Dry Neck Lube

Johnny Boy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2008
Messages
62
Location
Northern CA
One is powder and looks like the other is coated BB's. Does it really matter which one is being used?

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One is powder and looks like the other is coated BB's. Does it really matter which one is being used?
Yes it matters. The container of neck lube is to 'refill' the application media container when it runs out.

To use: shake the application media container to distribute the lubricant to the BB's, then apply the lube to the brass by dipping the case necks into the media container. Insert the cases no further than the base of the case neck where it meets the shoulder. Invert the case and lightly tap the neck against a table to get rid of excess lube prior to running it into your sizing die.

To refill: dump some dry lube into the application media container, put the cap on, shake to distribute. Careful, it gets everywhere, and stains just as bad as black printer toner.

I believe the BB's are porcelain or a similarly hard material, make sure none of them stick to the case when resizing or they will destroy your brass and get all over the inside of your sizing die. I have experimented with the dry lube to lubricate case necks for resizing, which worked well, but tends to build up inside the shoulder area of the sizing die and must be cleaned out on occasion. I have also used it for a bullet lubricant. My groups in several rifles shrunk but SD and ES increased significantly so I stopped using it. In my opinion it is a good option if you still use a case lube pad for resizing, but I prefer Hornady one-shot spray and tumble after resizing.
 
I use the mandrel (dark colored) that does not require lube but I apply on mandrel when setting up. Then I just lightly insert case mouth into dry lube prior to process. After process I clean with alcohol. I think it's a nitride coated mandrel. What's your process?
 
I use the mandrel (dark colored) that does not require lube but I apply on mandrel when setting up. Then I just lightly insert case mouth into dry lube prior to process. After process I clean with alcohol. I think it's a nitride coated mandrel. What's your process?
I use the 21st Century steel mandrels with imperial sizing lube on the mandrel and swab the case necks with the imperial lube as well. Then I alcohol swab out the necks and seat them with bullets bare.

I know for a fact that using sizing lube on the bullets or in the necks throws rounds something terrible. Takes 10rnds to get the barrel to settle down. So, that experiment was certainly instructive! (I tried dry lube spray and same thing)

I experimented with graphite on the bullet bases and saw some groups open up, but that was before I had a more solid understanding of grouping dynamics as presented/espoused by Litz, Hornady, Etc. I need to retry graphite on the bullet bases. However, running bare bullets with graphite coated barrel after cleaning has been phenomenal in reducing the first round fliers.

Getting back to graphite on the bullets or necks...I feel like I'll look like a coal miner every time I go to hand load! 😆
 
One is powder and looks like the other is coated BB's. Does it really matter which one is being used?

View attachment 482752
Ok, here's the run down, the powder alone is applied using a nylon brush to the inside of the neck, the one with bb's is used to dip case necks into it.
I prefer to use a brush that you dip, tap off any excess, and run 5-6 times in and out, dipping every other case.
This actually tightened my groups in conjunction with poring powder using the 'swirl technique' on near or compressed loads, it is commonly called 'packing scheme' and drastically makes for more consistent ES/SD numbers.

Cheers.
 
I used midway's mica for case necks. It worked fine but since I use imperial size wax on the case body I just apply some on a qtip and coat the inside of the case necks also. I run the cases in a tumbler with walnut afterwards anyways to clean the lube off the cases for an hour or more. The dry mica is white so it's not messy.

 
I use a cotton bore mop screwed on a RCBS handle.Powdered graphite has been working well for me.I put some in a tall medicine bottle,but had to cut a hole in the lid because it's a little long or I could also cut the mop down since I'm just lubing the inside of the neck anyway.I coat the mop and tap it on the inside of the bottle to remove the excess graphite before lubing the inside of the necks.

 
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