223 reloading frustration

Status
Not open for further replies.
I hated lubing at first, but got used to it.
Click to expand...

I hated lubing until I discovered wax-type lubricants and then learned I could tumble the lubricant off.

If I was still having to use that old "original" RCBS lubricant and having to rub it off with a dish cloth, I would have probably abandoned reloading bottleneck cartridges (other than the wildcat I can't abandon).
 
One in 10 was to far in between lubes for me. One in 5 is the max. I use Hornady case lube on my left finger putting the case into the single stage press, with a brush over the top of the case to get some inside.

My paper towel is in my left hand for cleaning the case when I take the sized case out.
 
I have been reloading since 1965 .... fifty years now .... I have been careful and LUCKY ... I have stuck only three cases .... one .25/06 .... one 7mm Rem Mag and one .223 Rem !!

BUT I have removed close to fifty stuck cases for other reloaders in my area ..... I gave them all "mini lessons" about proper case lube ... I did have one guy I removed many stuck cases for .... well we had "school" !! As far as I know he has not stuck another or at least he has not showed up for me to remove another ....

Oh ... I did ruined the decap stem on that first stuck case as it was a learning experience ... but RCBS being the great company they are fixed me right up with a new one .... learn the process BEFORE you start the process ....

Get or build a "stuck case removing kit" ... you probably have most of what you need right in your work shop .... hopefully you will only need it a few times .... but it is wise to have a kit on hand ....
 
I use either Dillon spray lube or home made lube ( Heet and lanolin mixture).
Dump my cases into a box 2 or 3 pumps shake around a bit let sit for 5 min and size. You can get a carbide expander for some dies makes resizing a whole lot easier.
 
Sorry for the delay, my token kept expiring before I could finish a reaponse.

I was using an aerosol lube and just rolling the cases on a mat. It sounds like I had insufficient lube on/in the neck, and was getting binding between the neck expander and sizer.

To answer the other question, I was starting to run a separate decapping stage on a universal decapper, just to minimize stress.

The dies are Lyman. My other dies are Lee brand, and honestly seem better finished.

I have a couple different powder funnels.
 
Last edited:
You can get away with no lube on the neck, but not the body. You want just a touch on the neck, almost none on the shoulder, and plenty on the body.

was getting binding between the neck expander and sizer
Click to expand...
This won't happen if I read it correctly.

A tiny bit of lube inside the case necks won't hurt. Dip em in grahite, or use a Q-Tip with a tiny bit of lube every few cases ect.
 
It sounds like I had insufficient lube on/in the neck, and was getting binding between the neck expander and sizer.
Click to expand...

As Walkalong said ....this was Not your problem .... you had other lube problems going on .... most likely not enough on the body lube ... an unlube neck will size just fine .... drawing an unlubed internal neck back over an expander buttom will just scream some what ... but it will come out .... even a carbide expander button works better with a tiny bit of lube .... so do carbide pistol dies .....
 
HankC said:
How to tell enough or not enough?
Click to expand...
Practice, the more you hand load the more you develop certain skills. Seating a primer is another good example. People will say "it just feels right" which makes no sense to someone who has never seated a primer. Yet, to those who have seated thousands of primers it just feels right. I happen to use RCBS Case Slick and after thousands of cases you just know what "enough" is. Hard to explain but you just develop good hand loading habits and skills. I guess a video may help? Here is a video example. Anyway, I'll stop short of calling it an art form but it is one of those things in reloading that you develop a skill for doing. Note that in the video when he references the neck I believe he is getting at making sure the inside of his case necks are lubricated. In reality the outside necks and shoulders don't really need any lobe applied.

Ron
 
I loaded 1k rounds by hand (single stage press, hand trim, manually seat each primer, used a manual powder drop to charge each case, etc.) when I started loading for .223. This was such a distasteful experience that I immediately decided that it WAS worth it to buy the parts necessary to set up my xl650 (including the case trimmer) for .223. Now umpteen thousands of finished rounds later, that sure looks like a good decision!
 
My case lube was "One Shot" aerosol.

I also purchased a set of RCBS small base dies. These resize the cases like butter.

The Lyman dies have another case terminally wedged inside. I know it sounds fat fetched, but I think I got a bad set of dies originally.

