Hornady dies problems

[dbomb]

Ok so I went did all the research, found the best for my budget, waited and waited in the mail for the items. Read the book ,even built my own bench

So While waiting for my bullets to arrive I started tumble some .223 brass, set up the Hornady Classic Press and adjust the size/decap die,

BUT....
I lube the brass with OneShot even spray a little inside the die, but the brass is very hard to get up in the die a few times I though I had the brass stuck, had to hit the handle to let it go....I even put a ton of lube and tried it and the same thing....Didnt care to dent the brass for now, just to see this thing work properly.

Am I doing something wrong? Does the die have a break-in time? Just to confirm, when it was getting stuck I even spray inside the brass and outside and put it on the press right away , same deal.


After working one brass up down up down , it finally went through and a few after went better but then started doing it again, so Im thinking it has to be lubrication but even if I put alot it doesnt go smooth.

Thanks ahead for the help.

[GoldenRoyBoy]

I feel your pain!

My experience with the spray on lube has not been good. I personally like Hornady's Unique Case Lube. Being a paste, it is messy; but the stuff works. I can generally roll 5 or 6 cases at one time; so, the process goes quickly. I also towel mine down after decapping, resizing, priming, and such before tossing them in the tumbler.

To reiterate;
I don't think your problem's with the dies; it's your choice of lube.

Good luck!
GRB

[dbomb]

Ok so I guess I better try a diffrent lube. Its all hornady equipemnt

[MADISON]

I am not sure you have a die problem.
My first set of Hornady .223 dies gave me a stuck case in 4 out of 10 cases.
After sending the dies back to Hornady for repolishing I bought an updated set of dies.
Also I switch fed from the pad form of lubricating the cases to "HORNADY'S UNIQUE GREASE" You have to handle each case but, I have experienced no stuck cases.

[dbomb]

Thanks for the all replys. I figured it out. Since I'm doing full resize. everythign has to be well lubricated which I thought I was doing a hell of a job. but I ended standing them and spray the bottom portion and they went through like butter. So I gues OneShot is ok, just a pain to work with(very picky)

Have 2 cans so I will use it and try something new when they finished.

At least im back in businesss!

[DEDON45]

As the other guys said, try the unique case lube. The "goopy" lube and pad method works as well (any manufacturer's pad lube works fine).

[Tim R]

I reload lots of 223. I use mostly Lake City brass because my AR service rifle likes them. I use a Hornaday match bushing die. For lube I use RCBS case lube II on a lube pad. Until a couple of months ago I had not stuck a case after almost 30 years of reloading using this method. I bought some 223 from a member on another board which was L/E fired brass. I think there might have been a officer with a rather large chamber out there or fired from a full auto. Anyways I stuck 2 cases out of a little over 1300 and had to borrow my bosses stuck case remover.

I have tried some other case lubes but from me so far the RCBS Case Lube II has worked the best for me and it wipes off with a damp rag.

[LHB1]

Dbomb,
Try some of the Imperial Sizing Die Wax from Midway. It is much less messy than the old fashioned goop that I used to use. This wax is highly touted by those who have used it. Have only recently obtained a tin myself and haven't needed to reload any rifle ammo since getting it so I have no personal experience with it there. Don't need it with my carbide dies for .45 ACP and .44 Mag but did wipe some .45 cases with it just to see what happened. The cases went into the carbide sizing die like they were coated with hot grease and neither my hands nor cases were greasy or messy.

[rbb50]

Here is what happens a lot of times in this case.

The reloader puts the die into the press and screws it all the way in and when he tries to full size the case the handle of the press is not all the way down for the full press stroke.

Do this instead.

Screw your die into the press just a little and then stroke the press handle down all the way so that the full stroke of the press just meets the bottom of the die with the shell case holder.

Then adjust the die to meet up with the shell holder just right.

What you will find is it is about 10 times easier to make that case go all the way into the die when the press handle is all the way down than it is if the press handle is only half of the way down or so.

You can put all of the lube on you want but if that press handle is not all the way down to the bottom of its stroke when the shell holder meets up with the die then your not using its maximum torque to make that case go though the resizing die.

Give it a try and you will see how easy it is and what that guy meant when he said, “Give me a lever big enough and I can move the world”

[Gun 4 Fun]

dbomb- I have been using hornady reloading equipment for almost 30 years. I switched from the pads to One Shot when it first came out and will never use anything else again. I don't just reload. I own guns that until recently, I had to form my own brass for, from some other round. It takes good lube for that, especially something as big as .458 Lott etc. You just [as you found out] have to make sure the lube gets to all the surface area. Stand the cases up in a shallow tray and spray lightly from all four sides of the tray. Wait a couple of minutes and you will never have any trouble. Also, make sure a little gets inside the neck, it eases passage of the expander ball and helps prevent neck stretching, which will help your brass last longer. Don't worry about trying to clean it from inside the neck, it won't hurt anything or contaminate the powder. Even Hornady recommends this. Good luck and keep the faith.