thrown away. About ten shots per piece of Wolf brass before the primer pockets open up.

No need to trim the Lapua stuff when it is new, either. So, I champher the necks once, shoot it until I can't read the headstamp anymore or the rims are so chewed up that they begin to cause malfunctions, then throw it away.

LR1955

[Whelenon]

Good discussion, only thing I'd like to add is in reference to your resizing die feeling like molasses when resizing. For whatever reason, it sounds like you tried resizing when the lube was still wet. Go back, disassemble and clean your resizing die and try a different lube. My .02s.

[LR1955]

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.

Mike:

Just asking and am glad you didn't take it in any negative way.

I have used Birchwood Casey liquid cleaner that you mix with water and soaked the brass for about five minutes. That stuff worked! Then you have to let it dry. That was the PITA so I stopped using the stuff. I will say it cleaned the carbon from the inside of the brass better than anything I ever used.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that a manual on reloading produced or sponsored by a company that makes reloading gear wouldn't also insist that every piece of reloading gear they make must be used. You won't find one of these manuals recommending a tool they don't make, even if that tool really is of value. So, take them for what they are, primarily a manual that advertises their product.

You may not be able to nix the trimming if your chamber is sloppy or you are using a second rate sizing die like the Lee. Both will really stretch brass and even the Lapua is not immune to poor chambers, crappy sizing dies, poor or improperly used sizing lube, etc. The only time I bothered to trim Lapua Grendel brass was when I wanted to use some brass I had already fired in two different chambers through a third chamber. Although their rims were ragged, I could still read the headstamps well enough to discern "Alexander Arms" from "Lapua" and that is a good indicator the Lapua stuff is still OK to use. So, I trimmed them and blasted them through the new upper a few times before I threw them away. Surprisingly, most didn't show much cutting and at worse, the few that got some significant brass removed would have chambered without any problems. I don't regret trimming them as I thought it was needed due to the circumstances.

I also polish my brass so don't think I don't. I may tumble rifle brass once in their life cycle and do so in order to inspect the necks for cracks. I polish my pistol brass every firing for the same reason -- to inspect for cracks.

LR1955

[capt greg]

The great thing about reloading is you can do things the way "you" want them, to achieve a better round.. What ever works for "you" the individual. Thats probably one of the things that got most of us intrested in reloading in the first place. Along with saving some money.. I dunno much about match grade chambers an all that, but I do know what works for me.

Sure is a great feeling when you shoot a .5" 5 round group @ 100yds or walk up to a nice buck, or hog you just blasted with ammo that you reloaded yourself!

makes it all worth while... well.. to me it does