Lube Inside Case Mouth

[treillw]

I've never had a need to tumble brass before. Never had dirty cases really - just use a little steel wool around the shoulder cleans them up fine. Now that I'm playing with suppressed ARs, the brass is very dirty and I think I should tumble it. I plan on using the FART.

I've heard that tumbling removes the carbon from inside the case mouth and can lead to bullets fusing to the brass. My buddy had this happened with his 300 RUM and it ripped the brass off below the shoulder when he tried to pull the bullet after noticing the problem.

What is the remedy for this? Case lube seems to be the answer. But people also say to tumble the brass to remove the lube because it shouldn't go in your chamber. Tumbling after the cartridge is completely loaded doesn't seem right to me.....

I'm loading a few thousand 5.56 rounds and I don't really want to play with putting carbon lube into every case mouth.

These cartridges will be stored for possibly decades before shooting.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[PopCharlie]

If you use a less aggressive media, like corncob, vs stainless steel pins, you will not have the issue you refer to. I find leaving some of the carbon inside the case neck acts as a lubricant. The bullets slide in smoothly when seating. Corncob media cleans the brass up nicely but leaves the carbon on the inside of the necks. A vibratory tumbler works best for me. I use Iosso pre-treated corncob media.

PopCharlie

 

[GLShooter]

I deprime and tumble in SS media. I use One Shot and size. The over spray dies fine to handle the squeaky clean necks. You don't have to remove the. HOS off the case but I do using a towel soaked in rubbing alcohol. I just roll the cases across the wet area quickly and it takes about 2 minutes to do 100 rounds. Hardly a chore..

Greg

 

[LVLAaron]

Swab the inside of your necks with Neolube #2 before sizing/loading

 

[243winxb]

These cartridges will be stored for possibly decades before shooting.

Bad idea. 223 in photo.

 

[treillw]

Bad idea. 223 in photo.

That doesn't look fun. Can you give some more details?

I know people that have lots of ammo stored. How do you get away from this problem?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

That doesn't look fun. Can you give some more details?

I know people that have lots of ammo stored. How do you get away from this problem?

Cleaning the carbon from the necks before loading

 

[Kracken McGraw]

How do you get away from this problem?

By not believing everything you see on the internet . lol!

 

[treillw]

Cleaning the carbon from the necks before loading

I disagree - the carbon acts as a lubricant and prevents it from fusing.

 

[treillw]

By not believing everything you see on the internet . lol!

Well my buddy who is a national champion bench rest shooter had it happen to him....

Shooting 300 RUM. Shot one and could tell something was wrong - the sound was weird. Stopped, took the bullets home and pulled them. Discovered the bullets were fused to the brass. One of them was fused so tight the bullet wouldn't release and the brass broke off below the shoulder.

 

[mikecr]

It takes direct effort to remove the carbon layer from inside necks.
Normal vibratory cleaning won't.
I wouldn't worry about it from your normal cleaning.

 

[K22]

I tumble with corn cob media then I brush necks out with a low RPM drill containing a nylon brush. Seems to work really well for me without having to lube the inside of necks. It only takes a few minutes using a drill.

Also, I've polished my sizing buttons with very fine emery cloth to produce a glass like finish. No drag on the cases.

 

[243winxb]

Can you give some more details

Standard RCBS FL die over worked the brass, is my guess. Standard load, 55 gr fmj, IMR 4198-20.5 grs. The Factory ammo was Fired in a Ruger Mini 14, cleaned with a towel & reloaded. I do lube inside of necks. Lee or RCBS lube? Don't remember primer brand. Fired in M16A1 carbine & Savage Axis. About 250 rounds stored in GI metal ammo can. Basement 60 to 70 degrees. Damp.

 

[jepp2]

These cartridges will be stored for possibly decades before shooting.

Long term storage can create issues and should normally be avoided. I don't know if you anneal, but brass that has started to work harden can crack over time from the neck tension. Any presence of ammonia can cause season cracking.

You may well have special needs for the long term storage, but just something to be aware of.

I've never personally experienced cold welding. Despite several thousand rounds that were new brass loaded for over 20 years. Bullets released easily.

SS pin tumbling will certainly remove the carbon. For my better brass I tumble in corn cob with Nufinish. Cleans brass adequately for me, and leaves carbon in the case neck. I tumble new brass in the same media as the Nufinish leaves a slick coating that helps the bullets seat in the virgin brass without grabbing.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I disagree - the carbon acts as a lubricant and prevents it from fusing.

Dont believe everything you read. Take a reloaded round from years ago and try to seat it deeper. I always have a couple extra loaded rounds left after i finish a match and they sit around for years sometimes. Ive broke necks trying to pull bullets that are seated on carbon. If you do get one loose you can see the galvanic corrosion left from the carbon next to the copper

 

[10XSHOOTER]

Moly your bullets or swab inside of your necks with Dry Moly lube. Watched a video from Lou Murdica, on here. He swabbed the inside of the necks with dry moly before seating his bullet.

 

[treillw]

It takes direct effort to remove the carbon layer from inside necks.
Normal vibratory cleaning won't.
I wouldn't worry about it from your normal cleaning.

Will wet tumbling? How about wet tumbling with steel pins?

 

[mikecr]

Will wet tumbling? How about wet tumbling with steel pins?

Yeah don't do that
There is no good reason to ever get your brass wet.

A key contributor to cold welding as folks describe is presence of moisture. Then also, carbon and zinc fall opposite on a galvanic scale, and excess heat with annealing brings zinc to the surface. And then for the stupid of it, FL size necks to force binding on the end of bullet bearing -which increases over time. Right where that neck broke in the picture above.

 

[Rsadams]

I have shot ammo that was at least 50-60 years old in pistols which was stored in a dresser drawer inside the house.... It's Texas so it's climate controlled year round... Also .223 brass that was loaded from around 1991 at least with no problems with the brass , as a matter of fact I have been reloading that brass for awhile now... I do inspect my brass before reloading... Honestly it gets lost long before I start to have problems unless I use my brass catcher....

As far as cleaning your AR platform brass I run it in a vibration tumbler with walnut media.... It doesn't remove the carbon from inside the necks like a wet tumbler does.... I do brush the necks because they get dusty.... If you want you can use imperial dry neck lube is easy and works great.... Buy the convenience pack... It comes with the application jar with the tiny ceramic balls and a spare jar of the dry lube.... It should last a very long time just like imperial case lube....

I only wet tumble if the brass is super super dirty as in old range pickups etc.... It's just to much of a pita to me.... Also don't buy expensive walnut media you can get a 25 lbs box at harbor freight cheap... It's just a little dusty... I take what I am going to use when replacing it outside and dump it back in forth using two buckets on a windy day and you will get rid of the dust... Well alot of it anyway...

 

[old codger]

Seems to me that if this was such a problem we would all be treating the inside of the neck with something when we load absolutely virgin brass. Anybody have this problem with new brass?