I will confess that I normally don't lube the inside of case necks, and never have. I worry a bit about setback, and like the bullets seated dry. The 30-06s are fine this way.

So I'll take partial credit for the problems, since I wasn't deliberately lubing in/on the neck. The 30-06s never required it, so I didn't learn.

Still, the RCBS dies are slick as snot, despite the sizing die being small base. My Lee dies are good, and the Lyman 223's were horrendous. I probably just picked the one set that quality control missed. I love my Lyman powder trickler, and I'm still convinced they make quality stuff.

These new dies fixed everything.
 
Use More Lube:

I have only stuck a .223 case once - just a few months ago. It was the first case that I went to resize after really cleaning my dirty dies. I will now make sure die is even lubed after cleaning.
 
That Hornady One Shot is worthless in my opinion. I used it at first and got stuck cases all the time. I sprayed the snot of the cases, let them flash off for several minutes, and still got stuck cases.

I recently switched to the squirt bottle Dillon lube and it is fantastic! I fill a quart size ziploc bag with brass and do a squirt and then jostle the brass, and other squirt and jostle about 3 or 4 times and it's awesome. Been loading 243 and 300BLK and it's smooth as silk using Lee dies.
 
Let me chime in and second all the recommendations for Imperial sizing lube. You just keep a little on the fingers that are feeding cases and roll them around as you place them in the press. A tin will last half a lifetime.

The companion dry neck lube is great too. It's a little container of porcelain beads that have graphite mixed in. Just dip the case neck in the beads and a trace of graphite lubes the inside of the neck.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/319390/imperial-dry-neck-lube-1-oz-powder
 
I switched from Hornady to the RCBS spray - MUCH better . I have read a lot of complaint posts around the forums about One Shot being a problem.

I have also read that a DIY lube comprised of a spray bottle with 4oz pure liquid lanolin mixed with a 16oz bottle of 99% alcohol is very good. You can get the combo from Amazon for $16 and mix up enough lube for a mighty long time. More than enough for you and a reloading buddy or two. Shake well before use. Heck Amazon even sells nice smaller spray bottles.

https://www.amazon.com/Now-Foods-Li...469206366&sr=8-1&keywords=liquid+pure+lanolin

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...ywords=spray+bottles&rh=i:aps,k:spray+bottles
 
Last edited:
The DIY lube is the best I have ever used. I swear by it now.
I started making it back in 2012 and have played with the ratios a bit. I have found a 1:10 to 1:12 ratio to work great for .223
I am still working from the bottle I bought back in 2012 and have done about 12,000 .223 cases with it.
Be sure to use a quality spray bottle to save yourself some frustrations. I use this one.......
https://www.amazon.com/Zep-Commerci...=1469208116&sr=8-1&keywords=zep+spray+bottles
It has been filled with the DIY lube for over 4 years and hasn't broken down the plastic or ever given me an issue with the spray tip.
Start with 10 parts 99% alcohol and 1 part liquid lanolin.
Lay the cases in a plastic tub, usually about 200 at a time and give 2 good misting sprays.
Shake all the cases into a corner of the tub so they stand necks up and give 1 more spray.
Shake tub and let alcohol evaporate for 15 minutes.
Shake tub again and let sit another 15 minutes.
Last batch I did I forgot about them and they sat in the tub for a couple days and were good to go.
The lube tumbles off in about 30-60 minutes in walnut media, or you can wash the lube off with alcohol.
I do this sometimes if I am in a hurry.
I pour 200-500 pieces of brass into a 2 gal plastic bucket.
Pour a 1 gal can of denatured alcohol into bucket. Put on lid and shake.
Put on a sturdy dish glove and massage brass for 1-2 minutes, then decant alcohol back into can to use again.
Lay the brass outside in the sun and the alcohol evaporates fast.
When in a real big hurry, I have been known to put the alcohol washed brass onto a dedicated baking sheet and into the oven at 140* with the oven door open and a fan blowing the fumes out the window. Be careful if you do this.
I recommend NOT to do this if you have a gas oven.
 
DaisyCutter said:
My case lube was "One Shot" aerosol.

I also purchased a set of RCBS small base dies. These resize the cases like butter.

The Lyman dies have another case terminally wedged inside. I know it sounds fat fetched, but I think I got a bad set of dies originally.

