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Thread: Case Oil

  1. #1
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    Case Oil

    Hi guys, getting into reloading for my 38/357 Marlin and possibly 762 and have a few Qs for the experienced elders!,
    what case lube do you use
    is it worth making my own as been looking at how to do it as it looks fairly simple to do with lanolin and alcohol, is it any good
    What powder do you use
    would i need a different one for each caliber
    Thanks in advance
    aquarius11
    One Shot = One Kill

  2. #2
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    Your Marlin shoots a straight-case cartridge - .38Spec or .357Mag. Get a Lee carbide full-length size and you'll never need case lube. I've been loading this calibre since I was still at school, and bought a carbide sizer die back around 1970 that I'm still using.

    For the .308Win - presuming that's what you mean? there are literally dozens of proprietary brands of case lube. I've been using Imperial sizing wax for all eight calibres that I reload here in UK, for literally dozens of years.

    From your question about powder [and no, you can't use the same powder for both] it sounds to me like you are a very noo noob to all this game, and deeply in need of a walking/talking mentor to come and show you the ropes. It's not a thing that you can just rush into blindly.

    Hopishly, somebody here will take that on. First of all though, spend some time on Youtube, at least getting the general idea behind it all, and buy yourself one of the many loading manuals. The different brands, Speer, Hornady, Nosler et al also produce handy DVDs of the how-to, but, as I wrote, you'll REALLY need a one-to-one session or few, or risk doing something from lack of knowledge that causes you serious grief.

    tac
    Last edited by tacfoley; 18-04-2017 at 01:29 PM.

  3. #3
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    Agree with everything above - No, don't bother making your own lube. I've been using a small shoe polish size tin of Imperial wax for ten years or so - getting a case stuck in the sizing die could spoil your day.

    Carbide dies for straight walled cases is the (only) way to go, the Lee ones are excellent value and work very well.

    And yes, get some proper advise and do your homework well before you start loading. 50 grains of a pistol powder like Bullseye in a .308 case would be like a hand grenade going off just in front of your nose.

    Saying that - .38/357 is a good place to start, it's an easy cartridge to load for with plenty of powder/bullet choice.
    Time do some some reading and think about what you want to do with the finished rounds - this might influence the type of press you might need.

  4. #4
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    As stated above your straight walled 38/357 cases won't need lube in a carbide die.

    Making your own lube is easy and it smells a lot nicer than the bought stuff. For a few £s you can get a small bottle of Lanolin and the gallon of Isopropyl alcohol (make sure it is 99%+ and not one of the lower concentrations), all you need is a small pump spray bottle (look under your sink, I bet you'll have one in there somewhere) and you'll be good for many 1000's of rounds.

    And if the worst hap-pens you can always drink it and die happy but blind.
    Good deals with: svincett, dave milne, Muskett, Dreben, roger.kerry, TALL, Helidave1, Chelseablue, Leeroy7031, Mousemann, pnuk, Practical, NEWFI, HOOGS, Webb22, lazybones1416 and deanw5262 among others. Thanks Guys.

  5. #5
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    I also suggest that you look up the page about a inch or so and have a read of the sticky that deals specifically with reloading - http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....ome-good-links

    It's ALL good stuff.

    tac

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by tacfoley View Post
    I also suggest that you look up the page about a inch or so and have a read of the sticky that deals specifically with reloading - http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....ome-good-links

    It's ALL good stuff.

    tac
    One of the first things i did, they are very good but started to watch stuff on utube guess ive watched so, so, so much stuff im confused!!
    One Shot = One Kill

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by aquarius11 View Post
    Hi guys, getting into reloading for my 38/357 Marlin and possibly 762 and have a few Qs for the experienced elders!,
    what case lube do you use
    is it worth making my own as been looking at how to do it as it looks fairly simple to do with lanolin and alcohol, is it any good
    What powder do you use
    would i need a different one for each caliber
    Thanks in advance
    aquarius11
    I used some bright red gel, I think Hodgdon's. There was a cartoon character in a coonskin hat on the front. I used 2 bottles in about 30 years regular reloading in .32 ACP, 9mm.P, .44 Mag, 7,62 NATO, .303 and .577 Snider.

    I found you only needed to lube about 1 case in 3, and I preferred steel dies even though they might wear a little.

