Removal of case lube after reloading

[K Malory]

I'm by no means an expert on reloading but have been at it now for little over 3 years, probably 11,000 rounds or so, mostly 9mm, .40. .38, .380 and .357 with the majority being 9 and .40  I've not made the jump to rifle rounds yet but plan to next spring.  I have a Dillon 550B.

I know it isn't mandatory to use case lube with carbide dies but have been giving the cases a light spritz of Dillon case lube with the cases lying flat on a newspaper and sit for a couple hours prior to going in the press.  It makes the cranking a bit easier.  Most of my reloads are Berry's plated, Hornadys, and some lead for the wheel guns.  Frankly, I'd rather pay a bit more for plated and clean guns less due to lead but that is another issue.  I enjoy reloading almost as much as shooting, have a chronograph, etc.

On occasion, I run the loaded rounds through the tumbler with corncob media but haven't made a habit of it.  Initial cleaning prior to reloading is soaking , then walnut media, then swab out the innards under a bright light with a toothpick and Q-tip. 

Question, finally:  Lately I've wondered if I need to clean all the reloads to remove the case lube before firing.  Does case lube affect or build up unnecessarily?

[K Malory]

When I first started reloading in the 70's I was told to never put loaded or primed cases in a tumbler.  The reason? Impact in the the tumbler between two rounds possibly causing a primer to ignite, which could have quite devastating results.  Now I grant that the likely hood of that happening is probably not high, but I try to keep the window closed as much as possible to potential problems.  I just wipe my rounds with a clean cloth as a final step.  I tried using solvents and that was the only time I ever had any misfires.  Primers can be damaged by the solvent (and the lube it carries with it) seeping around the primer and the case.  One of the prime reasons military brass has a sealer (and crimp) around the prime/case and around case and the bullet.

[DeltaM]

Since I first made my inquiry, my Thumbler tumbler came in.  I de-prime and size cases now prior to loading.  With a little RCBS case cleaner in water and stainless steel pins, and a thorough rinse after cleaning, I have no need to clean lubed cases post loading.

I did call Dillon about cleaning loaded cases in their vibratory tumbler before my Thumbler came in. They said use a bit (1 tsp) of alcohol in clean corn cob media and tumble after loading with this.  They did say it is necessary to remove any case lube as it inhibits proper friction of the brass with the chamber when a round is fired.

[whiskey thief]

I tumble my loaded 223 rounds in untreated corn cob, it removes the lanolin from the Dillon pump spray lube.  Those cases are also loaded on Dillon CARBIDE dies, and to the best of my knowledge, all rifle cases need lube.   One can get away with some dry cases, but if you run about 6  consecutive thru the carbide sizer, they are gonna stick (don't ask me how I know)

as Steve Cover said,  FACTORY ROUNDS are tumbled to remove lube.    I have seen smaller scale, commercial reloaders use those portable DIY cement mixers as tumblers.   They also have a propane burner heating the drum.  I guess that helps "melt' off the lube into the media.

I like the Dillon pump spray lube.  The carrier agent (alcohol?) evaporates and leaves the lanolin behind.   I take the cardboard sleeve that holds five bricks of primers, pour about 150 223 cases into it.  shake a bit, so they are all in single layer.  Pump about 8 spritzes of lube, and the top half of the cartridge case is decently wet,  close the lid, and tilt back and forth.  You can hear the cases rolling around and (I presume) evenly distributing the lube amongst themselves.   This whole process takes less than.

Load about 50 rounds.  go over to the vibratory tumbler and drop those 50 into the corncob.  by the time I have loaded the next 50, it's time to take the first batch out of the media.  So they tumble for about 15 minutes.

I tumble my dirty brass with those stainless steel pins and Lemi Shine rinse agent (avail WalMart)...PERFECTION!!!

as far as tumbling lead bullets, yes they take on a dark grey color, NOT the molten silver look.  And I think the concern of lead dust contamination is a valid point.  So, wear a painters mask when pouring out the dusy media.   And the idea of adding a Tbsp of rubbing alcohol sounds like a good one.

[Steve Cover]

<<< SNIP >>>
as far as tumbling lead bullets, yes they take on a dark grey color, NOT the molten silver look.  And I think the concern of lead dust contamination is a valid point.  So, wear a painters mask when pouring out the dusy media.   And the idea of adding a Tbsp of rubbing alcohol sounds like a good one.

I place a small sheet of dryer anti-static material in my corncob material.
It does a good job of keeping the corncob dust free.
I change it fairly often (Every 20 or so hours of operation) and am happy with the results.

+1 on wearing a mask when dealing with tumbled lead bullets.
My antistatic sheet works well, but why take any chances.

Back when I was the range master of an indoor range, I had my blood checked for lead levels every year.
My lead count is still higher than normal but not dangerous.
This was from standing behind the firing line making sure nobody got dangerous.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Steve

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