sizing problems .223

[Zeek]

The brass stays in the die and pulls out of the shellholder. The die is clean and lubed with RCBS spray lube. Any suggestions???

 

[Stumpy1]

You ARE lubing the brass too, right? And letting any solvent in the spray lube dry off leaving only the lubricant.

Frank

 

[jepp2]

The most fool proof case lube I use is Imperial. I don't use it for quantity sizing work, but for a few cases or die setup, it has a very wide range of application acceptability.

 

[PigButtons]

Take your bore scope, use it to look inside the die. Some corrosion may have developed and it will need to be buffed out or returned to the manufacturer for honing, depending on the severity.

 

[Dub]

correct shell holder?

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Not enough lube in my experience.. See if you can find some Imperial case wax.. I have never had any luck with spray lube. Either RCBS or Hornaday..

 

[Clark]

Never use an expander ball

 

[miningshawn]

I also stuck quite a few cases with the RCBS spray lube. I did two things differently and haven't stuck a case in years.

Switched to sizing wax. Everyone here will say "Imperial or nothing!", I use Hornady One Shot sizing wax and it works just fine.

I also pause for 5 seconds at the top of the stroke to allow the brass to form and equalize the air pressure in the case\die. When faced with a huge lot of .223 its easy to rush through them. Applying sizing wax slows the process down, but in this case that is a good thing.

Remember to clean the die, especially the air bleed.

 

[Rsadams]

Lube the brass not the die... Imperial sizing wax is what I use , a tin of it will last for years.... I haven't had a stuck piece of brass since using it... Just FYI , a little goes a long way....

 

[M-61]

Is this the only time it has happened? Have you loaded OTHER cartridges successfully in the past? There is no need to lube the die. In fact it should be clean. The case gets lubed and as you can see there are plenty of favorites out there. Easy to be using the wrong shellholder also. How are you removing the stuck case? Is the rim destroyed?
I see you joined yesterday.....was your joining the result of this problem? Just wondering as if that's the case you've come to the right place. And if this is your first attempt at reloading even more understandable.

 

[Stephen Frith]

Lube the brass not the die... Imperial sizing wax is what I use , a tin of it will last for years.... I haven't had a stuck piece of brass since using it... Just FYI , a little goes a long way....

Finally.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

Use any proprietary lube except sprays. Imperial - best Hornady wax- OK. RCBS lube on a pad - OK

 

[divingin]

I'll dissent on not using sprays; I've used it for years (though admittedly not without problems.) If your brass is cleaned of all soot and carbon before sizing, make sure you get some lube inside the case mouth so you don't have problems dragging the sizing ball through.

Royal spray lube works well, but it's messy. Your hands will get greasy, and you'll need to clean cases after sizing. This stuff lends itself to being used in a bag (large ziploc bag, dump cases in, give it a good shot of lube, close bag, and agitate to distribute.)

Hornady One Shot work OK, but you need to get decent coverage ("decent" is dependent on your needs), and you absolutely have to give it time to dry (5 to 15 minutes or more) before running it into the sizer. The advantage is that you don't need to clean it off the cases before proceeding to the next step. Some people say the bag method works; I've had problems with insufficient lube when trying it. I usually lay cases out on a piece of paper, spray, roll the cases 180 degrees and spray again. Lining the cases up will allow you to get the neck lube mentioned above.

That said, I only use spray lubes for bulk sizing now (which I rarely do anymore); generally I use Imperial wax (full length sizing) or just the dry graphite lube (neck sizing.)

 

[rardoin]

If your brass is pulling from the shellholder you have to first, as alluded to by Dub, make sure the shellholder is the correct one and has not had the 'lips' broken off. All lubes designed for sizing work well if the directions are followed.

 

[PRR1957]

RCBS Case Lube 2. I have used that with a RCBS Lube Pad for twenty some years. I lay two lines of the lube on the pad and spread it with a one edged razor blade, and I.E. lay ten 223 case, roll them back and forth twice and run them through the sizing die. I can do 50 cases before the pad needs more lube. One half hour in a vibrating case polisher with corn cod to clean off the lube or soak the case in hot water and Dawn dish soap, swirl them around, pour them into colander, rinse under hot water, dry in oven set on low or in front of a space heater. The Lube pad when it gets dirty I remove it from the tray and wash it with warm water and Dawn dish soap.