HELP - Keep getting stuck cases!

[Masada415]

I decided to work on a .308 load and began to process some brass that I had stored away. The brass is Prime, once fired out of an FN SPR rifle. I deprimed and clean the brass with a wet tumbler and then let it sit overnight in a Frankford Arsenal dryer. When I got around to resizing the brass, I noticed that it was extremely difficult to size them. The die would stop approximately 1/2" from the base of the brass and would not budge much. Eventually I got a stuck case in my RCBS die. I bought a set of Hornady dies and tried again, making sure that everything was lubed well enough to not give me issues, but got the same results. At first I was using Hornady One Shot as a lube, then switched to Imperial Die Sizing wax, but there was no difference. Eventually I got a stuck case in my Hornady die. I measured the base of the Prime where it seems to be getting stuck and got 0.471. I compared it to some Hornady once fired brass I had laying around which measured 0.466, so only a .005 difference. Any ideas what might be going on? Will the .005 difference be getting the cases stuck?

 

[z7.jled]

If you are getting stuck cases your are not using enough lube or your brass is filthy and full of sand

Now, clean the die, then make sure it is lightly lubed

Lube the brass according to the instructions for the lube, make sure the expander ball and necks are also lubed

Make sure your dies are set up properly

Resizing 308 brass out of my rifle is so easy my 4 yr old can do it

 

[Masada415]

Brass is not dirty, it is squeaky clean. It was wet tumbled in stainless media for about 3 hours. Die was cleaned and lubed as per instructions, as well as the brass. I did not lube the expander ball, but that's not the part that seems to be giving me problems. I will try it anyway. I haven't had any problems reloading other cartridges, its only this one. I was wondering if maybe heating the brass overnight in that Frankford Arsenal had made it so hard that it is not stretching as it should.

 

[spife7980]

More lube, youll know you have to much when the shoulders start to buckle.

Also, what press?

Stuck on the up stroke before it goes all the way in or on down stroke trying to extract it from the die? ?

 

[Masada415]

I am using a Redding T7. It gets stuck on the upstroke, about half an inch before hitting the die. When I forced it down all the way is when I got the stuck cases. I'll give it a try using more lube, but it got to a point where I was spraying it with One Shot at different angles AND applying Imperial wax and it was all the same.

 

[Masada415]

 

[Masada415]

Attached those pics so ya'll can see how clean that brass is.

 

[spife7980]

T7 ought to have enough oomph to size it, not like its a little hand press or anything so thats out as a potential issue.

I like to stand them up in a shoe box, 2-3 sprays deliberately into the necks, knock them on the side and 3-4 more sprays on the bodies, tumble them around in the cardboard to spread it evenly. Then let it dry so that the alcohol can flash off leaving only lube. Give the die a spritz up inside of it for good measure. Too much lube will give you little pothole sonthe side of the case right below the shoulders but they will fire out just fine and if you arent getting those then you dont have too much lube. Its a there isnt enough until its too much situation.

.471 is right at the max spec, so it will be a good bit of movement. What do the pieces that you got stuck measure at the base afterwards?

 

[Masada415]

The few that I was able to resize went down to .468

 

[spife7980]

That all sounds about fine measurement wise. Do your once fired .466 hornady cases size alright?

 

[Masada415]

Yes the Hornady size alright. Im on my way to buy a tap so i can remove the stuck case. I'll give an update later this afternoon.

 

[Sheldon N]

0.005 of sizing at the base is a lot of sizing. I've got a Hornady 308 die too and it's pretty small at the base, tighter than the Redding die I had. Combine that with the larger chamber of the FN and you've got a pretty good challenge.

In addition to more lube, I'd also suggest working the brass a bit at a time. Size until effort starts to get hard, back off, size some more, back off, etc.

 

[Milo 2.5]

The few that I was able to resize went down to .468

First, if the brass is coming out of the chamber at .471", no need to get it back down to .468". A measurement of .468" is new brass territory. It may be easier to find a more relaxed die. Was the once fired Hornady fired in this chamber?
If you are going to continue this route, do like Sheldon says and double, triple pump the cases into the die, but rework the lube down or back up the case as you do, as it's getting tight it's removing the lube.

 

[Masada415]

I had to screw down my dies more than I usually do because I needed to push back the shoulder of the case. The chamber of my Accuracy International is tighter and it wouldn't close with the brass fired from the FN SPR. Thanks you all for your input and help.

