Just wondering if this is really required when seating the bullet. I am asking because without lubing I am already getting between 5-10 SD and I doubt I can get better by lubing the necks. Is lubing only for prolonging the case (neck) life?
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View thread Contact supportNo, lubing is not for prolonging case life. It's to help get consistent seating depth. . .particularly when neck tension is somewhat tight. This is easy enough to test on your own.Just wondering if this is really required when seating the bullet. I am asking because without lubing I am already getting between 5-10 SD and I doubt I can get better by lubing the necks. Is lubing only for prolonging the case (neck) life?
Great idea, think I will use this method going forward for my bulk reloading, Hornady 55's for classes etc.It’s easy enough to lube the bullets each session by spreading them on a cookie tray and spraying them with Lanolin or one shot or whatever and then shaking the tray back-and-forth
It makes for far more consistent neck tension, and there is a theoretical benefit to ceiling the powder against ambient moisture changes
Thanks for all the replies. I will stick with no lube during bullet seating, and only lube when I FL
Ooo ooo......." Not enough DATAaaaaa"EDIT: When I refer to lubing necks, it's the inside of the neck for seating purposes.
I've done some fairly extensive testing on this. I compared neck lube (neolube) vs. no neck lube in my 300 PRC over nearly 100 rounds for each modality.
With neck lube, I got, and still get, low 6s for SDs over large sample sizes. Without neck lube, SDs were in the 8.x range. Again, this is over close to 200 rounds of total testing. I also saw a noticeably larger group size for non-lubed necks (all shots at 500 yards), but I can't definitively attribute this to the fact that I wasn't using neck lube on those bullets due to the fact that using neck lube changes the pressure profile. I can't say for sure that I couldn't have tuned the non-lubed rounds to get better groups.
For reference, here is a plot on my amp press showing seating forces of the two. Guess which color is the "no lube" group.View attachment 8462035
I have also done extensive testing on seating force consistency and the correlation to muzzle velocity SDs.
All it takes is a q-tip wetted with a little lanolin/IPA mix and a quick swirl inside the mouth of each case in the loading block after powder has been dropped.
You should try having a small container and just dipping the case necks. That's what I do with Neolube, and while it takes a little more lube due to coating the outside of the neck, it is very fast - just dip and wipe off the outside.
Curious as to the exact components and the mix ratio you're using for your lanolin/IPA brew.
LOL, that sounds WAY harder than what I do (which means I'd inevitably rationalize a reason for no longer doing it lol) and I don't want anything in the case neck before dropping powder.
I'm just using the standard ~1:10 of lanolin:IPA. I loosely followed this (I even bought and use the same Chemical Guys spray bottles):
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(I have to finish loading some rounds later and I'll try to remember to make a ~10-30sec video I can post, as how I do it is easy, though, now that I think of it, I've never seen anyone do it like I do...)
FWIW, this is how I do it. It's quick, easy, and repeatable. There's powder in the cases, so you can't be a ham-fisted gorilla, but you can go fast and don't have to be overly careful either.
Just don't go too crazy or start with the Q-tip too wet and it's a cinch. You can even go through them a second time if you're not confident you got them all, just give it a minute for the alcohol to flash off.
I went with the easy buttonI've tried thousands of rounds both ways and the ones where I lubed the inside of the neck before seating bullets consistently yield lower SDs and smaller groups. I can make ammo that has single digit SDs without lubing the inside of the necks, sure, but I don't anymore, because the extra step only takes ~2mins and I know the ammo will come out slightly better and the SD number will be smaller, so I do it.
Guys forget sometimes that neck tension has more to do with hoop stress than friction, but friction affects whether all the projectiles can be repeatably seated to the same depth (so every round comes out the same). And we want them to all come out the same as possible to one and other.
All it takes is a q-tip wetted with a little lanolin/IPA mix and a quick swirl inside the mouth of each case in the loading block after powder has been dropped. You only have to hit the top inside ~1/4 of the neck, so it's easy to avoid contaminating the powder (the bullets spread out the lube and do the rest as you seat them). The lube dries out and then has no effect, it vaporizes when you pull the trigger.
Pretty simple and quick:
That was my first thought - it looks like a lot wasted, but I do not know what I am talking about, so . . .Just me or does that seem like a wildly inefficiency use of lube?
Just me or does that seem like a wildly inefficiency use of lube?
Everything you do always seems to be contrary to the rest of the world, yet there’s never any data to support your anecdotes.I tested neck lube in the case and found it to matter zero to SD/ ES. I also clean my brass extremely well every firing but did not see a change in SD/ ES and found it very easy to shoot 5-7 SD with just a rub of alpha sizing brass on the outside. That said, I don't go out of my way to avoid the inside of the case; I just don't swab it, either.
Everything you do always seems to be contrary to the rest of the world, yet there’s never any data to support your anecdotes.
Those aren’t groups.
Those aren’t groups.
Where are your shots with all else being equal, but with lubed necks?
Oh, I’ve already decided, and never eluded to needing your help.Never said this was a study to help you decide about the effects of lube. I’m telling you I don’t lube necks and you can shoot 5-7 sd without it just fine. Sorry that hurt your feelings.
Oh, I’ve already decided, and never eluded to needing your help.
Never touched moly.You’re covered in moly doing 6 extra steps to reload ammo that doesn’t shoot as good as my 20” suppressed 300 win mag. You might want to think about it
Never touched moly.
My SDs are lower than yours and my groups are smaller. And I’m just a hobbyist.
I’ve got proof posted all over this place.Says the guy with zero proof who is accusing the guy with proof of having none. Classic.
You calling me a dumbass then looking like a turkey when I post chronos backing everything I just said is getting to be routine.
I said you do not need to lube to shoot 5-7 SD. to which you said "yet there’s never any data to support your anecdotes."I never said that.
You don’t have any actual data there. 12 shots may as well be none, and the Garmin will always display a lower SD because it uses population rather than sample. You should lube your necks.
Let me guess, I have to use mandrels for low sd too??
I can attest to that and do the same.Group sizes went down accross the board with the use of a mandrell for me regardless of caliber.