AA Brass neck splitting

[Gary]

Just had a neck split last week after 11 firings of Lapua brass. Loaded 39 up for the last time and will use a fresh batch next as the semi auto is rough on them.

[wraith1516]

Tryed lubing expander but is a pain in the a $$ to pull it apart every 20 or so rounds to relube it

[wraith1516]

Gary what part of mi

[Hoser1]

I still use the old lube pad and roll 10 or so cases back and forth, then turn the case on end and roll the case between my fingers to get a bit of lube on the case mouth. I haven't split any necks that I can remember. I can tell when my pad is dry, it does bind on the neck. When I finish with all my resizing I wipe the cases down with a little break clean on a rag. Never have had any issues, everything goes bang in the end.

[LR1955]

Polishing the expander is a great idea. Has anyone tried lube the expander instead of the inside of the case directly?

Cory / Guys:

I have sprayed some spray lube inside the sizing die and it will work for four or five pieces of brass. I did it because in this situation it was more convenient than placing the brass on a lint free rag with the necks facing me and spraying. In this situation I put the brass in a plastic container and sprayed the lube over the brass then shook the container. Some of the necks get it inside and some don't. When I hit the first dry neck, I sprayed a touch of the lube directly into the sizing die and kept sizing until it became hard to pull the expander button back through. It was a semi PITA but not a mission stopper.

Also, I will spray a bit of it inside any new sizing die before sizing, no matter how well I lubed the cases. Many die makers recommend cleaning then lubing the inside of the sizing die for the first iteration of sizing brass.

LR55

[LR1955]

Tryed lubing expander but is a pain in the a $$ to pull it apart every 20 or so rounds to relube it

Use a spray lube on the brass. If you need some inside the sizing die, spray some inside the sizing die. Wait about fifteen seconds and continue to march.

You will dimple brass if you use stamp pad lube. You will not dimple the brass if you use a little bit of spray lube.

I don't do it as a rule but only to solve a problem. I just spray a bit of it up into the sizing die. Don't need to remove the die or take it apart.

LR55

[wraith1516]

I use the rcbs stuff no little straw it is a pump and has a wide spray pattern

[LR1955]

I use the rcbs stuff no little straw it is a pump and has a wide spray pattern

Roger.

Just put it right at the opening of the die and spray just a little.

Again though, I do this only if it I failed to get lube inside the necks and I don't have a lot of brass to size. I don't do this as a rule.

LR55

[wraith1516]

I also use a powdered graphite on the inside of the neck started doing that to size the nickelcoated 7stw case

[sneaky one]

Great ideas guys. When in doubt, q tip it out-- on the inside of neck. No worries then..
Always polish the expander ball --- check the diameter specs.,, I go down to the bare minimum- just enough to push out any dents in case mouth.. More neck tension that way--- say .005-.007. Seems to help in accuracy, less worry of a bullet moving fore, or aft, during normal cycling through the action.

Hornady quick shot is readily available, works out just fine for most needs. Have not tried Dillon yet.

[LR1955]

Great ideas guys. When in doubt, q tip it out-- on the inside of neck. No worries then..
Always polish the expander ball --- check the diameter specs.,, I go down to the bare minimum- just enough to push out any dents in case mouth.. More neck tension that way--- say .005-.007. Seems to help in accuracy, less worry of a bullet moving fore, or aft, during normal cycling through the action.

Hornady quick shot is readily available, works out just fine for most needs. Have not tried Dillon yet.

Sneaky:

Am curious about this so don't take it as an affront to your handloading knowledge or experience please.

What needs would the lube not work for when it comes to sizing brass?

I do know it doesn't work well to lube bullet jackets prior to swaging. Not sure exactly why since it is lanolin and that is what I use to lube bullet jackets.

LR1955

[lwminton]

65W:

Dragging a expander button through a neck without lube will not help the life of the brass at all. It will work harden the necks.

Some guys are scared to get some lube inside the necks for fear that somehow it will contaminate the powder or do something to the primer. I imagine if you deliberately sprayed a good amount of spray lube directly into the case and coated the inside, you may contaminate the powder but this would be a deliberate act and not a byproduct of using spray lube as directed.

For my more important loads, I lay the brass out on a lint free rag with the necks facing me. I spray the Dillon Lube on the brass at a slight angle so I can get some of it inside the necks. I roll the brass and spray again. Then roll a couple more times before dumping it into a bin for sizing. I don't hose the brass down with the lube. A little spray is it. It takes a minute or two for the Dillon lube to dry before I run it through the sizer. I may wipe the outside of the brass down after sizing but never bother with the necks. I don't throw it into a polisher either.

I have thrown the brass into a plastic container, sprayed two or maybe three short sprays of the lube onto the brass, covered the container and shook it. The lube seemed to cover the outside of the brass well but not always the inside of the necks.

Get some lube inside the necks and your life will be easier.

LR55

I understand about lubing inside the neck for smoother operation but I worry that it may affect the grip on the bullet. As a result, I tumble newly sized brass to get it clean inside and out before seating a bullet. Is that overkill?

lwm

[LR1955]

I understand about lubing inside the neck for smoother operation but I worry that it may affect the grip on the bullet. As a result, I tumble newly sized brass to get it clean inside and out before seating a bullet. Is that overkill?

lwm

LWM:

I think it is overkill with spray lube. When you run the brass through a sizing die with an expander button, the button does a decent job of wiping the inside of the neck free of the lube. I am sure some is left there but it won't bother anything.

You will find many High Power shooters who load on progressives don't even bother to wipe down the cartridge to remove any lube from the loading process. They load and shoot. The spray lubes put a pretty thin sheet of lanolin on the brass to begin with and some comes off during sizing. Key is to use very little of the stuff. No need to hose down the brass.

About the only time you will have a problem is if you neck size only and lube may cause powder to affix to it, clogging the neck. You notice it, take my word for it. When it happens to me, I clean the clog using an old bore brush, make sure any powder that was inside gets dumped, and charge the brass again. I watch every thing I do when reloading to catch anything out of the ordinary.

Nothing wrong with tumbling but it is unnecessary. Also, a PITA if you de-prime then tumble with the corn shell media since some of the media embeds in the flash hole.

LR55

[lwminton]

LWM:

I think it is overkill with spray lube. When you run the brass through a sizing die with an expander button, the button does a decent job of wiping the inside of the neck free of the lube. I am sure some is left there but it won't bother anything.

You will find many High Power shooters who load on progressives don't even bother to wipe down the cartridge to remove any lube from the loading process. They load and shoot. The spray lubes put a pretty thin sheet of lanolin on the brass to begin with and some comes off during sizing. Key is to use very little of the stuff. No need to hose down the brass.

About the only time you will have a problem is if you neck size only and lube may cause powder to affix to it, clogging the neck. You notice it, take my word for it. When it happens to me, I clean the clog using an old bore brush, make sure any powder that was inside gets dumped, and charge the brass again. I watch every thing I do when reloading to catch anything out of the ordinary.

Nothing wrong with tumbling but it is unnecessary. Also, a PITA if you de-prime then tumble with the corn shell media since some of the media embeds in the flash hole.

LR55

Can I take the de-primer out and do that last as a separate operation? I am thinking about 1 important match where I want all the best leaving me as the culprit.

[LR1955]

Can I take the de-primer out and do that last as a separate operation? I am thinking about 1 important match where I want all the best leaving me as the culprit.

LW:

If you think you must polish after sizing, polish and poke out any media stuck in the flash hole. No sense you doing any more than you need to.

Guys can get a bit OCD over this stuff so watch it or it will give you problems during competition.

LR55