REALLY stuck 223 case

[ArchAngelCD]

I feel for you. Stuck cases suck. I like to tumble my brass before FL sizing/Depriming them so I get most of the junk off the sides, carbon, mud, unburnt powered, whatever, then wipe me down to get all the media off them. I also swear by the hornady lube spray before I do any sizing. I try to buy extra of my main reloading dies just in case a break happens so I don't have to stop and wait for a die to be returned. The lee are cheap enough for spares. Just a though. I only keep extras for .223, 308, 9mm , 38/357, 44 and 45.

Sorry but I can't see spending between $225 to $250 on spare sets of dies to put them aside "just in case". I can see having spare parts on hand like decapping pins but not die sets. I don't have the disposable income to shelf that much money which I would use on components instead.

BTW, I have stuck only 1 case ever and Hornady One shot was involved. I switched to Imperial Sizing Was right after that and have had no problems since.

 

[Still Shooting]

Sizing Lube

I had been using an RCBS lube pad and their "goo" for many years, but when I started reloading a lot of stuff again about 5 years ago, I tried the Hornady "One Shot". Initally, I had problems - a couple of stuck cases, and some squeeking and hard removals on the sizing stroke. With trial and error, I found that if the Hornady lube is still wet - or too dry - the cases were prone to sticking, and hard extraction.

Rather than mess around with timing, and careful spray application, I switched to Imperial case lube. No problems since, and a little bit goes a long way. Love the stuff, and I'm not about to go back.