Lee 30-30 dies

[BullyDawg19]

Ive been using a set of lee pacesetter dies for about 10 years now with absolutely no problems. all of a sudden after resizing i could not get my case trimmer into the re-sized case. i took the die apart and cleaned it completely. i also measured the decapper and it only measured .302. i figured it was worn out and went and bought a new set of dies. everything went right back to normal. then after about 100 rounds i started experiencing the same thing. i couldn't get the trimmer inside the case. i measured the trimmer and it was .308 on the money. i tried it in some new cases with no problems. i measured the new decapper and it was .304. anybody else ever see a problem like this with lee dies. ive been using them forever with no problems at all.i cant imagine the brass would wear them that much so quickly unless there was a problem with them. i also noticed the new dies' decapper was different than the older one. the old one had a full length expander around .75 inches and the new one only had one about .125 in long. any ideas?

[Dillohide]

I trim my cases before I size them (Lee trimmer with a power drill). I've never been able to get it into a sized case.

[BullyDawg19]

I trim my cases before I size them (Lee trimmer with a power drill). I've never been able to get it into a sized case.

[Dand]

I think Dillohide is saying that your case necks may be sized down tight enough that your trim stud won't pass into the case.

Size dies will squeeze the inside of the neck smaller than .308 to hold the bullet tight.

You could consider decapping the cases but not sizing them - screw the decap stem deeper so the neck isn't sized.  That's my best guess.

I'm still not clear where you are measuring or what part of the case seems to be hanging up. 

Why would the decap pin be getting short?

What kind of trimmer are you using - the Lee kind or some other brand?

I have a Lyman Universal and I trim after sizing but sometimes the trimmer pilot is a tight fit and often after trimming a small bur of brass will get behind the pilot and make it hard to pull out the pilot / cutter.

Also, how many times have these cases been fired - are they stretching a lot?  I don't know if 30-30 necks will thicken like I've seen in the 6mm Rem and others.

More info would help or maybe I'm just being dense. 

[BullyDawg19]

im using the lee case trimmer. it was working great till now. i would take a fired case, resize and deprime it, trim it to length, and throw it back in the tumbler for cleaning, then load it. worked great for years. the trimmer pilot went right into the resized cases no problem at all. then all of a sudden the trimmer wouldnt go into the resized cases. so i tried the trimmer in some 06 resized cases and it went right in. same neck diameter right. so i went and bought a new set of dies thinking that the die was the problem and sure enough everything worked exactly as before. then after 100 rounds or so the trimmer die wouldnt go into the resized cases of the new dies. when i took the dies apart it looked like the expander portion of it had worn down and when i put the calipers on it it was significantly smaller than expected. almost as if the brass had worn it down - very odd.

[quickdtoo]

Clean the Lee case length gauge with solvent, I've had mine build up with either brass or a combination of brass and case lube, enough that it won't go in the case mouth or it's real hard to turn the case on it. Most of my new brass has to be sized before I can get the case length gauge in it to trim, sizing first also makes sure every case is uniformly the same size and allows for consistent length to begin with.

Tim

[BullyDawg19]

Clean the Lee case length gauge with solvent, I've had mine build up with either brass or a combination of brass and case lube, enough that it won't go in the case mouth or it's real hard to turn the case on it. Most of my new brass has to be sized before I can get the case length gauge in it to trim, sizing first also makes sure every case is uniformly the same size and allows for consistent length to begin with.

Tim

tried that too - even went so far as to buy a new one and still had the same problem. the dies were definitely wearing out. i bought a new set today just so i could take them apart and measure and sure enough the decapper/expander was right on .307 like it should be. i took one of the same pieces i resized with the other dies and resized it and the trimmer went right in. according to the lee book the neck id should be .001 less than bullet diameter. my other two dies measure .302 and .304 and are sizing the neck too small for proper fit. i emailed lee today and as of yet havent gotten a response.  i wonder if they will replace both of them. BTW - thanks for all the feedback.

[jgalar]

Its most likely not the die or the trimmer, but some of your brass has thick necks. When working the brass it flows or is displaced the only place it has to go is the neck. Measure the thickness of the cases that you are having trouble with and I bet they are thicker.