Not off to a good start

[mike56]

Have reloaded for awhile. Mostly handgun, but recently with .223 and .308 with no issues.

Just started for .300 win mag. Lyman dies, rcbs rockchukker press. Tumbled the cases. Lubed them with case lube. Put the sized die in according to instruction. Then it went to hell.

Not able to get the first case all the way in, almost standing on the arm. Rim gave way on getting it out. Took the decapping rod out. Lubed the die itself and then another case. Went all the way up with much force, got stuck and blew the rim again.

What's happening???

 

[M-61]

My first thought is check the die...is it marked 300 Win Mag?
I have to ask that first.

 

[bigedp51]

I just got a new Redding die and just wiped the inside of the die with a paper towel, saw no oil or grease and "tried" to resize a case. If you sprayed your cars brakes with what ever is put on these dies as a preservative you would be able to stop in half the distance you normally would.

In other words clean your dies as per below from the Sinclair website.
(I think they mix non-skid with the preservative just to see if you read the cleaning instructions) :-[


Taking Care of your Reloading Dies.

Reloading dies if taken care of properly will provide years of service to their owner. Most dies are hardened and then micro-polished for that mirror finish many of the dies exhibit. Many of them are also treated with some type of rust preventative before they leave the factory floor.

The first step in taking care of your dies starts when you receive them. We advocate cleaning all new dies before you begin to use them. Beginning with your sizing dies; take the decapping assembly completely out of the die body. Flush the decapping assembly with a good degreaser (like Hornady One-Shot Cleaner & Dry Lube, Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber or Shooter’s Choice Quickscrub III) and wipe the expander ball clean. The only part of the decapping assembly that should come in contact with your brass is the expander ball and the decapping pin. Pay particular attention to the decapping ball as it determines the final interior dimension (bullet grip) of your case neck. Make sure you inspect it after cleaning to make sure that the surface is clean and free of burrs.

Next, flush the interior of the die body out with some more degreaser. Using a pistol cleaning rod or a dowel rod, push a couple of wet patches all the way through the die. Then run a couple of dry patches through. Reassemble your sizing die and you should be good to go.

 

[mike56]

:'( Just returned from the basement.
Stuck case number 3.
Checked the dies and cases. Everything is 300 win mag.

Took the die apart, decreased it. Lubed a case. Again, die is just touching the shell holder, as per instruction. Takes all my weight to put it in and then, sheared case.

Gotta be the die is wrong?

 

[firearmdoc1]

Mike,
I have had similar experiences with new dies and once fired brass. In my case it was RCBS dies and Hornady brass in 45-70. Tried to size a case and couldn't get the thing all the way into the die. Tried different lube, cleaned die, etc. Tried some Federal and Winchester brass and had no problems at all. Figure it was just real hard brass.
Long story short, try different brass.

 

[mike56]

Mostly have hornady once fired.
I'll try some mixed stuff I have, but what do I do with the hornady brass?
Different dies accept different brass?

 

[Erik Cortina]

Maybe the chamber is too big?

 

[M-61]

Maybe the chamber is too big?

Another good point....which leads me to...is that a factory barrel?

No different brass does not need different dies.

I am surprised that you are successful removing the stuck case after shearing the rim off.

There should never be a time a huge amount of force is needed to size the case. In fact I'll say, from what you are writing, that you will wind up with a case in the die you will NOT get out. (some brass is harder than others but not to this extreme)

Can a die be marked wrong? Anything is possible but in over 45 years of reloading I have never seen nor heard of it.

Be nice if you could borrow someone else s die to try it. Short of that if Lyman is as good as RCBS a phone call to them may help you out,( call them...maybe they had a weird run of dies?) or at least they would replace the die.

Wish I could be of more help, but I'm at a loss.

 

[firearmdoc1]

All standard dies should work with all factory brass. This of course is assuming that the brass and dies are made properly. If other brass works for you, I would just toss the Hornady stuff.
Keep in mind I am not bad mouthing Hornady, I have used their brass before without trouble.

