Greetings:

I have a steel die set for 7.62x25- the directions said lubrication was required for the sizer die.

What do you recommend that would be cheap, fast, and not messy- what if I dont lubricate the shells- does it just wear out the dies quicker?

My experience reloading has been with revolver ammo only and carbide die sets.

Would an occasional blast of WD 40 into the sizer die and let the excess drip out do the trick? or occasionally apply a light coating of gun oil to the sizer die with a cotton swab?

Thanks for your help
Brad

get a can of "one shot" I think its made by hornady. I some in a water based pump version. I put my cases in a 1 gallon ziploc bag and put about 3 squirts of the one shot lube in the bag and shake it around some so it coats all the shells. That will work fine for external lube but depending on the size of the dies you might need to use a lube on the inside of the case necks so the expander ball doesnt get stuck. There are several ways to do that and at least one thread dedicated to it if I remember right. try a search.



If you are talking about lubricating the dies themselves it doesnt hurt to wipe them down occasionally with a light gun oil to keep them from developing rust.

You need to lubricate the cartridge cases and not the die.

Use a lubricant made for the purpose. Spray on lubes however don't apply the lube where you want it and don't want it.

I lubricate the insides of the necks as well if the die has an expanding button.

WD 40 is a poor lubricant. It's very useful for a lot of things but lubrication is not one of them.

bstogsdill,

Welcome to the forum.

Whatever you do, NEVER, EVER run a case through the sizing die without lubricating first.

You will soon get the case stuck in the die, and unless you have the right equipment, you might ruin the die.

There are many types of case lubes around. We use one made by Hornady, called UNIQUE case lube. It comes in little tubs - like the ones ice cream comes in - and very liitle of it is required.

Pick a tiny amount on your finger, and rub it on several cases in your hands. That is all that is needed.

BST - You've been given a lot of good advice by the shooters here. Do NOT compare your loading experiences with the use of carbide pistol dies or you will be one sad puppy real fast.

Get a good lube and use it properly.

As you have been told, WD40 is a piss poor case lube. And while we are on the subject, so is vaseline!!!!! So DO NOT cut corners on your case lube.

You been warned.

Many years ago I bought an RCBS lube pad, which is simply a dry stamp pad with no ink. I saturated it with Valvoline 80W-90 hypoid gear oil, and lightly roll the cases on it. Works excellently.

I use Lyman quick spray lube for my resising, just spray a thin film on the cases and clean the inside of the die with it and youre ready!



DONT use WD40 as a lube, been there done that, stuck cases, lots of swearing, bad temper and ruined dies!



Dont go cheap on lube its not expensive and it lasts forever!



Regards Ben

Iceland

I DON'T LUBE CASES SINCE I GOT MY LEE DIES WITH THE CARBIDE SIZER INSERT IN THE RESIZING DIE. IF YOU ARE USING JUST CARBON STEEL DIES I DO RECOMMEND YOU LUBE EM. AS PER SAEED.....


THE 2ND AMENDMENT PROTECTS US ALL.....

I`ve been useing RCBS, Lee, ect, lube and pad since I started in the mid `60s. I can`t comment on spray lubes as I haven`t tried them.



The carbide dies for straight wall cases will do OK without lubeing but you need to lube your cases when sizeing bottle neck cases with std steel walled dies. I prefer the lubes made for sizeing as they aren`t petro` but water based, and shouldn`t have an effect on the powder charge or primer like some other types of lube/oil can. A Q-tip as stated in another post works well to lube the inter neck wall. The case lubes also clean up easier, I tumble to get the lube off when I`m done sizeing cases but a quick wipe with a rag will work.



I don`t worry about the extra cost involved with "dedicated" lubes as I doubt I have went through more then 1/2 dz bottles since I began, a little goes a long long way. At ~$2US I wont go broke buying it any time soon.



For storing your dies I wipe mine with rag and a couple drops of FP-10 or Break Free and they`ve kept well for me.



edited to ask; Just for my information, what exactly is a 7.62x25?? What`s the country of origin?

The 7.62x25 is the Russian Tokarev semiauto pistol round, also used in the Czech CZ52 and some others. Basically the same cartridge as the 7.63mm Mauser. Often used interchangeably, though not all loads are safe in all pistols. There's lots of info on the Web about this.

Thanks Ricochet, I learned something today..........