Case Stuck In Sizing Die... Ouch!

I roll on a pad with RCBS lube, run a neck brush with a drop of lube on it down each neck, and then rub excess off with my fingers before putting into the shell holder to resize. It takes a bit longer than spraying and flashing off a mix, but - I don't really load enough cases to care about saving a bit of time. I've probably sized 500 or so .223/5.56 cases like this, and it works - and don't think it takes too much time. If I was doing thousands and thousands maybe, but for hudreds, works good IMHO

jonas66 said:

I believe my mix...

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Why I asked “who’s lube?” If you are new to it, just buy a bottle of Dillon lube (using a progressive) at least you will know what a good lube feels like.

If you just took the die from a box and screwed it down, make sure the decap stem is down far enough the expander is low enough, that the neck is trying to be expanded and sized at the same time, that would be a heck of a sticking.

I have never owned a stuck case remover and long ago lost count of how many different bottle neck rifle calibers I load for, using many brands of dies. Stuck cases are by in large a new fellows problem, avoidance is often a learned trait.

I’ve reloaded since 1985, the single most important thing I have learned.... on ALL Bottle Necked Brass, LUBE before any action inside a press.

Good Luck
Dan

Saluki91 said:

Thanks! The Forster instructions had the die all the way to the plate... perhaps that was part of the problem. I will back it off 3/4 of a turn when I get the die back.

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I recommend you continue to follow Foster's instructions. Backing out the sizing die will also decrease the amount of case shoulder setback which is something that needs to be done carefully if at all with .223. I want my semi-auto full-sized to feed well and so want a full full-length sizing.

Pick a lube and use it wisely. You'll be golden.

Just buy some Imperial and you're done. I have my can from about 2006-7 and it has just a minor divot in the surface. A little goes a looonnnnggg way.

Stuck cases are just a reloader hazard (among the many).

The first and second .223 cases I stuck in my Hornady die I sacrificed the expander ball by unscrewing the decapping rod and pounding them out with a long phillips screwdriver. I was so pissed I called Hornady complaining the can of One Shot I had was not formulated properly. They were attentive and polite - listening to my rant - and asked me to take a new case, slather it in Vaseline and jam it (forcefully, I might add) into the die. Even though it worked and did not get stuck, they still sent me a new resizing die, a new can of One Shot, and a new Shell holder.

Then some knowledgeable soul here in the forum suggested I get a case removal tool, and I got the Hornady one.

Not had a stuck case since.

Admittedly it has been quite a while since I reloaded any bottleneck rifle rounds and I don't remember having a perfect record but a couple of comments jogged a few memories. As to lubes, each one is different and you need to learn exactly how that one works then be consistent in the future. Don't get pissed and try something new every week, it's like starting from scratch. They all work, you just need to learn how to use what you have.
A couple of comments about drying, all you should be doing is let the alcohol evaporate, takes about a minute.
When the lanolin starts to dry it loses its slipperiness and becomes gummy. You don't want that.
I use to use the One Shot spray in the bag technique for pistol brass, very effective but I don't think that is adequate for rifle rounds.
Memory is fading now so that's all I got. I'm sure some will disagree but I hope I gave you something to ponder. Oh yeah, one more thing. No amount of cursing will unstick a piece of brass, I've tried.

I use One Shot for rifle

jag22 said:

I use to use the One Shot spray in the bag technique for pistol brass, very effective but I don't think that is adequate for rifle rounds.

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I use One Shot for bottleneck rifle rounds, and it works fine. That being said. I'm not stingy with it. I just did 80 7mm Rem Mag last weekend, and around 500 .223 not too long ago.
Apply liberally and don't wait hours until it feels like it's completely dried off before sizing. Should work just fine.
I've never had a stuck case... but I err on the side of excess lube instead of not enough... and if it doesn't feel somewhat slick, I don't size. Maybe I've just been lucky.
Good Luck

I use too much but never stick cases.

Weeniewawa, if you use to much imperial, try Hornady's Unique.

