To lube, or not, that is my question?

I have carbide dies and don’t have to lube my target.38 or .357 brass. I didn’t lube at first because Hickock45 said he doesn’t. Then just for grins I tried it. I was amazed at how much less effort was needed to cycle the arm. I’m careful not to over lube because it seems to me the powder funnel gets lube on it and the powder sticks to it. Does getting the lanolin in the case have an adverse effect on the powder? For now I’m lubing but would like to hear your advice.
Thanks

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I lube all my cases. What I do is run them through the cleaner again after I’ve sized them to get the lube off. I find the lube causes the powder to stick a bit.

Thank you sir, does the lube getting inside the case have any affect on the powder when fired?

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I’ve heard it can if the powder clumps up. I’ve personally not seen any issues.

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I agree with T_R. Any foreign substance inside the case has the potential to affect the powder or primer. Primers are very sensitive to contamination from oils on your skin, so never touch them with bare hands. I always use my flip tray and nitrile gloves when handling primers.

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I use the tiniest wipe of Imperial Sizing wax (Redding) on the neck, outer edge of the shoulder and around the base ahead of the extractor groove and then wipe it off after resizing when I am prepping the primer pocket and case mouth before priming.

You don’t need much to make a big difference.

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I was told today by a guy from Dillons tech department that it’s imperative to remove the lube after the cartridge is done by putting it in tumbler for 5 minutes. Otherwise the case doesn’t grab the cylinder wall and will slam back into the gun (revolver) like a proof load. Bad for gun. That’s what I was told? Anybody have a different opinion? He also said the lube has no detrimental effects on the charge at all. I have no idea, just sharing this info.

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Well, it does make a certain kind of sense… however, when the thingy goes ‘bang’ the case expands. That helps seal the chamber/walls. I realize that is a high tech explanation, but it seems to cover it. As for the lube not effecting it, no clue. However, I will say ,that if you start putting foreign matter into your loads, then the precision will not be the same (IMHO). For me, I always ensure that the lube is off by tumbling them for awhile, but then I use Pam.

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Instead of messing with lubes, I just clean the insides of the dies every so often.
Never had a problem with that method.

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