Sticky Lyman .303 die

I

ilikeoldguns

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So I am just now really getting the time and space to sit down and try some reloading. Got my first 50 .45C cases sized and primed tonight and figured my powder measure out too. haven't got the trickler right yet, but whatever. The scale says i'll be good.

I figured i'd try my .303 dies after messing with them briefly before and I had this issue where the case would stick about 1/4 inch out of the de-caping/resizing die and hold fast. It seemed properly adjusted and the case was lubed.

What as I missing?

Thanks in advance.
 
Did you lube both the inside of the case mouth and the outside?

Double check your adjustment, IIRC it should contact the shell holder when its at the top of the stroke, and then tightened 3/4 of a turn more, check your manual for that die.
 
Also, check to make sure your brass is Boxer primed. Berdan primed brass will stop as the decapping pin hits the base of the brass and cannot punch out the primer.
 
Check the stamping on the dies to confirm they are .303 British. Once in a long while, the wrong die gets put in the box.
 
Didn't come with a manual :(

Qhergt said:
Did you lube both the inside of the case mouth and the outside?

Double check your adjustment, IIRC it should contact the shell holder when its at the top of the stroke, and then tightened 3/4 of a turn more, check your manual for that die.
Click to expand...
 
Well - If this is your first attempt at bottleneck cases, you must realize that a little muscle is needed on both the down and up strokes. The Remington case is Boxer primed.
 
If you have confirmed it's the right die and adjusted the die setup as per Qhergt above and if the case is properly lubed, I might suggest taking a micrometer to the fired cases and compare them to SAAMI standards (most reloading manuals show dimensions). If it's too far out of whack, you might want to run the rifle by a gunsmith. Some wartime-production Lee-Enfields had excessively large chambers, some say to deal with the crud and muck of battlefield conditions. Cosmic's comments about having to reef on them is also true.

Out of curiosity,what lube are you using?
 
ilikeoldguns

1. If the decapping rod/expander button is screwed down too far it will stop the case from entering into the die and stop short. The decapping pin should should only be protruding 3/16 of an inch from the bottom of the die when properly adjusted.

2. "DO NOT" screw the full length resizing die down to contact the shell holder and allow the press to cam over on a British .303 case. If you do this you will OVER RESIZE the case, shorten its life and cause case head separations.

Below is a Wilson case gauge with a fired .303 British resting in the gauge, the amount the case is sticking above the top of the gauge is how much longer the military chamber is from SAAMI civilian standards. If you adjust the die to contact the shell holder you will bump the shoulder of the case back too far by the amount sticking above the case gauge.

100_1637_zpsdd85ab06.jpg


Over resizing the British .303 case will cause the case to stretch and thin in the base web area and cause the case to fail due to a case head separation. The military Enfield chamber is larger in diameter and longer than civilian SAAMI standards and you need to compensate for the longer chamber.

headspacestretch-c_zps8f362fcb.gif


Once the case has been fired you want the case to headspace on the shoulder of the case and NOT the rim. this will prevent the case from stretching and thinning in the base web area. What you really need is a neck sizing die to extend case life or only "PARTIALLY" resize the case with a full length resizing die. Meaning you will have at least 1/8 of an inch air space between the shell holder and the bottom of the die with the ram fully extended.

zeroheadspace_zpsbaf7579c.jpg


By neck sizing only the shoulder of the case will hold the base of the case against the bolt face and the case has no room to stretch.

Head clearance is the "air space" between the bolt face and the rear of the case. Excess head clearance will shorten the life of any reloaded cartridge case.

HEADCLEARANCE-a_zps53089f07.jpg


All military chambers are fatter and longer than there civilian counterparts and the correct shoulder bump is critical for long case life. Below with minimum head clearance the case will stretch to meet the bolt face and then try to spring back to its original length. When the head clearance is too great the brass will stretch and thin beyond the elastic limits of the brass. On a bolt action rifle you only want to bump the shoulder of the case back .001 to .002 and .002 to .004 on a semiautomatic rifle.

HeadClearance_zpsf30a3af1.gif
 
ilikeoldguns

Also clean the inside of the die with a solvent, dry and inspect the inside surfaces for rust or corrosion. If the dies are old and have sat around for a extended period they may have rusted and could be causing the case to bind in the die.
 
Cosmic has it right.
Especially for 303 British. This is because the commonly used Lee Enfield's usually have enlarged chambers, which allows the case to expand. Thus, when the die gets down near the thicker web, considerable power is required to push the handle all the way home.
 
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