hornady 223 dies very tight when the expander contacts the neck on the way up?

carbonrod

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
54   0   0
I just bought a set of hornady FL 223 dies. They work smoothly on the way down, but on the way back up, they take a great deal of force to get the expander up past the neck. The down stroke is smooth, the upstroke is smooth until the expander contacts the neck. Then it takes a swift hit to the handle to get the expander out.

Any ideas what I am doing wrong?
 
X2 what gth said. My RCBS X dies do the same thing and actually take off brass. there might be a burr on the expander that is causing it to grab, maybe a light polish on the top part of the expander would smooth it up if lubing doesn't do the trick.
 
I am not. I wondered about that though. I have never used lube inside the necks on any of the other shells I have reloaded. It has never been necessary. Are smaller diameter shells more prone to needing lube?

If you want to bring down your runout anywhere near zero, lube the inside of the necks. Lube and clean after sizing.
bigbull
 
Back
Top Bottom