I will confess that I normally don't lube the inside of case necks, and never have. I worry a bit about setback, and like the bullets seated dry. The 30-06s are fine this way.

So I'll take partial credit for the problems, since I wasn't deliberately lubing in/on the neck. The 30-06s never required it, so I didn't learn.

Still, the RCBS dies are slick as snot, despite the sizing die being small base. My Lee dies are good, and the Lyman 223's were horrendous. I probably just picked the one set that quality control missed. I love my Lyman powder trickler, and I'm still convinced they make quality stuff.

These new dies fixed everything.
Click to expand...

OneShot works fine but you MUST FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. Meaning that you must give it time to evaporate. It's a lot easier to clean up than the lanlon mix. I use both but prefer the OneShot due to easier clean up.

From what you have been dealing with I would suspect something out of spec on the Lyman die. I have 223R dies in Hornady, Redding all work good and std sizing not SB. I have found that I prefer using the Redding -S die with a TiNi bushing, eliminating the internal expander. This is the easiest combo I have in sizing brass. I purchased 2500 from BrassBomers once fired LC unprocessed. Cleaned with SS after depriming. All sized down without any problems using the Hornady dies on a LNL-AP. Then trimmed using the Trim-It II trimmer i a drill press. Granted some were a little more difficult indicating they may have been shot in a MG. But again they sized properly with no issues. These all fit a Min Spec 223R match chamber. One thing I noticed which most do depending on how the size there brass is after the 1st firing some of the shoulders were not being pushed back quite far enough. So and adj was needed to compensate for the work hardening that accorded. I now run all my brass through an annealer now, which resorted me in readjusting the sizing die to pushing the should back too far. So if your using mixed brass this is something to be on the look out for.
 
I used to have issues with stuck cases early on. I did get One-shot to work ok, but it seemed like there would always be a few cases that made me cross my fingers hoping this wasn't going to be the one I'd have to fight with. I even took to adding a little dab of gear lube once in a while to provide a bit more lube to the die - which did help. Then I read about Imperial Sizing wax here on this forum. Tried it and never looked back. No idea how many thousands of cases a can will do, as I'm still working on the original one.
 
I have used oneshot quite a bit, only stuck one case that i didnt properly lube.

I have resized around 3k mixed range .223 and over 500 machine gun fired (large chamber) 7.62 LC brass. That stuff is tough as nails, but a healthy dose of oneshot and a clean case and they resize without too many problems

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
I'd try cleaning your dies and then use more lube than you have been. Loading .223 isn't necessarily more difficult than anything else.
Click to expand...
I agree. I'd FIRST clean the dies very thoroughly -- even using a de-greaser.

Next, I'd lube the cases. I've had very good results from a couple of cleaning patches moistened with Ed's Red (a home brew lubricant). Just roll the die in your fingers and put a bit around the case mouth every few rounds.
 
I like Dillon/Frankford spray lube, as far as I can tell same about the same stuff.
Toss in plastic tub spray, shake a bit and let sit, load and go.

Lee Dies no stuck .223 cases so far. (holding my breath now:))
Lee dies do make it easy for you to get the case out if you do stick one.
 
Not much to add to what has already been said.

I will add another vote for the Imperial case lube. When I am doing low production stuff, that is what I use.

For times when I want to resize several hundred cases, I use the Royal spray case lube. I put all the cases on a sheet of cardboard, spray, roll around some to coat evenly.

FWIW, I use Redding dies for 223, and bought the optional carbide expander - well worth it, IMHO. Since I got the carbide expander, I don't bother with lubing the inside of the necks.

I typically will wet tumble the dirty brass, WITHOUT pins, for about 15 minutes. This gets the outside of the brass clean enough to run through the resizing die. Then I lube and resize, then back into the wet tumbler WITH pins for about 2 hours. Cleans and removes all the lube.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
Does the tiny nature of 223 components make reloading difficult?
2
Replies
38
Views
2K
hdwhit
H
M
  • Locked
223 reloading process
Replies
4
Views
395
film495
F
B
  • Locked
Having trouble sizing 223
Replies
16
Views
684
rcmodel
R
J
  • Locked
RCBS Lube Die Decapping Frustration
Replies
13
Views
1K
jinxer3006
J
G
  • Locked
This reloading operation is getting frustrating
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
dbmjr1
dbmjr1
Back
Top