Dented .308

[Grassman]

I was trying to get some .308 prepped for loading but when I resized and de-primered, I'm getting a dent in the case right below the neck. Now these dies are about 40 years old, I know age don't matter but they did have a little corrosion in them. It wasn't bad just surface rust, with a little scrub brush and WD-40 they cleaned up good. Could there be a vent hole plugged, too much oil? The brass is also very hard to push in and out of the die. I actually broke a case off into one of the .308 dies. Now I know that ain't right. Any thoughts on the denting of the case?

 

[rfwobbly]

Grassy -
Several things come to my weak mind for case denting...
• Sizing die set too far down
• Brass needs trimming
• Too much lube getting trapped up in the die

1 & 2 point to a length issue; 3 points to am obstruction within the die.

 

[Grassman]

That makes sense, this is some old brass not sure how many times it's been shot. Do I put a micrometer on the brass to see if it's too long? What should be the length?

 

[ReloaderFred]

The dents are caused by hydraulic pressure. This is from having too much lube in the area of the neck and shoulder, so clean out your die and recoat it lightly with whatever lube you're using.

The hard sizing is probably caused by a lube that isn't up to the job. The stuck case is also symptomatic of lube that isn't doing it's job properly.

Clean the dies as you would your firearm, and make sure all the old gunk and buildup is out of them. If using a spray lube, spray the interior of the die and let it dry for several minutes before sizing any brass. Make sure the brass has lube, but not excessively. Make sure the brass lube has also dried, if using the spray lube.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Grassman]

I've used this lube on my 22-250 dies with no problem. I'll try some new lube and see if that helps.

 

[xer0]

I second Fred's comment. However it sounded like you have never trimmed your brass which is very old... you sould always ensure your overall length is within spec. for .308 it is 2.015.. If you trim it down to 2.0 you will be good for pretty close to the life of the case and shouldnt experience excessive creep. I like to use the lee case trimmers which you can find at most every reloading store. they go for about 5 bucks per cal. and can be used with any power drill.. check out lee's website for more info http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1228973049.1678=/html/catalog/casecon.html ... Im sure you can also find this at midway. Hope it helps.

 

[Grassman]

I don't think that is the problem. I measured a bunch of cases and they were all around 2.0

 

[rcmodel]

Too much lube.

Do what Fred said and your problems will be over.

rcmodel

 

[eagleseeker]

i agree to much lube another thing if the brass has been shot a few times an streched it will cause your brass to dent found that out by trial an error

 

[rcmodel]

Not sure how stretched brass would cause dents when you size it?

You can run a 30-06 case into a .308 sizing die, and make a .308 out of it, and it won't cause any dents!
Course, the resulting neck might be a little long for a .308!

rcmodel

 

[Walkalong]

• Too much lube getting trapped up in the die

Yep. # 3 it is. Do like Fred said.

 

[jcwit]

Do what Fred & RC say. You can take what RC says to the bank