 

[wyoming .260]

I had a .338 you needed a gorilla to attempt to size brass for. Needless to say it has a new owner now. Some belted magnums in factory guns nowadays have some pretty HUGE chambers. Mix with a decent tight sizing die and you have a recipe for a lot of work and frustration. I would try measuring some of the brass before you size it.
P.S. If you have to put that much effort into a rockcrusher . Something is a miss. Measure an unsized case, double or triple check everything else and just do a visual inspection of the case, Does it look like it should, or is there a bulge in front of the belt. The rifle i had made .338 win. mag brass look like it was almost it was an ackley improved . That was a factory ruger barrel.

 

[SShooterZ]

Maybe the chamber is too big?

That is my guess too. Had the same problem with a 6MM Ruger awhile back. Hard to get the die down and shearing off slices of brass.

 

[wapiti25]

Not all case lubes are the same. You don't say what lube you are using, but Imperial, RCBS old lube, Hornady Unique are all good. Stay away from the One Shot for big cases. You may have a case lube problem. Back your dies off at least one turn may be more and try one case, then inspect the case. If all goes well clean and relube the case, turn the die down about a quarter of a turn untill the die just starts to get close to the shoulder then turn down in small amounts untill you just touch the shoulder.

 

[Old Navy]

Is a belted mag die made to touch the shell holder like conventional dies? Later! Frank

 

[mike56]

Pulled out a winchester case and used hornaday one shot lube. Resized fine, about the same effort as my 308. No sticking.
Must be the hornaday brass??

Rifle is a new 700P. The brass I have was picked up at the range over several weeks. So I have no idea what rifle it was from. I had checked oal though and it all seemed ok.

Anyone see any 300 win mag brass for sale?

 

[ShootDots]

I can tell you from experience that Hornady brass is VERY soft. If you have a slightly large chamber and some warm loads in the Hornady brass, you could have case stretching as well as web swelling that COULD cause that. Assuming you have not reloaded these cases previously, my guess it is "Superperformance" cartridges and they are VERY stout as far as factory fodder goes. This is a new one... But since you had luck with other brass, my guess it is not just one BUT both issues (larger chamber and stout loads)...

 

[M-61]

Pulled out a winchester case and used hornaday one shot lube. Resized fine, about the same effort as my 308. No sticking.
Must be the hornaday brass??

Rifle is a new 700P. The brass I have was picked up at the range over several weeks. So I have no idea what rifle it was from. I had checked oal though and it all seemed ok.

Anyone see any 300 win mag brass for sale?

Now it makes more sense...."PICKED UP AT THE RANGE"....there is the unknown factor. Sure OAL was fine but what did the measurements look like through the case body diameter especially above the belt?
Two things again:
1. I don't pick up brass at the range as I have NO idea what it has been though. (although most is probably fine...I'll let someone else have it.

2.I'm surprised 300 WinMag brass was laying around. I don't shoot it but I bet it might be on the costly side, but someone didn't care. Seems odd to find that and maybe that shooter opened the bolt after each shot with a hammer!

 

[Erik Cortina]

You have to assume that anyone that threw away brass was for a reason.

 

[Glenn Powell]

The only range brass I pick up is the stuff I see someone shoot out of a new box of ammo. If I see some one ejecting shells all over the place I ask them if they plan on keeping it. You would be surprised how many fellas will collect brass for ya if they know you want it.

After I clean my sizing die I lube the #ell out of it with Hornady One Shot, and lube the #ell out of the brass and run it wet through the die. I don't get lube dents very often and it takes at least 2 cases to get everything lubed up good for easy running. I use Remington brass for my 300WinMag.

 

[firearmdoc1]

Shootdots,
I can see how very soft brass can cause you trouble when trying to size it. I guess I always figured it was very hard. Different way of looking at it which makes sense.

 

[JCinCalif]

Send the die back and have it checked. I once had a off spec die sent to me, it caused all kinds of problems, until I had it checked and replaced.