.223/5.56 sizing die messed up? *PICS*

[stesch_s10]

I'll start off by saying I went and purchased all my equipment to load .223/5.56 yesterday at Cabelas, I asked the guy in reloading if he recommended a certain brand of dies, he asked what I was loading, I said .223... well 5.56.. well both actually. He goes will your gonna have to order the 5.56 dies online cause we don't have any. I looked at him like...??? Then I said well you use 223 dies for 5.56. Hes like no you have to get 5.56 dies online. So I go OOHH OK! He asks if there was anything else he could help me with, I said NOPE! (I DO NOT need YOUR help today)

My problem, I bought Hornady .223 rem dies and One Shot case lube. Get home get out my .223 brass, I add a decent amount of lube to the case and start to set my die up, i put the ram all the way up, lowered the die till it touched then locked it in place. I put the brass piece in the shell plate, raised it up into the die (it was tight) tried to come down and POP... case is stuck in the die... ugh!! So i tried to drill it and tap it and it wouldn't come out, so i ended up drilling most of it out, got my needle nose and pulled it out.

2nd Case, I lube the hell out of it, I put it in my hand, sprayed for 5 seconds all over, then a Q-Tip and did the inside of the die, Tried it again going slow. Well it went in there most of the way and then it was tight so i decided i better back down and see whats going on... POP! 2nd case stuck. I ended up drilling all of that out with the biggest bit i could fit in there without it touching the sides.

3rd case, I take the brass, a plastic container and the lube and make a pool of it, i let the piece of brass sit for a little while in there, i lube the hell out of the die. I backed the die up so i could work it down slowly. Put the brass in the holder, start raising and its a nice snug fit, so i lower the ram and lower the die, spray more lube on and go up. I do this 3 - 4 times and the die still isn't close to touching the shell plate. So I lower it once more and its snug again. Go to lower it and POP! Stuck again, this time i end up pounding the brass out with the depriming stem.

4th case. I put it on my shell holder and drill and spin the piss out of it and take steel wool to it, make its smooth and shiny, also took steel wool to inside of die, and cleaned it. Once again soaked the brass and die in lube. Start all over going slow and working the die down and lubing every stroke. This one ended up the farthest in and and smoothest, I almost get to all the way down SO i decided thats far enough I went down with the brass locked in the die, went back up to make sure it was all good, came back down and POP! 4th piece of brass in a row to get stuck... So I pounded that one out.

I go upstairs to cool off and remember reading some people use motor oil as lube. im like hell its worth a shot, i guess. So one more piece of .223 brass, oiled to beat hell with some 5w-30, gauze pads and ball bearings haha (fletch) I go slow with the ram all the way up and it slid in the die like it was a hot dog in a bun, I lower the die some more, all the way down as low asit will go and run the brass back up,.. NO PROBLEMS! MOTOR OIL WORKED!!!!

Anyway i run a few more with motor oil in there and they run fine, but I think somehow somewhere the die got screwed up and its not sizing the bottom 1/4 of the case. reason being that the die goes all the way to the bottom but there is a uniform line all the way around the case 1/4 way up. You can see them in these pics here. I can also feel a "ridge" where it goes from fat to skinny like it stopped sizing.







DO I need a new resizing die? If so no problem just a pain. I'm also going to pick up some of that Imperial Wax, if Gun Stop has it. Anyway Thanks for anyone who replies.

[Pinnacle]

Wow so this is the first try with reloading?

[mmcnx2]

I love one shot for pistol but must say I've not had good luck with it for rifle, similiar results as you have seen. I use imperial wax and have zero issues. The best I could do with one shot was to use it very heavy and then make sure I let it sit to dry, wet it stuck every time.

Over the uears I also used good old fashion rcbs resizing lube and although the stuff makes a stickly mess it does work well. I'm sure there are guys making one shot work, otherwise they would not sell it, but for me it was just not worth the hassle given the wax works so well and very easy to use.

[Sigfan220]

I'd ditch the one shot. I have had bad luck with that stuff. Run down to the Gun Stop and pick up some Dillon lube. You can bring them over later too if you would like to try a few out.