    You very certainly do need different powders for rifle calibres from pistol. Don't load anything until you understand what that's about.
    ...history... is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind. (Edward Gibbon: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire)

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by MikB View Post
    I used some bright red gel, I think Hodgdon's. There was a cartoon character in a coonskin hat on the front. I used 2 bottles in about 30 years regular reloading in .32 ACP, 9mm.P, .44 Mag, 7,62 NATO, .303 and .577 Snider.

    I found you only needed to lube about 1 case in 3, and I preferred steel dies even though they might wear a little.

    You very certainly do need different powders for rifle calibres from pistol. Don't load anything until you understand what that's about.
    Don't want to scare the lad but I personally know of a ruger lbr in 44 mag blown up.....then his under lever in same calibre followed suit.....then another person blew his under lever up by forcing larger bullets into cases.....reloading is easy if you know what you are doing.....ask an experienced reloader to show you the ropes and ask on here if you are not sure.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by loiner1965 View Post
    Don't want to scare the lad but I personally know of a ruger lbr in 44 mag blown up.....then his under lever in same calibre followed suit.....then another person blew his under lever up by forcing larger bullets into cases.....reloading is easy if you know what you are doing.....ask an experienced reloader to show you the ropes and ask on here if you are not sure.
    Hence my comment about finding a real live person mentor to start him out the right way.

    Blow-ups are so very rare that whoever did it just has to be some kind of don't-give-a-sh*t dwong.

    The loading data figures are all right there in front of you with the matching propellant.

    Blowing up what is generally reckoned to be one of THE strongest action revolver on the planet really must have taken some tremendous effort at ignoring ALL the rules.

    To the OP - start by learning the SIMPLE basic and reloading that easy straight-wall revolver cartridge - the .38 Spec. After you get confident that you know what you are doing with that, you can progress onto the more complicated rifle cartridge - and it is a LOT more complicated.

    Remember that the figures in the loading data handbooks offer a MINIMUM load as well as a MAXIMUM load. Ignoring either figure is something only the terminally stupid would do.

    These data are not a subject for discussion - they are the RULES by which you can safely make something that is going to go bang at 20,000 pounds a square inch right there in your hand, or right up against your face. Isn't it worth sticking to the books to do it safely?

    tac
    Last edited by tacfoley; 19-04-2017 at 05:21 PM.

  10. #10
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    I love my Lee 38 carbide die. should make 308win carbide die

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon_S View Post
    I love my Lee 38 carbide die. should make 308win carbide die
    Ahh! If only the .308 win was a straight walled case.

  12. #12
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    Don't no why that cannot make a bottle necked carbide die. Would think with all the tech could be done

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon_S View Post
    Don't no why that cannot make a bottle necked carbide die. Would think with all the tech could be done
    Let's see how you do it then....

    The so-called straight case is actually very slightly tapered, and the carbide sizing die - also tapered inside - acts like a circular scraper, cleaning all the crud off as it takes in the case and reduces it to the factory size at the same time..

    The neck of the die actually ends up near the head of the case. Show me how you can do that with a bottle-necked case and I'll be the first in line to buy it when you've made it.

    tac

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon_S View Post
    Don't no why that cannot make a bottle necked carbide die. Would think with all the tech could be done
    Yes, of course it could, by making a sintered carbide bottleneck insert, internally grinding/polishing it and precision bonding it into the steel die body.

    It would be a lot more expensive than a steel die or a carbide-collared straight case die.

    It would also be vulnerable to incorrect setting of the expander, which in sizing a bottleneck case functions on withdrawal, not entry. Once you'd cracked one such carbide die, you'd most likely hesitate to spend out on another. That's probably why nobody (AFAIK ) makes one.
    ...history... is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind. (Edward Gibbon: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire)

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon_S View Post
    Don't no why that cannot make a bottle necked carbide die. Would think with all the tech could be done
    Carbide rifle dies can be made without too much trouble and actually not prohibitively expensive, the drawback is that you still need to lube your cases.

    Carbide rifle dies really find a use in high volume situations where die wear becomes an issue.

    On the other hand you could invent a new sort of die that works like a collet die but sizes the whole case, clamping it to size rather than forcing it through a smaller hole.

    The Lee carbide pistol die sets coupled with a Lee turret press and a Lee auto disc measure was a combination that I found difficult to beat in the days when I was loading several hundred a week.

    https://www.dillonprecision.com/dill...8_4_24498.html

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