416 Reloading issue

[wood_fly]

First off:
1. What do you use for lubrication on your 416 cases?
2. Which trimmer do you use?
3. What do you use for a primer pocket cleaner?
Thanks

Now to the incident cast:
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Greetings,
Been reloading about 7 years. .40 S&W, 308, 223, 50 Beowolf, 50 S&W and now a friend wants help with his 416 Barrett. I love my LNL but it didn't have the capacity, so I bought a Lee Classic Cast plus the 416 Lee 2 die set.

He then tells me he has 100+ rounds another reloading friend gave him but he can't close the bolt on his rifle. I agreed to have a look. It appeared the friend neck sized only brass from his gun (not my friends), so I bought a Honady bullet puller with a 410 collet and proceeded to:
1. Pull the Thunder ammo bullet - 415.4-415.9 gr ea and VERY pretty (turned solid brass!)
2. Empty charge into RCBS powder scale - 192+- .2 gr
3. Healthy coat of Hornady spray lube
4. REMOVE the center spindle in the reloader as there is a live primer I want to keep in there and gently push up and full length resize.
5. Replace powder and seat bullet
6. Repeat 122 times.

Gave rounds back to him. His report is they shoot GREAT and chamber nicely. Then he gives me a few rounds he shot in his gun to experiment with. First problem was the center spindle was VERY tight on the throat so I created a brass center punch that I can persuade the old primers out. I figured that would reduce the pressure on the handle for a full-length resize. Then I tried to resize the round. HOLY COW that was tough. Something is amiss here as I didn't have to put nearly that pressure on the other rounds. I mushroomed the neck and beant the handle of the press...WTF?!?!?

A fired round measures (OD/ID) .466/.420
After getting through half of the neck I get (OD/ID) .444/.403.

I just don't get the difference between the two different brass types and why raw fired brass from his gun would beso much harder to reform.

Any help would be appreciated,
Tim

 

[wood_fly]

Re: 416 Reloading issue

Per Lee suggestion - stopped using the Hornady spray lube and went with the LEE stuff in the toothpaste tube. Night and day difference. Slips in and out of the full length die. More work, but no more crushed heads.
Tim

 

[onajoyride]

Re: 416 Reloading issue

Or try imperial sizing wax works great for me

 

[MALLARD]

Re: 416 Reloading issue

i dont have a lee press , but i assume it must use a folcrum point like the RCBS 50 press.

make sure you have set up the dies to take advantage of the folcrum point

use hornady wax , i never stuck a case with that stuck.