To make your own stuck case remover, you just need a 1/4"-20 tap, a couple of nuts and a screw. Shouldn’t take more than five minutes.

Everyone has their favorite case lube. In general they all work; if you stick a case you're not using enough. If you get dents on the shoulder, you're using too much.

Otto said:

To make your own stuck case remover, you just need a 1/4"-20 tap, a couple of nuts and a screw. Shouldn’t take more than five minutes.

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Google "homemade stuck case remover" and you'll get several youtube how to's. Cheap and effective!

Mk-211 said:

Weeniewawa, if you use to much imperial, try Hornady's Unique.

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jmorris said:

Stuck cases are by in large a new fellows problem

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...yeah...At least one of mine was due to forgetting to change the shellholder...

RCBS stuck case remover kit.

Sharp Shooter Royal Case Sizing lube = #1

Yes, I have tried ALL of the others.

I have always used vegetable oil, and just give the dies a quick clean off after using them.

kmw1954 said:

Why is that? Is it because someone is using gorilla force on the handle?

Properly lubed 223 slides right in and resizes perfectly on my simple leverage JR3 press. Takes no more pressure or effort than large pistol cases. So if I get one that by the time it's 1/2 way into the die and then gets very tight I just back it out and pitch it in the scrap pile. I see absolutely no reason to have to stand on a handle to get it to size. From my view that is just silliness looking for something bad to happen. But then I get all the 223 brass I would ever want for free so I do not need to save every single piece of brass. Again in my minds view brass is a consumable.

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Yeah and if you don't have one and for some reason a case doesn't get enough lube on it, or gets contaminated with dirt, the rim is damaged or malformed, you get a real hard case that's been reloaded till the had stamp is gone or a 204 ruger shell ends up in your 223 brass you can get a stuck case.
Then what do you do? Send it off and wait a few weeks to get it back?
A stuck shell remover was only like $12 when I bought mine a long time ago.
It's cheap insurance.

Bwana John said:

RCBS stuck case remover kit.

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Being the guy that people bring things to after they have made things worse than they were when they first messed them up, that video doesn’t make me feel any better.

Let’s see, after you rip the rim off, now mangle the decapping pin and expander, right before destroying any chance someone might have at using the base of the case for removal, leaving the case mangled both inside and out....if only there were a way to break an EZ out off in it, or perhaps something even harder than Superman’s head.

jmorris said:

Being the guy that people bring things to after they have made things worse than they were when they first messed them up, that video doesn’t make me feel any better.

Let’s see, after you rip the rim off, now mangle the decapping pin and expander, right before destroying any chance someone might have at using the base of the case for removal, leaving the case mangled both inside and out....if only there were a way to break an EZ out off in it, or perhaps something even harder than Superman’s head.

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Never had an issue,
How do you do it?

Lube.

I can’t say that it never happened though, as I was a new guy before too, just like everyone else.

Never had an issue,

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Makes me wonder, you run a drill bit and subsequently, maybe a tap and certainly a socket head cap screw into the decapping pin to remove a stuck case and that’s not a problem? Seems like that would be almost as lucky as never having stuck one in a die.

You unscrew from the top of the die the recapping pin and expander ball as far as the case allows, you can't remove it completely but you can give yourself enough room to drill out the case web, tap it, and put the bolt in without interference from the pin or ball.

Of course you need to stop drilling as soon as the drill bit breaks through.

Probably used it 10-15 times in 50 years for myself and my friends and never had a issue.

Turned at least 3-4 friends on to it, and they never had a problem after purchasing there own.

Otto and Laphroaig posted an link on how to put together the kit on your own without buying the commercial one.

Of course there are just some people that should stay away from tools, but this one is a very basic one that due to soft or chewed up brass, wrong shell holder, not enough lube, ect many people will experience the need for.

The Lee dies are interesting. I had not seen that method, I wonder if it could be adapted to other brands, I'm thinking the recapper rod on RCBS type dies would be strong enough.

RCBS lube and pad or Hornady one shot has worked forever. Imperial for brass reforming.