Hornady one shot lube and primer pockets

[jds holler]

I don't worry about killing primers ever since I learned that you can't hardly kill them. And I don't think you could kill them with One Shot.

I boiled some cases in a solution of Simple Green and water, and then baked them in the oven. I discovered that some of them had unfired primers, so I tried them in the rifle and -- KABANG. jd

 

[drop_point]

You're lucky they didn't go off in the oven.

Years ago I checked to see if primers really needed sealed. I soaked some ammo in a bucket of water and then checked to see if they would fire. They did.

 

[jds holler]

You're lucky they didn't go off in the oven.

Years ago I checked to see if primers really needed sealed. I soaked some ammo in a bucket of water and then checked to see if they would fire. They did.

You're right about that. Apparently 200 degrees isn't hot enough.

We used to think that primers were so touchy that I didn't even want a can of WD-40 in the same room I was reloading in. jd

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Case lubing can't be too hard, I have used lip balm. Little bit on the body and the neck, gtg. Wipe off, prime case and load. I prefer HOS.

 

[Rwfish]

When using one shot I typically spray the insides of the ziplock bag first and then toss the brass in. This allows you to rub the bag together to disperse the one shot before adding the brass and shaking..

 

[DirtySteve]

I line my cases all facing the same direction on a sheet of wax paper and spray them. I move/roll them a little bit in one direction and spray them again...

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

I generally just use lip balm for my lips.

Case lubing can't be too hard, I have used lip balm. Little bit on the body and the neck, gtg. Wipe off, prime case and load. I prefer HOS.

But if you like it on your neck and body, have at it!

 

[ebb]

What Miles 13 said, use loading block and spray from 2 directions. let dry before sizing. Primer pocket with be down in the block and will not get any HOS.

 

[J_idaho]

I’ve done it both ways. Can’t tell any difference. Sometimes I dry tumble after. Sometimes I clean pockets the lube drys out so it doesn’t seem to effect anything. I prefer standing cases up right on a board and spraying them the lube seems more evenly distributed.

 

[Webster]

I know there is debate on cleaning primer pockets and I wanted to be part of the crowd that doesn't clean them. I used Hornady One shot lube to resize 22CM brass. I used a freezer bag to hold brass and spray lube into which really saturated the cases. Well after sizing the brass I looked at the primer pockets and now it has wet lube ignition scum. I was afraid this would cause ignition issues which isn't worth it to me. Has anyone else run into this?

I ended up cleaning the primer pockets which I hate. I had also considered throwing them back into corn media to clean out lube but I didn't want to bang up necks. While overthinking everything I wondered if I tumbled after FL sizing in media would it cause the mandrel step to be gritty?

Please spell out advice as I realize I'm way overthinking things but I also didn't want crappy ignition so I figured it was important.
Thanks
Shaun

Been rolling them on a pad for 50 years. No reason to change.

 

[One Eye Pete]

The first thing I do when I get a new sizing die is clean it and then take a good metal polish such as Flitz and polish the inside to a mirror finish. (Don’t do this with specially coated dies) The polishing doesn’t affect any dimensions but it greatly reduces the friction and the amount of case lube needed. When I lube all I do is moisten my hand slightly with Ballistol and rub the case slightly as I insert it into the shell holder to size it. With this method a can of Ballistol lasts forever and the very thin film of Ballistol doesn’t affect the shoulder bump dimension. (For heavy case forming I still use Imperial die wax) After sizing I throw the cases into a corn cob media tumbler for about 15 min to remove any lube. After tumbling I trim & chamfer. I don’t worry about dinging the case necks in the tumbler because when you think about it the inside chamfer removes any case mouth imperfections that could contact the bullet. I then lightly swab the inside of the neck with an alcohol/moly mixture and use a mandrel. The moly coating makes the mandrel run smooth and also leaves enough residual in the neck to allow for very smooth bullet seating. If you don’t anneal you may have enough carbon left in the neck so you won’t even need to swab with moly but I anneal every firing. I must be doing something right because my SDs are normally 5 or less. I have loading down pretty good and am getting better at tuning but the wind is my Achilles heel.

 

[ShaunW]

The first thing I do when I get a new sizing die is clean it and then take a good metal polish such as Flitz and polish the inside to a mirror finish. (Don’t do this with specially coated dies) The polishing doesn’t affect any dimensions but it greatly reduces the friction and the amount of case lube needed. When I lube all I do is moisten my hand slightly with Ballistol and rub the case slightly as I insert it into the shell holder to size it. With this method a can of Ballistol lasts forever and the very thin film of Ballistol doesn’t affect the shoulder bump dimension. (For heavy case forming I still use Imperial die wax) After sizing I throw the cases into a corn cob media tumbler for about 15 min to remove any lube. After tumbling I trim & chamfer. I don’t worry about dinging the case necks in the tumbler because when you think about it the inside chamfer removes any case mouth imperfections that could contact the bullet. I then lightly swab the inside of the neck with an alcohol/moly mixture and use a mandrel. The moly coating makes the mandrel run smooth and also leaves enough residual in the neck to allow for very smooth bullet seating. If you don’t anneal you may have enough carbon left in the neck so you won’t even need to swab with moly but I anneal every firing. I must be doing something right because my SDs are normally 5 or less. I have loading down pretty good and am getting better at tuning but the wind is my Achilles heel.