 

[mdmp5]

You are lubing the body of the case adequately right? That's where the case sticks, not the neck

 

[spife7980]

 

[mdmp5]

That brass looks way cleaner than any once fired brass I've ever seen. How long are you tumbling?

 

[DrewC]

You could back off on running the tumbler for 3 hours. Cut that in half. I’d stop using the One Shot lube and get a bottle of the RCBS case lube. I find it to be the best stuff for stubborn cases / chambers. Then maybe get a Forster sizing die. I’ve tried all the different case lubes out there and I found the RCBS to be the best by far.

 

[mdmp5]

I didn't see you wrote 3 hours. That is not the source of your stuck cases though. You either have gunk in your die or you aren't lubing the cases correctly. Take a q tip with some acetone and scrub out the die

 

[Masada415]

That brass looks way cleaner than any once fired brass I've ever seen. How long are you tumbling?

I tumbled in stainless steel media for approximately 3 hours using Armor All car soap and Lemi Shine. Then I dried for about 8 hours.

You could back off on running the tumbler for 3 hours. Cut that in half. I’d stop using the One Shot lube and get a bottle of the RCBS case lube. I find it to be the best stuff for stubborn cases / chambers. Then maybe get a Forster sizing die. I’ve tried all the different case lubes out there and I found the RCBS to be the best by far.

This was the problem. I was using an old can of One Shot and it was possibly out of lube and spraying only alcohol. I used a new can and voila, it worked! I think the few cases that I managed to size was when I used the Imperial sizing wax. When I tried the combination of both it might not have been enough to get it going. This was the first time I encountered this problem. Ive been loading 6.5 Creedmoor and .223 for a while now and hadn't come across this issue. Guess I'll get rid of the One Shot altogether.

 

[Masada415]

I really appreciate you all's input! I should stick to whats been tried and tested.

 

[Jrb572]

If you want a spray lube this works great

http://www.65guys.com/brass-case-resizing-lube/

 

[bunsen27]

Here are the Amazon links for the DIY lanolin spray lube:

Lanolin
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041TZXBW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Spray Bottles
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ABYVT64/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

99% IPA
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B5JT8C/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[DrewC]

Yes One shot does go bad after awhile. Same with the Dillon which is the alcohol / lanolin mix. It’s good for about a year then the lanolin clumps up and won’t remix.

 

[cav has been]

I just throw a couple of 80gr Bergers in the bottle and shake vigorously for a couple of minutes. Voila, Huston we have working spray lube. Heating to 80-90* helps with the mixing.

 

[wilson1911]

Imperial or home brew....which is a small bit better than imperial. Hornady one shot sucks....not to mention the price of it.

 

[padom]

I been using Imperial Sizing Wax (the best) but nobody likes lubing cases 1 at a time. I been mixing my own as posted above for a while.now and it works great. One Shot was the worst lube I ever used. Gave all my bottles to my.buddy who loves it.

SS Tumbling your brass for 3hr is not an issue and your brass looks fine. I just dont do it anymore cause I like some carbon left in the necks but there is other ways to fix that.

 

[supercorndogs]

Hornaday dies come with instructions that you must clean them with bore solvent before using or stuck cases will ensue. They are not kidding in my experience. I read this after sticking a Lapua 22-250 case in my Hornady die. That is the only stuck case I have ever had using one shot according to their instructions. I stuck another case trying to spray and go straight into the die during set up. I like to lube the die before I start also.

 

[918v]

You didn’t break in the die correctly. Take a case, lube it, run in in the die partially until you feel slight resistance, withdraw, relive, reinsert until you feel resistance, withdraw, relube, etc. until you’ve sized the whole case.

 

[RTH1800]

I recall years ago that many folks had this problem with One Shot. Just get some good case lube and you can re size anything. Put it on with your fingers don't over do the neck/shouder area. Imperial sizing lube is a good one. Also the one by the Wipe Out company is excellent. A T7 should resize a 50 cal to a .204 in one pass with adequate lube.

 

[lightman]

I really like the Lanolin/alcohol spray. I've been buying the Dillon stuff but may mix my own when it runs out. I never had a problem with OneShot except that I bought several cans on sale and they lost their pressure before I used them. There are lots of threads bashing OneShot, enough to make one think about it.

I always clean new dies before I use them. I also clean my dies occasionally along the way. A large caliber bore brush and bore solvent works well. I usually just screw an oily rag into the die and wipe off the seating stem and depriming punch. Some dies come pretty clean while others have a good bit of machining trash left behind.

 

[Masada415]

I appreciate all the suggestions and input. I will definitely look into the products you all mentioned including the DIY lubes.