I just got a brand new set of lee dies, that i am trying to use in my rockchucker 2 press. The problem i have is i cant resize the case. I have removed the decaping rod to be sure it wasn't that, and still i can only press down the case about three quarters of the way. I am sure i am not using too much or too little case lube. At about half way down the case is were it starts to squeese then it takes alot of force to get another quarter the way. Then it take me standing and two hands to pull the leaver back up. I can see its really trying to squeeze the case and neck. Is there any chance these dies were stamped wrong ? How could i check to see if they are wrong ? I have allways used rcbs with out a prob and i borrowed a rcbs set and they work flawlessly. Thankyou
Lee 270 wsm 2 die set problem ?
- Thread starter nitrofann
- Start date
Yes they are definatly 270 wsm stamped. Yes i read all the instructions. Yes i know what i am doing. Was just curious if anyone else had similar problems. The case looks fine , it appears to be trying to shrink the neck down too much. I will contact lee tomorrow.
Last edited:
You say you know what you're doing. Great. That being the case, I'm sure you've used your caliper to check the length of the brass before resizing.
What is it?
I don't mean to question your obviously supreme knowledge but how exactly are you setting the die up? Could you please describe exactly how you set up the die from the time you start screwing it in to the time you decide it's installed correctly?
Thanks
What is it?
I don't mean to question your obviously supreme knowledge but how exactly are you setting the die up? Could you please describe exactly how you set up the die from the time you start screwing it in to the time you decide it's installed correctly?
Thanks
OK, possible problems, just to eliminate them...
- wrong die dimensions
- wrong case
- wrong case dimensions
- improper setup and use of equipment
You say that your kit is properly set up, so let that one go.
Lee makes good dies and the odds of them being off are slim, but not impossible (I've heard of it happening with other makers). I might take a pair of calipers and do a quick check of the inside diameter of the sizing die. The base diameter for the .270 Winchester is .470", that of the .270 WSM is .555". The difference is substantial, so it should be easy to confirm a problem.
I might also do a quick mike check on the expanding button. If it differs much from .270, that would be another indicator of a die problem.
I would also check your brass to see that they conform at least reasonably with book dimensions. Quick and easy to check and will eliminate one possibility.
I would err on the side of too much lube in this case. You might get lube dimples on the shoulder, but those are small potatoes and it would confirm that the dies themselves are workable.
RCBS presses are about as good as you can go, I think. I assume that you've done the usual lube on the pins and joints on the press itself.
Interesting.
- wrong die dimensions
- wrong case
- wrong case dimensions
- improper setup and use of equipment
You say that your kit is properly set up, so let that one go.
Lee makes good dies and the odds of them being off are slim, but not impossible (I've heard of it happening with other makers). I might take a pair of calipers and do a quick check of the inside diameter of the sizing die. The base diameter for the .270 Winchester is .470", that of the .270 WSM is .555". The difference is substantial, so it should be easy to confirm a problem.
I might also do a quick mike check on the expanding button. If it differs much from .270, that would be another indicator of a die problem.
I would also check your brass to see that they conform at least reasonably with book dimensions. Quick and easy to check and will eliminate one possibility.
I would err on the side of too much lube in this case. You might get lube dimples on the shoulder, but those are small potatoes and it would confirm that the dies themselves are workable.
RCBS presses are about as good as you can go, I think. I assume that you've done the usual lube on the pins and joints on the press itself.
Interesting.
This problem is actually fairly common with the 270WSM. It seems that for some reason, the dimensions of most reloading dies, and the chambers in factory 270WSM rifles don't match up as good as they should. Combined with the fairly thick cases of most 270WSM brass, it can be difficult to size the brass fired in some chambers. I personally know three people that have had similar issues, with one person trying three different dies, as well as a few different case lubes before finding a solution. He ended up with Redding dies and RCBS case lube, and it still takes more effort than normal to size the cases, but at least he is able to get them FL sized when it is required. For the most part, he neck sizes to avoid the problem as much as possible. I would try different case lubes, and possibly a different set of dies by another manufacturer.
Went and got some different case lube today and what a differance. I can deffinatly feel the extra effort but the spray on lube was just not slippery enough. Thankyou 50 rounds through the dies and life is good. Much appreciated