Oh I anneal for sure. I like the idea of a short tumble after sizing if needed. Then I use a mandrel before trim/chamfer because I found the mandrel step changes case length and in my mind that would lead to uniform trimming.

I should have more clearly stated was I’m newer at using corn media which explains why I didn’t know if it would cause the inside of the neck to be gritty.
Then the other part that I did different was popping out primers prior to sizing which led to the messy primer pocket after over lubing.

 

[K22]

I stopped tumbling when my old Lyman tumbler died last year. Unless the tumbler media was removed by wiping with a shop rag and mineral spirits, I would get a paste form with the sizing lube which wreaked havoc with my dies and shell holders. I finally said to self, "why are you tumbling when you have to wipe the cases anyway?" So, I stopped, and I have been very happy ever since. It's easier to manage my cases, I cut down on the processing time, I don't get media kernels in my slippers that hurt my old feet. But the best part, it's one less piece of equipment and consumables (media) I have to stock. Minimalist dream. I am obsessed with my pursuit of simple, economical, and performance of target.

The only reason I clean primer pockets (every reloading) is to ensure a solid primer seat. I haven't tested or proven it to be necessary. It's just one of those things I do out of habit. It really isn't any big deal, so I do just it. Only big deal things get my attention, big deal meaning more expensive equipment or tedious processes.

The absolute best case lube, best being defined as cost effective and performance effective, I ever used is Imperial sizing wax. A tin lasts me about 4 to 5 years, and I size about a thousand rifle cases a year. While I never had a stuck case with One Shot, I found myself always running out of the stuff and there would always be some remaining in the can (i.e. waste) as the volume reduced. Best move I ever made was switching to Imperial.

For some reloading is a hobby and they enjoy it. That's fine but for me it is a pain in the ass. After 50+ years of doing it, it has long lost its allure - it a necessary chore to have a steady supply of consistent performance ammo. If I was Warren Buffet, I would buy a lifetime supply of single lot Federal Premium Ammo and be done with reloading. Sorry for the vent. I live alone and sometimes I need to vent to someone other than the walls which are tired of my venting.

 

[6.5 forever]

I'm not sure how much Hornaday One Shot you are spraying, but before you are sizing the HOS should have flashed dry.
I'm not sure what steps you have done prior to applying the HOS. If you are really abbreviating steps, have you thought about waiting to remove the primer and let the sizing die do that job so your pocket isn't exposed during lube?

If you aren't interested in cleaning the primer pockets, then why not wait to remove the primer so that the lube doesn't have direct access?

This makes sense to me.

 

[drop_point]

Talking about not liking to spend time, that's why I love One Shot. Spending the time to lube 200-300 cases by hand isn't worth it to me. I load around 10-20,000 rounds a year and two can last me all year.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Talking about not liking to spend time, that's why I love One Shot. Spending the time to lube 200-300 cases by hand isn't worth it to me. I load around 10-20,000 rounds a year and two can last me all year.

I understand, but it takes just a split second to lube one by hand and then wipe it off in a towel in my lap. This is what I have been doing this morning, sort of therapeutic for me.

 

[drop_point]

I understand, but it takes just a split second to lube one by hand and then wipe it off in a towel in my lap.

In about five seconds, I can do hundreds and dump them in the case feeder. By the time they make it down to the press, the dry-time is over and its ready to go. I don't get gunk all over my hands while I'm working that way. I don't mind reloading, but I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to it. I'm always looking for something faster.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

In about five seconds, I can do hundreds and dump them in the case feeder. By the time they make it down to the press, the dry-time is over and its ready to go. I don't get gunk all over my hands while I'm working that way. I don't mind reloading, but I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to it. I'm always looking for something faster

I’m going through a couple of large lots of 223 brass right now that I purchased, it sure takes a long time to get to the bottom of of the box. I sure see your point when doing large volumes.

 

[drop_point]

I’m going through a couple of large lots of 223 brass right now that I purchased, it sure takes a long time to get to the bottom of of the box. I sure see your point when doing large volumes.

When I'm doing .223, I run it through twice. One pass is decap, size without expander, expander mandrel. I can knock out about 800 in an hour, then throw them in the wet tumbler (no pins) for an hour, then the dryer in an hour and they are ready to load.

I go back through again and have a decap to make sure nothing in the flash hole, expand again, powder drop, and seat/crimp. Literally only gotta touch the brass to throw it in the tumbler. You have to go a big slower with loading (priming in the down stroke and manually putting a bullet in the die).

It really makes life easier and keeps the wife happy.

Same process can be done for all the cartridges, but for match ammo I charge and seat bullets on the single stage.

 

[ShaunW]

When I'm doing .223, I run it through twice. One pass is decap, size without expander, expander mandrel. I can knock out about 800 in an hour, then throw them in the wet tumbler (no pins) for an hour, then the dryer in an hour and they are ready to load.

I go back through again and have a decap to make sure nothing in the flash hole, expand again, powder drop, and seat/crimp. Literally only gotta touch the brass to throw it in the tumbler. You have to go a big slower with loading (priming in the down stroke and manually putting a bullet in the die).

It really makes life easier and keeps the wife happy.

Same process can be done for all the cartridges, but for match ammo I charge and seat bullets on the single stage.

I appreciate your posts. It would be nice to use a Dillon or whatever to help speed up the process at times especially on case prep. I just had my 10th back surgery so time in the reloading room is hard on me. Regardless shooting makes it worth it.
I’m curious what your wet tumble recipe is?