reloading troubles for my .300wm

bananahammock

bananahammock

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hello!

so I just got into reloading not to long ago and I made my first attempt at it last night , I have the lee collet sizing die , and a hornady set , a sizing die and a seating die, I tried sizing and my collet die did nothing, I read the booklet and it said you will feel resistance as the primer is being pushed out , and then you must keep pushing further with the press for a min of 25 pounds for it to size, well, im sure I must have done up to 50-100 pounds and nothing happened still, i tried readjusting the die again etc and ive tried different adjustments about 8 times now so i gave up and figured id try my hornady one, i lubricated the shell with hornady unique case lube and also on the inside of the neck and i used the press to push the primer out, and the primer never popped out so when i started lowering my shell i heard a zippy sound and noticed the freaking zip spindle and the expander and every thing came with it...my reload buddy was able to pull it out by hand but i could not so he reinstalled every thing in the die and we used a wrench and made sure every thing was tight and it was adjusted and seated in the press as the book said and the same thing happened and now i cant get the expander out at all.....

so my question is, how do you resize? i didn't think it would or should be this much of a pain? ive watched a lot of videos and guides and they all make it look stupid easy, or maby im just stupid O_O

some info
-lee press
-reloading for .300 wm
-collet sizing die
-hornady sizing die
-remington brass
-measuring often with caliper
-using lube
 
bananahammock said:
hello!

so I just got into reloading not to long ago and I made my first attempt at it last night , I have the lee collet sizing die , and a hornady set , a sizing die and a seating die, I tried sizing and my collet die did nothing, I read the booklet and it said you will feel resistance as the primer is being pushed out , and then you must keep pushing further with the press for a min of 25 pounds for it to size, well, im sure I must have done up to 50-100 pounds and nothing happened still, i tried readjusting the die again etc and ive tried different adjustments about 8 times now so i gave up and figured id try my hornady one, i lubricated the shell with hornady unique case lube and also on the inside of the neck and i used the press to push the primer out, and the primer never popped out so when i started lowering my shell i heard a zippy sound and noticed the freaking zip spindle and the expander and every thing came with it...my reload buddy was able to pull it out by hand but i could not so he reinstalled every thing in the die and we used a wrench and made sure every thing was tight and it was adjusted and seated in the press as the book said and the same thing happened and now i cant get the expander out at all.....

so my question is, how do you resize? i didn't think it would or should be this much of a pain? ive watched a lot of videos and guides and they all make it look stupid easy, or maby im just stupid O_O

some info
-lee press
-reloading for .300 wm
-collet sizing die
-hornady sizing die
-remington brass
-measuring often with caliper
-using lube
Click to expand...

Stop by Barton's & ask for AL,
 
Is the decapping pin on your die bent? If it's not straight and hitting the primer pocket squarely, it's not gonna pop the primer out and seat the case all the way into your die. Shouldn't take THAT much effort. All these spent cases were shot from your rifle?
 
The collet die requires no lube and yes, only hand pressure is needed and it won't feel like anything is actually happening.

Did you try both sizing dies??

Are your dies properly adjusted/set into the press?
 
I cant be positive given your explanation......but with the Hornady dies, the decapper rod must be very very tight once you get the correct length (long enough to push the primer out but not much more or you will bend the rod). I have had them slide and pull out of the die as well until you make them right and tight.

I have had to use a wrench for holding the die and another for tightening..

The RCBS dies use a decapper rod system that does not slide like the Hornady does.

Check the directions again carefully on the set up of your dies.
 
My advice to the OP is to use whatever he likes, I think it just may be an error in set up.

I agree with the diagnosis on the Hornady, they will slip if not very securely tightened.

Actually I have had less issue with Lee than Hornady, actually no issues with Lee at all.

Just gotta find what works.The collet dies are nice for not stressing brass like a bushing type does and they are surprisingly accurate, measure neck run out from one if you have the chance. ;)
 
This is my usual reply to those who say don't use Lee.
100Y 3x 5 shots, 1 x 2 shots.
31-10-11.jpg


A poor workman always blames his tools.
 
did you mesure cases after resizing or do you just expect some soft of magical poof with smoke when you resize a case?
I mean, how can you tell the case was not resized properly?
did you measure it?

The lee collet die just requires that you lower the press arm to close the collet.... you are not going to see purple smoke all over...

tell us a bit more
 
Last edited:
I think I did it wrong!!

I had green smoke!!

Kryogen said:
did you mesure cases after resizing or do you just expoect some soft of magical poof with smoke when you resize a case?
I mean, how can you tell the case was not resized properly?
did you measure it?

The lee collet die just requires that you lower the press arm to close the collet.... you are not going to see purple smoke all over...
Click to expand...
 
Sounds like the expander is to tight of tolerance,make sure you lube the expander ball. I use redding sizing wax, it is the best there is. Measure the wall thickness on 2 side of the case neck then take that away from the diameter of the neck? Your brass could be to thick as well.
Another problem with some brass if they are new, is the necks are square. If there not round use a screw driver or anther expander ball to round them out. There are many things..
 
Thanks for all the replays, and yeah every time I do any thing I use a caliper too see if there were any changes and when I measure the neck I measure near the bottom and the top and I belive I'm getting 8.63 on average but nothing changes, I measure befor sizing and after, I'm getting the primers out just fine now but the hornady one is still giving me problems, it seem like there isn't enough roomm in the die for the shell to go far enough in for the primer to be punched out, I had to thread the die so it's just barely threaded and it finally removed the primer
 
Can you move the de-capping pin any lower by loosening the expander ball? Stop measuring in mm as well or whatever 8.63 is..lol
 
Try dropping a bullet into your neck sized brass. The Lee collet die doesn't give much neck tension at all but your brass should hold a bullet after sizing. It should need to be seated with your seating die and give little resistance as it seats. If bullets slip in by hand THEN there's a problem.
 
Sit down, take a close look at what you're doing and how it all works. None of this is rocket science but you do need to actually think about what you're doing, and it's obvious you are still on the steep part of the learning curve. Get off your smart phone and this forum and look at what you're doing and you will figure it out by yourself in 5 minutes. Seriously - smart devices make people more stupid.

Hint: The nut on the decapping pin on the hornady die needs to be firmly tightened or the decapping pin will slip just like your's did. If it slips a lot you will wreck it. It's in the instructions that came with your die set, read it.

Hint #2: Collet dies neck size only, so they won't resize the cartridge body, they don't leave any marks, and there won't be any apparent change to the catridge dimensions that you can see, and and there is little if any resistance felt from resizing. That's how they are supposed to work, so no problem there....

Hint#3: If you are decapping with your collet die, you WILL feel some resistance on the press lever as the primer is pushed out - if you have the decapping pin adjusted properly so that it is DE-PRIMING. If the primer is already gone you obviously won't feel any resistance.... if the decapping pin is adjusted too short, you won't feel any resistance. Look and think....

Good luck.
 
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