Case sizing lube amount?

[Badot]

I tried running a few 7.62x54r cases through my hand press to resize last night. I've tried everything from thin oil to thick grease, no difference. If I don't use enough, it gets sticky, but if I do use enough to where it's reasonably smooth, I get my bottlenecks dented. Air port isn't clogged but it is completely covered by threads on the outside, and yes, I did clean the die out a few times when testing.

Am I just expecting it to be too smooth, or will an actual case sizing lube help? Also, am I correct in assuming that I can just back the die out a turn so it sizes maybe 90% of the neck and nothing else with no problems? (it will be fired from the same gun)

[adidasguy]

Not the expert on rifle shells. I do some 30-30 and 223.
I use Lee or Hornady or Lyman case lube. Once I gave a misting of spray Moly dry lube and it worked. It doesn't take much.
I recall reading in some books that if you use the same gun all the time, resizing is not important (only trimming if stretched too long). Full length resizing is so they fit into anything. Check the books to be sure.
Neck sizing and stuff to accept a new bullet is important.
Hornady, Lee, RCBS and others should have data on their web sites. Check first the site you got your dies from.

[Janx101]

Hang on.. You Full Length ReSizing?

Ok .. Many moons ago... FLRS was done by me and mates.... After lots of different calibres and lube types/amounts .... The following ...

Oil or grease ... Not so good! ... As addy said dedicated case lube is best ... And not much!! , when you get your bottle of case lube, spend the few extra bucks and get the foam mat thingy to spread the lube on.... Smear the lube out till it's 'just sticky' all over the pad .... Then roll several cases along. Just enough rolling so you get the thinnest of films on the brass.

(And if you can't get lube or don't want to.... Graphite powder... Thin brushing of graphite over the case, but you will get black and dirty hands REALLY quick!)

Depending on how clean/shiny/how many times fired your brass is... Also determines how often you use a lubed case, it might be every single one... Or every 2nd one, 3rd one etc etc... (If you do dent a case and it's not too bad and not on neck ... And will feed into chamber... You can fire form it out again.

Wipe the brass down with a slightly damp cloth after FLRS and let it sit to dry a little.

Also .. Your press and base holder... Firm action and good snug fit? ... You must avoid any wobbles/slipping/angling of brass and die... Getting a case stuck or tearing off one side of rim ... sucks hairy donkey balls!!

How many times has your brass been used? ... Once fired in your rifle then probably don't bother , in someone else's rifle... Maybe!? ... But you need to be checking if you are having chambering probs.
VERY Hot/Heavy loads with flattened primers will stretch the cases after a loading or two... But really unless you ARE having chambering issues ... Then FLRS not needed..

Another thing that can stop chambering is overall length ... More specifically on the neck! ... If you are serious into reloading enough then a length trimmer is just as useful as a FLRS die.

Overall though ... What happens with your brass and where did it come from? ... If it's all yours since new empties or factory loads then you know the history ... If it's bought secondhand then you will need to inspect for ... Case wall thinning, neck cracks, primer pockets for stretching, cleanliness overall ... And any info from the seller about times used and how 'hot' a load/s

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If it's just neck resizing..... Graphite powder ... Or Teflon powder ...  Jam jar lid upside down .. Couple mm or sixteenth of an inch of powder .. Dab dab and tap off excess at edge of lid ...

NO OIL OR GREASE IN A NECK SIZER!! ..

{if it's unknown brass then check it for length and trim before!!} and check whether you have berdan or boxer primer cases! .... A berdan case will just smash your primer pin!!...
Adjusting your neck sizer ... Remove primer rod ...Wind your die into head till it's a bit above the neck when up position... Lower case... Graphite or Teflon powder .. Replace rod but with pin removed, keep the expander slug on there!... Raise the case Then wind your die down onto neck by finger pressure till it stops/catches , lower the case (so the expander stays inside and see how far along neck, wind your die down by half or quarter turn, raise .. Lower.. Check ...repeat .. You want to get just to base of neck! .. Put pressure on the shoulder of case and you will ding it..... Once you have that sorted them wind the lock ring down and make it firm.... Then with case fully up wind your primer rod down till it bottoms out... Then wind it back a half turn or maybe full turn.... Take case all the way down... Replace pin in primer rod... Raise case again and check it's still all smooth but not bumping anywhere... Lock primer rod down... Good to go 

Adjusting FLRS ... Same but no messing about with primer rod... And depending on how much the brass is expanded... It may be a tough job... 7.62 isn't too big but can still need a good arm for pressure exerted! .. A bench mounted press (turret type ideally) is a godsend! .. We've had .375 H&H jammed up in a FLRS ... NOT fun!!!!

If the expander in neck sizer is catching at all... Dab your fingers in the graphite/Teflon and rub over expander.

Same as with FLRS not every neck will need powder, you will get a feel for it.

Lube is for outside the cases when FLRS .... Lube or oil inside case is not good, use powder!

I've done approx 50,000 reloads over the years, my dad ? .. Who knows.... High hundreds of thousands?!?! ...

You are reloading for??? ... Cost? ... Accuracy? .... Other? ...

If it's accuracy .... Have a good powder scale .... And weigh EACH load ... Powder throwers and measures can still vary it enough to blow your groups out to hell...

For lots and lots of reloading... It's expensive to set up so you can just "go"  .. But worth it in the end... Bench mount press with various dies,powder thrower, powder scales, case length trimmer, neck chamfer tool/trimmer, primer pocket ream (this is almost must have) , tumbler/cleaner (these are not must have... But very handy!! ... And clean shiny brass is pretty!  ) , primer feeder for press if you are feeling really keen!

Also ... (Yes another also!) ... Depending on brand of brass.... It's not all the same.... Some brass is harder/thicker/softer/thinner/easy to work/hard to work ... Having consistent branded brass helps in the long run.

Don't over crimp your projectiles...pressure problems can result.... And be careful with you seating length ... It matters!

You may know a lot of this.... And I don't claim to know everything on reloading!!! ... Plus I don't know what you do know! 

Also... And I know ammo has been scarce in different times and places recently.... If it's just for cost saving.... A 500 or 1000 case of military surplus FMJ ... Still a good option ... Being VERY VERY careful you can still bench grind the noses and use a small drill to make hollow points.... Not the same as hunting specific hollow points .. But still better than FMJ!

I'm done for now! 

[Badot]

Thanks for the thoughts. Went ahead and picked up some actual resizing lube and another box of factory ammo, I'll clean up my die real good and try again once I make myself some more brass 

I'm reloading half for cost, half to see if I can get accuracy any better. I'm able to reload for well under 50 cents a round in small quantities, where all the stores around here have PPU ammo for about 95 cents a round. Will break even on the dies in under 100 rounds. Bear ammo is available as well for ~70 cents per round but everyone tells me it's inaccurate. As far as using a hand press, everything lines up nicely and when the cases run through smooth it does take a lot of force, but it's plenty manageable for the small quantities I'm loading. Every piece of 7.62x54r brass I've found on the range that wasn't mine appear to be fired out of a rifle with massive headspace issues so I don't even pick them up at this point.

Kinda off topic, but seeing as how I probably have a few hunters in this thread -- any tips for keeping a reasonably small keyring quiet? Every once in a while I need to take a quick sprint through the neighborhood drug store without attracting too much attention until I can get between the door and the lowlife of the day.