Bullet lube when seating?

[Canadian Bushman]

Do you like to lube your bullets before you seat them, or no.
Feel free to share why, with what lube and your experiences with either.

If you use moly or any type of bullet coating please check yes.

 

[Broz]

After watching Shawn Carlock's video on long range reloading I started using the Imperial dry graphite lube of my necks right before charging and seating. I noticed a difference right away in how much smoother the bullets went in with what seems to be more consistent pressure.

Jeff

 

[BrentM]

Would silicone such as 1 shot work? Spray it on, let it dry, seat? Never have lubed.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I started using the dry graphite to neck size and have read many things about guys using it for bullet seating. Now every slight jar in the press handle while seating is screaming at me.

 

[dragman]

After watching Shawn Carlock's video on long range reloading I started using the Imperial dry graphite lube of my necks right before charging and seating. I noticed a difference right away in how much smoother the bullets went in with what seems to be more consistent pressure.

Jeff

I do the same thing!!!!!

 

[CB11WYO]

Thanks for starting this thread!

I don't currently use any lube but I've thought about trying it... for only $6 @ Midway, why not?

My 7 RM brass squeaks and jerks bad coming out of the FL sizing die. Hope it helps there as well.

Thanks!

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Thanks for starting this thread!

I don't currently use any lube but I've thought about trying it... for only $6 @ Midway, why not?

My 7 RM brass squeaks and jerks bad coming out of the FL sizing die. Hope it helps there as well.

Thanks!

I think it might get good. There has to be more members like me and you that are debating this.

 

[Nimrod]

I have been using graphite neck lube for a long, long time.

 

[varmintH8R]

I use graphite as well, but more for neck sizing than for seating (I don't remove it). It does make seating a smoother operation, but I struggle to believe it changes anything meaningful in terms of accuracy/consistency. Seems to me that little bit of graphite can't have much effect on that bullet with 60Kpsi of pressure exploding behind it. But, I have no data to support me and would love to be proven wrong (or right).

 

[SidecarFlip]

Yesd and no. I don't make it SOP to lube the case necks as a rule but I do use a brush with a bit of one shot applied to the brush every 30 cases or so. I also one shot the die bore and repeat that every 30 cases or so in addition to the RCBS lube pad. My cases never squeak or jump when sizing. If they did, that would indicate to me that I was on the ragged edge of a stuck case.

I VLD all my case mouths, boattail or flat base. No graphite. Graphite is for pencils.

 

[Derek M.]

I used to use graphite suspended in alcohol but that was prior to sending all of my dies back to the manufacturer and having them hone the necks to 0.003 smaller than a loaded brass. No more use for expander ball/button and no need to lube.

When you hear that horrible squeak and feel the roughness when that button is expanding that neck back to spec, that tells me your die is downsizing your case neck a lot and probably way too much.

Take that button out, size a case and take a caliper to that neck after squeezing without the button. If it's more than a few thousandths difference, the die is overworking the brass. My Redding 270 die was squeezing my necks down about 15 thousandths more than a loaded round. Think about that. A fired cases was several thousandths larger than a loaded round. That's way too much work on the case and a lot of potential runout.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Not germane to this thread but all my balls stay in the box.

The only time I use an expander ball in a die is if the case mouth is deformed (like you get with OFMB) or slightly dented.

 

[dkhunt14]

I use a spray graphite. In shooting 1000 yard benchrest when you used graphite the groups got better. If you ever loaded a case and tried to move a bullet in a day or two later; they make a popping noise. That is welding of the bullet to the case. When they sit they weld and it is not always the same. I can seat a bullet and hammer it out with a puller and my neck is still completely black inside. In long range hunting i have shot rounds loaded for a couple of years and i don't get that unexplained vertical flier. Matt

 

[Scrubbit]

I use a spray graphite. In shooting 1000 yard benchrest when you used graphite the groups got better. If you ever loaded a case and tried to move a bullet in a day or two later; they make a popping noise. That is welding of the bullet to the case. When they sit they weld and it is not always the same. I can seat a bullet and hammer it out with a puller and my neck is still completely black inside. In long range hunting i have shot rounds loaded for a couple of years and i don't get that unexplained vertical flier. Matt

Thanks for that take Matt. It's new to me. I use a Lee collet die for neck sizing, and my boat tails always slide smoothly into the neck when seating (Forstner seating die without lube), but it makes sense that over time the bullet may stick or weld to the case neck. Watching this thread with interest. Eli