difficult sizing of Lapua 223 brass

[rebs]

I bought a Redding s bushing die and it is difficult to run the cases into the die. I have used lanolin and heet spray lube as well as RCBS lube pad and the imperial red lube in the bottle. It seems to take a lot of lube to get the case in the die. Does anyone have an idea what is wrong or what I am doing wrong ? I have no problem sizing in an RCBS die. The cases are 223 shot in a bolt gun

 

[Liven The Dream]

Is your Die a Small Base ?

I had a similar problem with .223 and .284 Brass .
Biggest Help changed Lube , Bullet Butter and Frankfort Arsenal worked well .
Body Die for .284 made things 100%.
Good Luck

 

[rebs]

Is your Die a Small Base ?

I had a similar problem with .223 and .284 Brass .
Biggest Help changed Lube , Bullet Butter and Frankfort Arsenal worked well .
Body Die for .284 made things 100%.
Good Luck

I don't believe it is small base, just standard Reddibg type s bushing die.
Does anything need to be done to the die before starting sizing ?

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I don't believe it is small base, just standard Reddibg type s bushing die.
Does anything need to be done to the die before starting sizing ?

I have got in the habit of cleaning my sizing dies after each loading session so it’s ready for the next one. I simply spray it out with something like Gun Scrubber, then with a dropper I put some Hoppes #9 in it. Shake that out and let it air dry, then it’s ready to go for next time.
Don’t put a WD40 product in your die unless you want a stuck case, been there-done it.

 

[jepp2]

Does anyone have an idea what is wrong or what I am doing wrong ?

Did you remove the rust preservative that Redding uses before they ship their dies? I mostly use Bootleg (12:1 ratio), and until I get some lube coating the die walls, it takes some extra lube at first. I'm not familiar with Imperial red lube in a bottle, but I do use the Imperial white wax in the tin if I am sizing 20 or less cases.

I also polish the interior of all my sizing dies before I use them. Reduces sizing effort by at least 50% and just makes the die work easier.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

What is the die part #, are you using the decapping assembly? Have you tried a new unfired case ?

 

[Iowa Fox]

I've got a bunch of Redding dies I bought brand new. jepp2 hit it on the head. , clean them well and they take a little extra lube at first. I've never polished my Reddings but usually after the first 50-70 pieces of brass they smooth right out and go smooth as silk. Or at least mine have.

 

[Uncle Ed]

Very good advice from jepp2 and Iowa Fox, had the same problem until I cleaned the inside of the die
If I remember correctly the dies instructions tells you to clean the inside of the dies with a solvent.

 

[JB10]

I use that same redding type s die. Im not using lapua brass, but i have no issues

 

[Eagle Six]

Get a light and closely inspect the die body channel, you are most likely going to see some brass looking stuff in there. Follow @jepp2's advice.

 

[rebs]

Thank you for the replies I will clean it with a solvent cleaner. Will Boreteck eliminator work ?

 

[rebs]

Did you remove the rust preservative that Redding uses before they ship their dies? I mostly use Bootleg (12:1 ratio), and until I get some lube coating the die walls, it takes some extra lube at first. I'm not familiar with Imperial red lube in a bottle, but I do use the Imperial white wax in the tin if I am sizing 20 or less cases.

I also polish the interior of all my sizing dies before I use them. Reduces sizing effort by at least 50% and just makes the die work easier.

View attachment 1450360

what do you use to polish the die?

 

[jepp2]

what do you use to polish the die?

I covered more details in another thread currently underway. I pick the diameter of the brass rod to be small enough so it goes in the neck of the die with many layers of paper towel for a tight fit, and trim the paper towel to make the body a tight fit. I know some folks just use a bore mop, but my method fits much tighter on all the internals of the die.

How do you polish the insides of your sizing dies?

Just looking for information from those that do.

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[MislMan]

What size bushing are you using? What is the case neck diameter of the brass?

 

[searcher]

If the resistance is at the first 1/4 of the sizing process, my bet is your expander button not positioned properly. Even is a die that is less than super smooth, sizing should not be significantly tougher than with your other dies. Take the de-cap assembly out and try sizing one. If the issue goes away - you will know this is what it was. Good luck.

 

[JSH]

A gent at Redding told me to clean my dies just like you would a rifle barrel.
However by today’s trending pattern, it seems folks complain about dirty barrels after shooting, and whine a fair bit about any type of residue.
I will mention a good polishing doesn’t hurt a darn thing, seems we may trust CNC a bit to much and not inspect items as through as in years past. Last couple of sets I have bought had some slight burrs that uglied up my brass.

 

[rebs]

I cleaned the die and now it is smooth as silk when sizing

 

[barefooter56]

I bought a Redding s bushing die and it is difficult to run the cases into the die. I have used lanolin and heet spray lube as well as RCBS lube pad and the imperial red lube in the bottle. It seems to take a lot of lube to get the case in the die. Does anyone have an idea what is wrong or what I am doing wrong ? I have no problem sizing in an RCBS die. The cases are 223 shot in a bolt gun

Some of this information has already been given. With any new sizing die you first must clean all the shipping rust preventative out of the die using brake cleaner or another type solvent. Once this is done, adjust the die per the factory directions. Lube up a once fired case from the base of the shoulder. And very lightly around the outside of the top of the case neck. Run the cartridge case up into the die slowly till you feel friction. RE-LUBE the case body and repeat. Do this until you can make a full pass through the die and you are good to go,

 

[rebs]

Some of this information has already been given. With any new sizing die you first must clean all the shipping rust preventative out of the die using brake cleaner or another type solvent. Once this is done, adjust the die per the factory directions. Lube up a once fired case from the base of the shoulder. And very lightly around the outside of the top of the case neck. Run the cartridge case up into the die slowly till you feel friction. RE-LUBE the case body and repeat. Do this until you can make a full pass through the die and you are good to go,

Thank you, The die is working smooth as silk now