Question on Lee .308 full size die

[Vacek]

I picked up about 250 308 brass from an estate sale. It appears that all have been full length resized and at least 200 are already primed. To be sure I ran a couple of the unprimed (but assumed resized) brass through a new lee .308 full size die. I used the Imperial Lube. Anyway, once the brass came off the dies I notices that a general loss of the brass "gloss" removed except for the 1/16" from the case head. Upon closer examination you could feel the boundary with a fingernail. What gives?????


NOTE>>>> I have went in a repaired my bad typing. Thanks to RC for bringing this to my attention.

 

[rcmodel]

Maybe a typo, but you are saying you resized .308 Winchester cases in a .303 British die and now they look funny?

Yep! That would make them look funny all right!

rc

 

[OYE]

I'm not sure of your question either.

My own policy is this: If I don't have a record of the history of the brass, how many times it's been loaded etc.... , it gets discarded, period. I've never had a cracked neck, or a failed case, squib load, or a ruined gun, in over 30 years of loading for various calibers.

If you wish to use questionable brass, public range brass, or brass dug out of the dirt, go for it. You'll get no sympathy from me.

 

[Vacek]

My apologies. It was a typo. It is a Lee .308 full size die. I am recovering from shoulder surgery and my typing is less than good.

 

[243winxb]

you could feel the boundary with a fingernail.

Could be normal sizing or pending case head separation. Some photos here. http://www.photobucket.com/joe1944usa

 

[Vacek]

I though possibly case head separation as well, but no I don't think so. I polished one with a scotchy pad and that doesn't seem to be the issue. It is like the Lee die took off a layer of the brass. Also the brass had been previously resized.

On another point, what is the best, your recommendation, brand of new rifle brass to buy? Gee Whiz OYE I didn't mean to get your ire up on a Sunday.

 

[OYE]

you didn't.

 

[Hey_Allen]

I think there was another thread recently asking about shaving brass during sizing, which brought on a comparisson of a few brands of dies, and the throat shapes of each.

The last I saw of that seemed to show that some die brands have more aggressive angles on the throat of the die than others, and that some dies are possibly even rougher than the norm for their brand.
At least one person advocated polishing/deburring the entry of the die to prevent the problem you asked about.

I don't know if this is the only thing going on in yolur case, but it sounded familiar, and I thought it was lee dies in question there as well.

 

[OYE]

If you are sure there is nothing wrong with the brass, it could be rough dies. That lube has glowing reports on Midway. I've not used it. Maybe it doesn't work well with Lee dies.
You can call Lee Precision and see what they think. They will gladly replace them as
will all the manufacturers. Lee dies are all I own. If you haven't used the Lee Lube, I would suggest trying it, if it's available locally ( they might even send you some). It's all I've ever used. I just put some on a damp sponge and roll cases over it. No stuck cases,
no dented shoulders, no bent rims, no broken decappers, ever. Always clean the pressure
release hole ( located in the neck ) out with a wire before starting. If you put too much on it just squirts out the hole. Lube inside of neck same as always.
Brass : of the big 3, Remington hands down. ( But you have to keep records on each batch, same as always.) Once fired miliary brass (from a believable source, like Midway) is good heavy brass as well, and you know it's fired once.
There may be others.

 

[Vacek]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for the information. OYE I do have some Lee lube and will try it tonight along with a call to Lee. I have several brands of brasss and will determine if it is that particular brand/lot. It is federal which I have read is fairly soft brasss. I know that the Federal brass feels totally different from other when I am reloading for 9mm.

I have been reading a lot of reviews regarding brass and probably will go with about 100 Norma.

 

[Walkalong]

Lube is lube, and the die doesn't know any better. If the lube doesn't work, the brass gets stuck, but the die doesn't scrape brass. If the die is truly scraping brass, it is a die problem. Lee will gladly replace it.