[ScatterGun4015]

did you lube the die before you ran your first case into it? I have had sticking issues if I didn't lube the die first

[LarryFlew]

Just resized 450 rounds of 223 with one shot no problem. Lee dies but brand shouldn't matter

talk to that sales guy one more time then replace the die

[stesch_s10]

haha well I went to Gun Stop this morning, told the guy my story, told him i only need the size and deprime, the other dies have been working... so far haha. I told him i want a redding and saw the imperial wax sitting there. I grabbed some up, he got me a die and said there ya go. He gave me his card and said if you have any questions call. if you think your about to get one stuck.. call me haha.

So im gonna go downstairs and try this out again. we'll see what happens.

[rugersol]

that sucks!

Gotta let one-shot dry ... make sure ya get it down near the head.

Bet ya wish ya'd've ordered that 5.56 die, eh?

It that .223 brass? Got any 5.56 handy?

[JJ]

Sam's gonna blow a gasket Good luck with that I am gonna suggest you find a reloader to come over and help you setup. I've loaded a fair amount and only stuck one piece of rifle brass. Luckily I was learning on a buddies setup and we had the problem diagnosed in about 30 seconds when he finished having his smoke outside.

[Ken]

Too much lube is just as bad as too little. And motor oil? Wow. I just use oneshot and dillon case lube.

I was cringing reading your account of your first reloading session. I'm surprised your press is still in one piece. I would've gotten frustrated chucked it.

Anyways, you made the right move going to Gunstop. John is a knowledgeable guy.

[Shipyard]

i ran into a lot of issues trying to reload .223 this wekend also. no stuck cases, but a lot of mushroomed brass that look like some kind of super short magnum from the moon .

you're not alone - patience and learning will have to be done here.

[Seismic Sam]

Well, the guy at Cabela's has his head up his backside so far he can see the back of his own molars. Checked two reloading manuals, and the dimensions for 223 and 5.56 are IDENTICAL for every single measurement. Went to MidwayUSA and there are FIVE PAGES of .223 dies, and ALL are labeled .223 dies. Not a single 5.56 die to bee seen anywhere. Now, they do have some small base .223 dies just like they do for 30 caliber cartridges used in autoloading rifles, but I've never heard of anybody loading up .223 with a regualr die and ever having any functioning problems.

Now, I have a really stupid question: Is that nickeled brass you are reloading, or is it steel? I know most of the Kommie Krap .223 cases are green or brown, but I have seen some silverish ones lying around. If it turns out it was steel, then there's your problem. (DUUUUUHHHH???) Just as a check, what's the headstamp on that brass?

If it isn't that, where did you get that fired brass, and what gun was it fired in? Your gun? A buddy's gun? Or did you just pick it up off the ground, or worse yet, buy it sight unseen on the internet?? The reason I ask is that the bases of those shells look suspiciously bulged, like they were shot in a gun with a really big chamber, or in a full auto gun where the bolt was coming back while the case still had pressure in it. I've NEVER seen cases like this where the case was going ALL the way into the die, but the bottom quarter of the case wasn't getting resized. It's entirely possible that the die was not machined correctly (this does happen occasionally), and that would explain why you're getting cases that look like this.

So: Where did the fired brass come from, what's the headstamp, and can you pick it up with a magnet or not??

[Norsesmithy]

In addition to what Sam said, I'd like to add that the set of .223 Hornady dies I bought from Cabela's when I first started collecting my reloading gear ensured that I never bought another Hornady die again.

I hated that die set so much that instead of reselling it, I put it on my anvil and crushed it with my 16 lb maul. It was just garbage. I bought the Lee set and never looked back.

I use Bag Balm for my case lube, it's just lanolin, like the Dillion spray can, but much cheaper per oz, and I can just put a dab on my hand and roll the case in my palm, giving it a perfect light film. It also keeps my hands from chapping.

I'd also wager you didn't lube the mouth of the case and didn't have the die properly adjusted.

[gman1868]

One Shot Baby!

Liberal use thereof.

Let it dry, case stays lubed long time.



I speak only for myself, an amateur loader at best

[DeanC]

After looking at that brass for about the 10th time today, I'm thinking the die is jacked. It looks to me like the die actually shaved some brass and left a ridge of it where the shell stopped entering the die.

If you run your fingernail over it, does it catch? If that is a physical ridge of brass, I can't imagine any type/amount of lube is going to cure that.

I'd really have to try it myself to render a verdict for sure.