Resizing LC 308 brass. Bad Friction!!

[hula1]

I've been resizing LC 308 machine gun brass with an RCBS full length resizing die. The friction is unreal and has me holding my breath hoping it doesn't pull the rim off the case or get stuck! Which have both happened. I have changed from from 'One Shot' Hornady to Imperial resizing wax. I've also sprayed the inside of the necks with One Shot and tried graphite. The friction starts when the case is about half way in the die and continues on the upstroke. Lots of 'popping' and releasing. I've also cleaned the dies. This is kinda nerve racking. Is this normal? I've sized them in a Lee regular die initially and they seem to work fine,but I read you should FL resize them.

Thanks

 

[fdshuster]

hula1: yes, it's normal proving that full-auto firearms have really large, over-size chambers. The military doesn't care, the brass was never intended to be reloaded, by them. Same situation exists with military 5.56/223. Hope you are using a 'heavy duty' press, like the Rockchucker, and it's securely bolted to a heavy bench. Imperial die sizing wax is my first choice. After sizing, and before loading, be sure to do a test chambering, to be certain the bolt will fully close and lockup.

 

[hula1]

Yes, I am using a lee cast iron single stage press. The initial resizing is nerve racking, but the second resizing I do in a comp die is fine. Do you lube your die also before you start? What about the inside of the neck?

Thanks

 

[dreever]

Only ever bought military once fired brass once. Same thing, lube the hell out of them and gorilla force on the rock chucker. Bad enough prepping them for a factory chamber but not worth the trouble if you have a tight custom chamber With the availibility of inexpensive new Prvi Partisan brass I don't even look at the Military stuff anymore. If you can find a police department where you can buy their once fired Sniper team brass you can find some good deals there also, usually Federal Match or Black Hills brass.

Danny

 

[2506]

It works better to do the sizing in one quick stroke. Both in and out.

 

[infantrytrophy]

This is contrary to most of the recommendations seen in this forum, but I have had the best results with Forster High Pressure Case Sizing Lubricant,Forster lube).

I had a few bad experiences sizing a particular lot of .223 brass using Imperial Sizing Wax and Hornady One Shot in both Redding and Forster dies. Like you, I tried cleaning the dies, but nothing worked with this particular brass until I used the Forster lube. One bottle should last a v-e-r-y long time.

I have used the Hornady One Shot lube with success with other lots of brass.

The Imperial Sizing Wax works great as a lube for inside the case necks. Just put a very tiny amount on a Q-tip to wipe inside the case necks. When expanding new Lapua 6BR brass, the usual graphite lube didn't work very well. As soon as I switched to Imperial Wax, the force required to expand the necks dropped to almost nothing.

Randy Sikes

 

[Innovative]

hula1 ......

While designing the Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die, I tested every brand of resizing lubricant made. Imperial Sizing Die Wax is by far the best there is. However, if you're still having problems resizing military cases there is an even better high pressure lubricant, and it's available at most auto part stores.

Try using Anti-Seize Grease made by Permatex. After using it the first time on your cases, you won't need it again. It's slightly better than Imperial Sizing Die Wax, but it is extremely messy to work with. In fact, you'll need to wash it off with a good solvent like brake parts cleaner.

- Innovative

 

[Steve Blair]

The best heavy sizing lube that I have found is lanolin. I reloaded many 7.62 cases fired from my old G3 in the 80s. The last time I bought it was under the brand name 'Lansinoh' at the drug store. It does not take much but is moderately difficult to remove.