Stuck cases!

mac1911

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I do not get many stuck cases......maybe 10 in 10 years BUT its always with a Hornady dies! Weird.... Today going right along with 30-06 slipped right in and then just ripped the rim right off?
Maybe the rim was bad? O well I have a few other die sets so I will set this aside until I feel like getting it out.
 
I have been reloading for more decades than I'm willing to admit. Rifle, pistol, some case forming (.33 WCF from .45-70; .308 x 1.5" (.308 Barnes) from .300 Savage). I started using RCBS Case Lube on an ink pad and Imperial dry lube for inside of case necks on bottlenecks and never switched to anything else. In all this time, I have had only 2 stuck cases, in both situations from cases that somehow didn't get lubed. Both were quickly removed using an RCBS Stuck Case Remover.

FWIMBW.
 
I have been reloading for more decades than I'm willing to admit. Rifle, pistol, some case forming (.33 WCF from .45-70; .308 x 1.5" (.308 Barnes) from .300 Savage). I started using RCBS Case Lube on an ink pad and Imperial dry lube for inside of case necks on bottlenecks and never switched to anything else. In all this time, I have had only 2 stuck cases, in both situations from cases that somehow didn't get lubed. Both were quickly removed using an RCBS Stuck Case Remover.

FWIMBW.
Just frustrated and lazy to bother to pull it at the moment. I have a case puller ,
Usually I get a good feel for the cases that could be a problem , This case went in buttery smooth? Owell
 
No kidding? Just in a waxy form? Possibly those who use lanolin in solution at very low concentrations can have trouble with the bigger cases?
I am going to try this tire lube we have been using at work. Its like imperial wax , safe on all metals and wipes off easily.
Im using pure lanolin im not even a 1/3 through the tub of it. I dont like the dirty sheep smell, lol.
Its slick as shit though
 
I am going to try this tire lube we have been using at work. Its like imperial wax , safe on all metals and wipes off easily.
Im using pure lanolin im not even a 1/3 through the tub of it. I dont like the dirty sheep smell, lol.
Its slick as shit though

Maybe Imperial has some lanolin in it? It's definitely waxy. My Dad had a tire business and gas station for a few years. The lube they used for mounting tires was like gorilla snot.
 
My first time prepping cases a couple weeks ago, I sprayed them quick with Hornady one shot, but the way they were sitting in the container the bottoms didnt quite get enough lube on them. That was a fun learning experience, thankfully nothing was truly stuck. It is the reason my desk cracked though
 
I am going to try this tire lube we have been using at work. Its like imperial wax , safe on all metals and wipes off easily.
Im using pure lanolin im not even a 1/3 through the tub of it. I dont like the dirty sheep smell, lol.
Its slick as shit though

You know there's Hydrous Lanolin and Anhydrous Lanolin. One has water the other doesn't.

From your post it sounds like you have anhydrous. Try the hydrous, available at any pharmacy.
 

Yes, that's anhydrous ( means no water ). Very sticky and difficult to keep in solution. Leaves a lot of residue depending on the ratio of the alcohol mix.

The "hydrous" lanolin is a basic creamy white ointment used by a pharmacists to compound with medicines for topical application. Comes in a 1 or 2 ounce tube for a couple of bucks. Dissolves into the isopropyl alcohol easier and stays in solution a little better. I use to use it straight on a piece of cardboard for rolling .50bmg cases.

Either one will work
 
Yes, that's anhydrous ( means no water ). Very sticky and difficult to keep in solution. Leaves a lot of residue depending on the ratio of the alcohol mix.

The "hydrous" lanolin is a basic creamy white ointment used by a pharmacists to compound with medicines for topical application. Comes in a 1 or 2 ounce tube for a couple of bucks. Dissolves into the isopropyl alcohol easier and stays in solution a little better. I use to use it straight on a piece of cardboard for rolling .50bmg cases.

Either one will work
It works well, few small staniless ball bearings helps it mix.
Since i tend to do brass prep in large stages i will mix it up after warming it.
Your right though it is "sticky" but works fine.
 
It's lanolin
Best I can determine, Imperial is 2 parts bee's wax and one part lanolin.

Typically I size rifle cases in batches of 35-100 for match shooting. No, Imperial is not the most productive way to lube but I'm doing a lot of one by one inspection of the cases anyway so it works for me. Never a stuck case and I'm getting great life out of my brass, including .30-06 that has been reloaded many times and beat up in M1 Garands.
 
Dillon spray lube. I will say that I am careful on the first couple cases till the sizing die gets some in there. Usually the first case gets sized in several stages.
EDIT: Sometimes I use Imperial on the first case then the Dillon. I have 99.9% Isopropl alkie and pure Lanolin from Amazon I haven't needed to mix yet, still have several of the Blue branded mix...
 
How are you cleaning your fired cases ? I had a stuck case once , now when sizing if one feels it has more resistance , I'll lower the ran add a little more lube and it sizes much smoother . RCBS Case Lube. , Takes less time to add a little more case lube then removing a stuck case.
 
How are you cleaning your fired cases ? I had a stuck case once , now when sizing if one feels it has more resistance , I'll lower the ran add a little more lube and it sizes much smoother . RCBS Case Lube. , Takes less time to add a little more case lube then removing a stuck case.
I tumble my brass. Like I said this case went in with little resistance as my 30-06 usually does as its from the same rifle and im iust sizing enough to bump the shoulder back a touch .003” or so.
O well between all my dies I have only had stuck cases in hornady dies....its just weird
223, 30-06 , 8mm , 7.7 jap and M1 carbine?
 
The last time I had a stuck case, I just removed it and stuck a same-caliber back-up die in ..... and kept on going.

IMHO, it doesn't hurt to have a spare set of dies for some of your rifle calibers (but that's just me and my life-long habit of redundancy with a lot of things).

I few weeks later, I was able to find the time to remove the stuck case with an RCBS stuck case remover (ended up being a single case that had almost no lube coating).
 
The last time I had a stuck case, I just removed it and stuck a same-caliber back-up die in ..... and kept on going.

IMHO, it doesn't hurt to have a spare set of dies for some of your rifle calibers (but that's just me and my life-long habit of redundancy with a lot of things).

I few weeks later, I was able to find the time to remove the stuck case with an RCBS stuck case remover (ended up being a single case that had almost no lube coating).
Exactly what I did
 
The issue is only with the Hornady die , try polishing the inside of the sizing die with Mother's Polish , it my be just a rough die . Hornady is a popular company , maybe you just have to give those dies alittle TLC , a stuck case is no picknick . I would definitely use more lube when using those dies.
 
I haven't the responses , only the question. For the case to slip right in and on the down stroke the case head ripped off . I would think your expander ball is not adjusted properly , it my be set too high.
 
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