Resizing, bent bases

[Tommy Gun]

As I have shot these with no issue, I am not an expert with reloading and case issues besides the blatant cracked case, etc.

After cleaning I lay about 250 cases on a towel and spray them with the Dillon Case Lube and roll them to distribute, and again for good measure. The issue arises when I am full length resizing them. The pressure going up can get a little tight as the case and die are doing what it is supposed to do. The downward release is almost as tight and causes the case holder to bind and bend the base a little. Again I have reloaded past cases with the same hiccup and shot them with no perceived problem but again not an expert.

Will these cause minor or major issues or ha e a chance to blow up when in battery? Or like usual am I worried too much about nothing??

[JackEllis]

The inside of the case mouth needs a little lube. Are you making sure some gets in there? When sizing cases, you should not have to apply so much force that things get bent.

I haven't had a problem with bending bases so someone else ought to chime in but it seems like there's a possibility for the case web to get distorted. I can live with

[Tommy Gun]

I should have stated this is .308.

[kcstott]

And you think the head or rim is bent why?? as in how did you measure?

[UclaPeon44]

put a tiny bit of lube directly to the expander ball. will help you from bend rims.

[tonyjr]

When lubing , I stand the cases up and spray them .
I also kind of polish the expander . I use the Lee universal decapping
pin .

[OpenSightsOnly]

As I have shot these with no issue, I am not an expert with reloading and case issues besides the blatant cracked case, etc.

After cleaning I lay about 250 cases on a towel and spray them with the Dillon Case Lube and roll them to distribute, and again for good measure. The issue arises when I am full length resizing them. The pressure going up can get a little tight as the case and die are doing what it is supposed to do. The downward release is almost as tight and causes the case holder to bind and bend the base a little. Again I have reloaded past cases with the same hiccup and shot them with no perceived problem but again not an expert.

Will these cause minor or major issues or ha e a chance to blow up when in battery? Or like usual am I worried too much about nothing??

Sounds like you spray lubed the neck and shoulder of the brass. Are there dents on the shoulder?

Or, you did not properly lube the brass.

If you are using a single stage, imperial wax and mica are the way to go.

BTW, did you use solvent to clean the insides of the sizing die prior to use?

[RestrictedColt]

The expander ball/case mouth friction of a dry neck won't cause this. The reason to lube them is mostly just to reduce stress on the brass.

I assume that your bent bases are just a minor tweak of the rim from the shell holder pulling on it? Not a huge deal, can't cause them to blow up, but if the rim breaks you could wind up with one stuck in the die or in your chamber. It's also putting some undue stress on the brass that could shorten its life. Try more lube on a couple and see if they are easier to resize.

I use Hornady spray lube. Some say one is better than the other, don't know. Two things for sure, not using enough and not letting it dry before sizing will make them harder to size and more likely to stick. Tweaked rims are a sign that you're close to having one completely stick and the rim break off, then you'll be researching removing a stuck case.

[Tommy Gun]

Thanks Colt. And no have not cleaned the die ever. Prob need to. Any bases that are too out of wack I toss (only about 5). And ya I lube enough, 2 sprays on each case after letting one pass set up. Never lubed inside the case mouth before.

Had some .223 get stuck and ripped off the rim. The resizing die has the colet that screws off, once you get that off it's in a vice and pull it out with pliers (caveman style but works).

[JagerDog]

I like to put a trace of lube on a nylon brush and run it it in/out of the case mouth prior to sizing.

[baih777]

are you allowing the case lube to dry for 5 minutes before you start to resize.
polish the expander ball.
spray some lube to the inside of the neck as already mentioned.

[bazineta]

The spray lubes are decent but not great. You might want to give Imperial a try to see if you like it better; I suspect you would.

[RestrictedColt]

Thanks Colt. And no have not cleaned the die ever. Prob need to. Any bases that are too out of wack I toss (only about 5). And ya I lube enough, 2 sprays on each case after letting one pass set up. Never lubed inside the case mouth before.

Had some .223 get stuck and ripped off the rim. The resizing die has the colet that screws off, once you get that off it's in a vice and pull it out with pliers (caveman style but works).

You've stuck a .223 and are close to sticking a .308, my guess is you're under lubing, or doing something else that's off. I just re-read your original post, you're lubing on a towel then rolling them, the towel is probably soaking up the lube. Try spraying a few on a non-absorbent surface and try again. I 'batch' spray mine in a plastic box, shake & spray and it works well. I usually give the die a squirt before spraying the brass to start it off nicely lubed. I can feel when my brass is under-lubed, I pull it, spray it again, and things go smoothly.

Edit: and clean the die out first.

If you over lube you might get some small dents on the cases, but for now I'd say try more lube just so you know for sure whether that's the problem or not, it's an easy thing to try that might end the problems. And you have to let them dry for a few minutes, the lube carrier, probably alcohol, has to evaporate or the lube will be nearly worthless.

[kcstott]

You can buy a bottle of RCBS case lube and dilute it 2:1 with alcohol and use as a spray lube, I do this for my .223 loaded on the progressive press. anything bigger gets hand lubed with Unique case lube and a brush to the inside. I use a bushing die for my match stuff so no sizer ball needed.

[tonyjr]

As I said , polish the ball . Then it goes into the sonic for about
1/2 hour . [ the sonic has WD-40 -
FYI WD-40 is not a penetrating oil - WD stands for water displacement ]
After 3 reloading sessions I put back in sonic . I only use the mica on
pistol cases -bottle necks get the RCBS spray lube . I did not like the
one shot .