Die issues. (Lee sizing die) anyone else?

kenneth carlson

kenneth carlson

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Hi I finally got a little time to start working up a load for my 308. I had lee dies kicking around here so I sized a bunch of brass. Trimmed to spec. Deburred. And chamfered as always. But found 99% of the cases were hard to close the bolt on. Thinking I had die to far in and buckling the cases. I then went to try some unloaded rounds. And guess what. They still were hard to close the bolt. So I put permanent marker on half a dozen or so. And cycled them. All were hard but the issue I have found is that the shoulders are rubbing in the chamber. Nothing else. Just the shoulder. I had some unsized brass I previously fired in the gun. They cycled like butter. I had some fired from my old savage 99 and they were like butter. So has anyone else had this issue with lee dies. This is a first for me. I want to upgrade my dies to redding. But didn't want to start just yet.
 
I hope you are able to see in the pictures. It is hard to make it show up for the camera.
 

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Where is this specific brass from? What rifle was it fired in? Did it cycle in your rifle before sizing?
Brass fired in the same rifle should cycle. If the brass from your 99 cycles in your bolt that means your 99 has a similar sized or possibly tighter chamber than your bolt. If this is once-fired brass from someone else's rifle it could have a larger chamber and you aren't sizing them down enough.

People often seem quick to blame Lee dies when I find 90% of the time it's something else. The 7.5x55 could be the dies, I've read some reports on that specifically.

I had a similar problem but my bolt wouldn't close at all, it wasn't just tight. The rifle in question had a very tight chamber and I had to size the brass down more than normal to get it to work. I suppose this means I wasn't properly sizing my brass previous to this but they fit and cycled in multiple firearms before I ran into this problem with this one rifle.
You want the press arm to cam or pop at the end of a stroke. You should encounter more resistance and the handle should then pop or become easier for the last little bit.
 
I am all for Lee dies. They are good dies. I have never had a complaint. So I am not trying to dis lee by no means. I have the die properly installed. The brass was once fired from his rem 700 when I purchased it from a local buddy as he don't reload.
I have sized a few about 6-7 times now hoping it was my fault. But I am still having the same issue. I have about 50 or so brass I haven't sized yet fired from this gun. And they cycle good like butter. I sized 2 that fit in unsized. And they don't fit as nice now it is harder to close bolt after sizing the 2 brass. I have tried a few other brands of once fired brass also from my buddy and no such luck they fit before sizing and not as nice after sizing.

And thank you. But yes I do know how to set up my dies properly. I am sizing on a LYMAN t mag and it cams as it should then easy at the very last little bit.
 
kenneth carlson said:
I sized 2 that fit in unsized. And they don't fit as nice now it is harder to close bolt after sizing the 2 brass.
Click to expand...
That says a lot and does make it sound like it could be a faulty die. I'd measure the expander ball with a micrometer to make sure it's not out of tolerance. I'd also try annealing a couple cases and running them through to see if maybe hardened brass is causing it to not size properly (not common but helps sometimes).
 
Could it be that the expander ball of the decapping pin be pulling the shoulders forward? Did you lube the necks? Maybe you should disassemble the dies and check to see if everything is alright with the expander ball.
 
The case does fully hit the die. I have the die turned in 1/3-1/4 turn in past touching at the upmost stroke of the ram! The die is set up properly.

I just polished the decapping pin/ expander ball to mirror finish and to a final diameter of .3080" it glides like butter going through the die. But I am still having the same issue. I resized a few pieces that fit very smooth in the chamber before sizing are now once again are very tight to close the bolt.
 
I had the same problem. I was baffled. All my re sized brass would not cycle. Finally realized I had purchased neck sizer dies instead of Fl dies I felt very lonely at that moment. Just a thought
Cheers
Danny
 
Well. I solved the problem. I am gonna send back this lee die to lee. They say they'll replace it. Also I just ordered in a set of LYMAN carbide match 3 die set on Amazon for 65$. They are on the way. My 308 reloads can hold off a few days.
 
You said your expander dia. was .3085? That sounds like a .303 Brit/7.62X54R expander. For .308 you should have a .3065" expander. Check the outside neck diameter of your cases before and after sizing.
 
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