223 Rem Sizing problems.....

[offhand35]

I am very experienced at reloading, but have not encountered this problem until I tried sizing auction  bought  "once fired" 223 Rem cases.  These are commercial Remington headstamp cases. I am using LEE dies and shellholder. I am lubing the outside of the case AND the inside of the necks. I deprimed them using the LEE universal decapping die, then cleaned the cases and scraped the primer pockets before attempting the resizing operation.

Once every 5, 10 or 15 cases, the case will hang up in the die, and pull itself  off the shellholder in the press.   This forces me to release the decapping pin/expander ball from the collet, and pound on  the decapping pin to dislodge the shell casing from the die. THEN I have to mount the decapping pin/expander ball in a vise to pull the case off of that! After a couple of these, I have to grind the peened end of the decapping pin/expander ball to fit the collet.....It is getting a little annoying.

I have  just about decided to give up on these used cases, and buy a couple hundred new cases.  I am reloading for a single shot, so it's not like I need to load up 1000 rounds ......

Would a different brand shellholder hold on tighter?

Is this a common problem with this type of used case?  The ones that hang up do seem to require a lot of pressure to size in the die, but by the time that is discovered, the case is already in the  die, ready to stick.....or maybe not....

[Old Syko]

I don't know what you are using for lube but it ain't workin.  I would guess you're using one of the now popular spray lubes which are only usable exactly as described on the directions.  Most with this problem either don't let the lube dry as prescribed or just don't use enough in the first place.

I load .223/5.56 by the thousands for ARs and am now back to using a very large lube pad just like I did 40 years ago.  Cheaper, quite efficient, and cheaper.

[offhand35]

Actually, I am using LEE's case lube paste, applied with the fingers. Maybe I am not putting it on as evenly as I could......I will give that some more attention....
Thanks.

[stimpylu32]

offhand35

I used the Lee lube for years with mixed results , some of what your going through , just switched over to Imperial sizing wax and wonder why i never tried it before .

The Lee will work but you have to use quite a bit of it and let it dry for best results , what i did was to put some in the palm of my hand , rub my hands together then roll 5 or 6 cases between my hands , then let dry -- repeat as needed to lube all the cases that you plan to do .

Another thing with the Lee lube is that it tends to dint cases as it builds up in the die so you have to clean dies every so often . The best advice that i can give you is to get some diffrent lube .

stimpy

[PlacitasSlim]

I had the same thing happen the first time I used one shot lube. Shook the can harder and paid more attention to the application and made sure it got inside the neck. Problem went away. You may need to lube inside the neck using your lube or powdered mica. Once I learned to use the spray lube, I haven't gone back to the other kinds.

[sdb777]

Kind of fond of the Hornady One Shot spray on lube.
Never had a stuck case when using this stuff, but I've had to do as was explained in the original posting(beating the casing out of the die).  Not a pleasant event at all.
RCBS case lube and small base dies for the .223Rem brings back some crappy memories!



Scott (lube 'em good) B

[beemanbeme]

I use a lube pad and RCBS case lube.  I find that some of the shell holders are kinds sloppy.  What happened to you happened to me (but not as often) when I was using a RCBS shell holder.  Since I switched over to a Forster shell holder, it hasn't happened again. 
It's kinda tedious but as you draw your ram down, as soon as there is room, press your thumb against the case and hold it tightly against the back of the shell holder.  Are you brushing the insides of the necks of your cases and putting a little lube on the inside of the mouth? 

[gypsyman]

I switched all my bottle neck case dies over to carbide size buttons, and use the Imperial lube. Redding makes the carbide size buttons, and I know they'll fit other brands, but not sure if they'll fit Lee. You might want to check them out, might have to do some research to see if their available for the Lee dies.  gypsyman

[Savage]

For sure a lube problem, nothing wrong with the brass. I use the RCBS lube and pad just like I did 40+ years ago. When properly applied, cases don't stick! Tried the spray lube, it worked ok, get tired of running outside to spray my cases. Like a previous poster, I find most shell holders to be a bit sloppy these days. That is part of the problem. Applying thumb pressure to the case as he suggested helps.
Savage

[Dave in WV]

If you have a .38/.357 carbide die, remove the decapping rod and run the .223 brass through it before resizing with your .223 resizing die. The .38/.357 die will only resize the web area of your brass. If your brass has been fired in a loose chamber it may help. I use Imperial resizing wax for my lube now. I did use Lee lube for several years with no problems.

[myronman3]

had the same problem recently.  rcbs lube and using a pad to apply it.  using a bit more lube fixed my problem.  i replaced the die with a rcbs die just for good measure.

[Phoneman]

I use one shot spray lube as well. Have had very good results with it. Just make sure it gets in the neck of the case. 

[ihuntbucks]

Another vote for Imperial sizing wax.The best stuff on the market.....bar-none..........Rick

[Kurt L]

I was working on making some 243 cases out of 270 win brass to get a longer
neck and I found that my brass was goming out very scratched on the lee 243
die i used and it needs to be polished inside.
Does your lee dies leave sandpaper looking scratches on your cases if so this could
also be part of your trouble.
Kurt

[Tn Jim]

I have been using RCBS lube and pad since I started reloading in 1991 and have never had a case stick because of lube. Offhand, I had a similar problem with once fired 223 brass about a month ago. Look very closely at the flash hole on your cases. I had a few that the flash hole was so small they were grabbing the decapping pin on my Lee dies and I had the same problem you described.