Gracey case trimmer/Hornady one-shot lube

[Larsen E. Whipsnade]

A few questions that I hope some of you who are competition or high volume rifle shooters can help me out with. I just started using a Gracey case trimmer. I've got it set up for .223 but, short of miking every case, I can't tell when it's finished trimming. I thought I might develop a "feel" for when the case was done cutting, but so far I haven't. Some cases trim down in a few seconds, while others are still over length after 10. I've tried rotating the case as I trim it, but still some seem to take quite awhile. I imagine this is because some are more over-length to start with than others, but if I have to take, say, 15 seconds for each case to be sure it's trimmed all the way down when most will only take 5, it'll slow down the process quite a bit over the course of 1,000 or more cases. And miking each case to be sure it's down to proper length would defeat the whole purpose of the power trimmer. Anyone that uses one of these have any tips or tricks for me?

My other question involves Hornady one shot case lube. I've got close to 4,000 rounds of .223 that I loaded up years ago for a Ruger Mini-14, and it functions fine through it. But I recently bought an AR-15 that apparently has a tighter chamber, and about 1 in 5 rounds will jam in the chamber short of full closure. Much as I hate the idea, I plan to pull the rounds apart, resize with a small-base die (w/o the decapping pin, saving the primers), and reassemble. I'll be loading these on a Dillon, so I don't want to stop & clean the lube off before finishing the process. The one-shot claims it doesn't affect powder or primers, so that shouldn't be a problem, but what about cleaning the lube off the case afterwards? It seems to take several hours in the tumbler before none of the cases still have media sticking to them, and I'm not comfortable tumbling loaded rounds that long, as I've read it can break down the powder kernels & change the burn rate. I've heard of people adding some solvent, like mineral spirits, to some media & tumbling for just a few minutes, but I'm leery of that. I worry that flammable vapors may be set off by a spark from the motor. As near as I can remember, when I first loaded these (some 30 years ago) I didn't bother to clean the lube off the cases at all, & I never had a problem, but maybe I was just lucky. Again, thoughts/suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks.

[deerwhacker444]

I use Hornady One-Shot, and I love it but I always tumble my cases after I size them to get the dried lube off. When you spray it on, it's very viscous and might run down and get in the primer before it dries. Don't know if that would mess anything up or not. They say it won't mess up the powder or primers but I wouldn't want to take the chance. Sorry, not much help.

[Paul105]

Don't know the answer to your trimmer question but here's how I bulk degrease lubed, loaded ammo.

Go to Wal Mart and buy some cheap, non-flamable, aerosol brake cleaner. Lay the loaded ammo out on an old towel (you can do a 100 223s at a time no problem). Hose down the cases and roll them aound in the towel. I have done litterally thousands of handgun cartridges this way with nary a problem.

Just make sure you are in a well ventilated area.

FWIW,

Paul

[Larsen E. Whipsnade]

Thanks for the replies. The brake cleaner sounds like the way to go. I'll give it a try.

[AJMD429]

Here's what I use. I don't bother chucking it in the drill (which I usually clamp in an ordinary bench vise to hold it) if I'm only doing a few cases.

The "factory" setup is for the lock stud & shell holder to be 'chucked' - but I find it much faster to chuck the case length gauge/cutter, and just leave it running (probably their lawyers didn't want people doing this because they'd stick their eyes or gonads on it while standing in a bathtub holding a hairdryer ).

I didn't have a 1/2" drill at the time and that would be power-overkill, so I had a local guy turn the cutter handle down to chuck-able size for me.

The little nubbin on the lower right of my photo (what Lee calls the 'lock stud & shell holder') is held in my right hand, and I just pick up a brass and slide it into the shell holder, snug it maybe a quarter turn, and 'apply' it to the trimmer. The stud automatically sets the depth/length and won't trim a case excessively. Then I un-snug the shell holder and toss the case in the 'done' bin. I haven't timed myself, but it is the fastest accurate trimming method I've ever found.



Link - Lee's Product Info (...but Midway has better prices - see links below.)

Link - MidwayUSA - Cutter
Link - MidwayUSA - Stud/Gauge & Shellholder

This is the kit they sell, but I just buy the stud and holder for each cartridge ($4.49 from MidwayUSA) and of course use the same cutter/stud handle ($4.99 from MidwayUSA) for them all. (I didn't get the 'kit' because I use a Lyman chamfer tool by hand that has a more gradual taper, and the depriming is done on a bench or hand press usually, and I already had a primer pocket cleaner.)