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Anyone using the Lee decapping/sizing die for .223 without problems? I've had my second casing stick in the die. The first one I removed with a lot of work. Today I got one so stuck it won't come out after futzing with the die for over half an hour. Maybe my idea of using lube sparingly is less than Lee's.

Switch to another maker, or is there a trick I don't know?

This one was about the 10th one I'd put through this morning, was lubed and had been through without problem just prior to sticking (primer seating problem).

greener wrote:Anyone using the Lee decapping/sizing die for .223 without problems? I've had my second casing stick in the die. The first one I removed with a lot of work. Today I got one so stuck it won't come out after futzing with the die for over half an hour. Maybe my idea of using lube sparingly is less than Lee's.).

Sparingly has a lot of leeway, depending who is interpreting it. I use the Lee die but I just use the collet necksizer as all my reloads are shot in the same gun and I do not pickup loose stuff at the range, I also do not crimp as I normally shoot single loads in my Savage bolt gun. Most of my cases are Hornady from their box of 50, 53 grain bullets that were readily available at my LGS and reasonably priced also. Also for a really bulk ammo they shot very well. IO also believe I bought a 100 new Winchester cases someplace. Checked Lee's instructions and case removal, jut loosen the nut that holds the decapping pin and use a 3/16 punch and beat HELL out of it. Hit it like you mean it an do not tap, a sharp blow with a small steel hammer is better than a light hit with a plastic hammer.

I've had trouble with stuck cases before in a Lee full size resizing die. What I found was the shell plate was slightly off and had ripped off the bottom of the case. I used a RCBS stuck case remover to extract the broken part of the casing. I don't use lube too sparingly anymore when full length resizing as there's too much friction on the case otherwise.

R,
Bullseye

Greentop didn't have case extractors and the RCBS equivalent of my die was $31 (the two-die set was $35, go figure). Decided to try one more time now that I had the price of a replacement. whaled on the pin and beat the case out. The pin was stuck in the neck of the case and when I got tired of trying to pull the case off I took the dremel and sliced the case to remove it. Looked like a bit of rust on the decapping pin. Guess I'll have a chat with Lee to see what I have and need.

Normally the spray lubes work fine with the small 223 cases. But you must follow the direction on the can/bottle. On the Hornady CaseLube you have to let it dry for 10 min depending on temp for it to work. If you use it before it drys it will stick almost every time. If you want to use a lube sparingly use the Imperial Sizing Wax. It's all I use and it make sizing the big Mag cases pretty effortlessly. Since I load a progressive it really smooths out the process. A little lube on the case mouth helps lube the sizing button. If you have the die so it's too far up it can stretch the case and pinch the neck against the die. But I'm assuming you had the decapping pin stick out below the bottom 1/4" so this did not happen. If I'm only neck sizing I use the Imperial Dry Graphite neck lube. All it is is graphite mixed in with some small shot. Just dip the neck, spin and size. Only need to do every 5th one or so for neck sizing.

If you have a 1/4-20tpi tap you can make your own case extractor. All you do is drill and tap the primer pocket and use a nut for a spacer to pull the case.

Do you run your brass through a tumbler to clean it before reloading? I add the NuFinsih Polish to my batch this helps the lube and slows the tarnishing down. If your using a Liquid cleaner these remove every thing from the surface and LUBE is a must. The carbon left over from the firing process is normally enough to lube the inside in most cases.

I have not had any stuck cases in my lee dies, I usually just lube the case necks in and out just a touch.

bgreenea3 wrote:I have not had any stuck cases in my lee dies, I usually just lube the case necks in and out just a touch.

Nor have I, but I just collet neck size and use no lube at all

I called Lee this morning and had a very helpful conversation along with a new compression nut and decapping pin.

The tech thought I hadn't put enough lube on the case and that I wasn't properly lubing the inside of the case mouth. I'll give that a try.

I also mentioned my difficulties in using the Pro 1000 to do all the steps with .223 other than factory crimp. My main problem was not filling the casing with the powder I needed and having excessive spillage. He said that it sounded like bridging and that you should move the ram down slightly and then pause to fill and break the bridge. He also suggested it worked better with Ball powder and Hodgdon made good ball powders that worked well. Told him I had a disaster with H335 and he said he had never heard of it.

Anywho, I'm happy with using the Lee pro to size, decap and prime; the Perfect Powder Measure to charge and the Lee loader press for the rest.

Greener, I use my Pro 1000 for .223 from the start, but I just collet neck size and use no lube, The Accurate 2230 is a very fine ball powder and I us 24.3 grains with a 55 grain varmint nightmare bullet. Loads may vary slightly 24.3 or 24.2 never any real difference due to the fact that I flows well. Some of the other shaped powders may bridge using the dual disk setup. I do not crimp at all as I use a bolt gun and single load, if I did I would use the factory crimp die in my single stage press.

That's pretty much what I'm doing. I do need the factory crimp for the DPMS.

Accurate 2460 is pretty good, 22 gr w/a 55 gr bullet. Bought a pound and tried it, now Greentop doesn't have it. They do have 2200 and 2015. I'm sure if I buy a pound of those to try, they won't have that either.

greener wrote:That's pretty much what I'm doing. I do need the factory crimp for the DPMS.

Accurate 2460 is pretty good, 22 gr w/a 55 gr bullet. Bought a pound and tried it, now Greentop doesn't have it. They do have 2200 and 2015. I'm sure if I buy a pound of those to try, they won't have that either.

If you are going to shoot them in the same gun there is no reason to resize full length,
just about got to crimp if you shoot semi auto or a bullet could pull loose;
Availability of powder is iffy at best.

I have never found it necessary to crimp in rifle rounds. Neck tension if proper should hold the bullet without any problems. But if this is a auto you must full length size to insure proper feeding. Some of the auto chambers require you to use a SB sizing to too.

blue68f100 wrote:I have never found it necessary to crimp in rifle rounds. Neck tension if proper should hold the bullet without any problems. But if this is a auto you must full length size to insure proper feeding. Some of the auto chambers require you to use a SB sizing to too.

If the cases were all shot in the same semi auto, why would you havs to resize them? I can see they wpould have to be at min specs to run in any weapon.

I use Lee resizer/decapper for .223, and only have issues when I don't lube. My procedure, for a single stage press is to lube 1, run two more unlubed through, repeat, repeat, repeat, etc. It works for me. I use the lube that came with the rcbs supreme kit. What I did find was that my resizer wasn't resizing sufficiently, I had to screw it into the press so far that it collided with the ram slightly, causing too much strain on the press itself. I could never get the case length within tolerance of my go/nogo case length die. I talked with an experienced shooter and he says he turns 'all' of his resizing dies on a lathe and trims off about .005" and offered to do it to my resizer. When I retried the die it sized the case perfectly without the ram being forced into the die. All's good now with my Lee resizer die.
haka

bearandoldman wrote:

blue68f100 wrote:I have never found it necessary to crimp in rifle rounds. Neck tension if proper should hold the bullet without any problems. But if this is a auto you must full length size to insure proper feeding. Some of the auto chambers require you to use a SB sizing to too.

If the cases were all shot in the same semi auto, why would you havs to resize them? I can see they wpould have to be at min specs to run in any weapon.

Simi-auto don't feed neck size brass very well at all. I have tried it on one occasion and it was nothing but jam city. Most autos have very loose chamber so swelling is greater than most bolt guns. Also the way the feed angle is on some cause problems too.

With a bolt rifle you have the locking cam on the bolt to fully seat the round when the bolt is closed. On auto this is done only with spring pressure, not near as stout or as powerful as the locking cam on a bolt rifle.