hard to pull brass out of sizing die

[243winxb]

It is the expander ball causing this

Its really a donut, a brass thickness at the neck, shoulder junction. Some brass is worse then others.

The fix. Fl Type S Redding bushing die. Or outside neck turn brass for use in a standard die.

Photo from AMP Annealing Company.

The expander has to decap the primer. Very little room for adjustment. Not the issue.

 

[rebs]

what if I fl sized with the expander rod removed and the use a lee collet die for just the neck?

 

[Highpower-FClass]

what if I fl sized with the expander rod removed and the use a lee collet die for just the neck?

I do this for my bolt action 223 ammo. I FL size using a redding body die and then size the necks with a Lee collet die.

A benefit with the Lee Collet die is you can order both under and oversized mandrels from Lee at a cost of almost nothing and thereby get full control over the sizing of the necks.

 

[6Creed73]

what if I fl sized with the expander rod removed and the use a lee collet die for just the neck?

That will work. And the Lee collet die will deprime if you don't want to get a decapping die.

 

[Andy Work]

what if I fl sized with the expander rod removed and the use a lee collet die for just the neck?

The FL die may size the neck too much for the LCD mandrel. You need to try it to see. The redding body die doesn't size the neck, works fine with the LCD and would be a lower cost option than a bushing die.

 

[SKWERLZ]

what if I fl sized with the expander rod removed and the use a lee collet die for just the neck?

The die is still going to size the neck unless it’s a bushing die

 

[coldboreshot]

My recommendation would be to remove the expander ball and toss it in a parts bin somewhere. Then get a mandrel expander die. They are easier on the brass, and you can control how much you expand the neck with different mandrel sizes.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ !!!!!

 

[Eagle Six]

As others have said, if you are going to use the Lee Collet die, you will first want to use a body die or a bushing die with the bushing removed. Use the body die and bump the should back .002-,003" (,004-,005" if it's an auto loader), clean the neck inside as mention by @K22, then use the Lee Collet die on the neck. A standard FL die will reduce the neck to small for the collet die and although you can get it to work you will not like it and it is over working the brass. You can size the mandrel size to attain the neck tension you want.

 

[bulaman]

100% in agreement with 6Creed73. Toss the expander ball and use a mandrel to expand the neck before resizing. Alternately, you can size the neck down a little more than you want and expand up to where you want the neck tension with a mandrel. Not using the expander ball does add an extra step/trip through the press, but it has greatly improved my accuracy.

 

[243winxb]

what if I fl sized with the expander rod removed and the use a lee collet die for just the neck?

No.

 

[rebs]

What about just using the Lee neck sizing die and only neck size?

 

[243winxb]

What about just using the Lee (COLLET) neck sizing die and only neck size?

Neck sizing only is not for auto-loaders. Bolt its ok, till rounds will no longer chamber.

A standard neck sizing die, with an expander, will be no better then a standard FL die.

 

[6Creed73]

What about just using the Lee neck sizing die and only neck size?

I typically neck size only for two firings with a bolt gun, then I FL size. In a semi-auto/gas gun you should FL size and bump the shoulder back every time.

For my gas guns, I use the Rcbs shortbase die with the expander ball removed, then expand with a mandrel. To me this is a good way to size for accuracy and life of brass. For my bolt gun I take it a step further and size the neck with a bushing to really dial in the neck tension without working the brass too much. I don't use bushings on my gas guns because I like a little more neck tension with those, so I'm ok sizing the neck a bit more and using a smaller mandrel.

 

[rebs]

does a bushing die punch out the primer

 

[Bill Norris]

does a bushing die punch out the primer

If you leave the de-priming pin installed. With Redding "S" type dies you have a choice to use the de-priming pin without using the expander ball. You simply replace the expander ball with a small retainer for the decapping pin.

 

[Lone Hunter]

Rebs, Read this from Redding. The dies are pricey but you can look around and find them cheaper. You pay for what you get is very true. If you are going to reload this caliber a lot I would get them. The type people are telling you to look at are the Type S Full Length Bushing Die. You can use it as a body die, you can take and use different bushings for neck tension, and it full length sizes and deprimes. Like Bill said there are 2 expanders included in the die. One smaller than the other so it doesn’t pull in the neck.

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[Bill K]

If you have been using this dies for a few years and it just started doing this, have you ever dismantled it and gave the interior, shaft and expander a good cleaning, then lightly lubed the parts and put them all back in and readjusted for your case sizing ? Maybe that is all it needs, to go back to a normal operation, that appearantly you had.

 

[jonbearman]

I try to use a bushing die to size as little as necessary and no more heavy runout.

 

[whatsupdoc]

Billions of 223 cases have been resized with a standard FL die with the expander ball in place without issue. You really do not need any new equipment, all you need is to identify and correct the issue.

 

[rebs]

If you have been using this dies for a few years and it just started doing this, have you ever dismantled it and gave the interior, shaft and expander a good cleaning, then lightly lubed the parts and put them all back in and readjusted for your case sizing ? Maybe that is all it needs, to go back to a normal operation, that appearantly you had.

Maybe I need a new expander, a carbide one ? yes or no ?