Strange Axial Marks on Case Necks

[0321jarhead]

At this point if it were me, I would completely disassemble the die for a more closer look. Are you lubing the exterior of the neck?

Keep us Redding (7.5X55 Swiss) die owners updated.

[sacto929]

At this point if it were me, I would completely disassemble the die for a more closer look. Are you lubing the exterior of the neck?

Keep us Redding (7.5X55 Swiss) die owners updated.

I lube the entire exterior of the case and do a quick swipe inside the neck with a brush very lightly coated with oil. It's been working well until now....

[Flyin Brian]

I think the next step would be to try sizing a different brand of brass and see if it still does it. That way you can narrow it down possibly.

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[Spyder]

On my .308 stuff, it does it to all brands of brass. I use an RCBS FL sizing die. The various ammos are normally shot through an M14, POF P308, and a Surgeon. The M14 has a loose chamber, the other two do not. It's done it since the dies were brand new, and cleaning them does not make it go away. I use the crappy RCBS lube, but have Imperial I will try next time, since I finally got around to buying it.

[sacto929]

On my .308 stuff, it does it to all brands of brass. I use an RCBS FL sizing die. The various ammos are normally shot through an M14, POF P308, and a Surgeon. The M14 has a loose chamber, the other two do not. It's done it since the dies were brand new, and cleaning them does not make it go away. I use the crappy RCBS lube, but have Imperial I will try next time, since I finally got around to buying it.

Have you noticed any shaving of the jackets during seating, or any accuracy issues using the "groovy necked" brass?

I'm using this rifle strictly for the Vintage Military Silhouette matches as-issued. I'm not expecting sub-MOA performance (insert MN comment here... ), as I can't do my part yet at those distances, but I don't really like throwing in additional variables either.

[Spyder]

I have not noticed either of those. But the only non-groovy brass I've shot out of the Surgeon was virgin, which was not fireformed yet. It's still quite accurate with the funky brass.

[OpenSightsOnly]

I use an RCBS FL die for my Prvi and Norma brass for 7.5 Swiss.

The FL die is cleaned after the sizing session with a blast of brake cleaner or Hoppe's No. 9. I also use imperial wax and mica for neck lube.

Don't have those marks on the case neck . . .

[krwada]

You are not lubing the necks properly.
Those 'scratches' on the necks are due to galling of the brass on your sizer die. This problem is even more pronounced if you really really clean your brass like I do ... with an ultrasonic cleaner.

To fix the problem, you need to re-hone your full length sizer. I sent mine in to RCBS, and they did this for the cost of shipping and handling.

I then went out and purchased the graphite neck lube, and the Imperial graphite neck lube applicator, (those tiny little ceramic balls in a little screw top case).

I have not had the problem since, and have gone through at least 6-7+ loadings with my brass. I mostly use PRVI Partizan brass.

I have not seen this problem with the Remington brass. This is also the other brand of brass that I use.

[Spyder]

It's definitely not brand specific with my situation. It has done it with every single piece of .308 brass I've sized.

What is lubing the necks incorrectly, v. lubing them correctly? What lubing process would cause this?

[sacto929]

Well, I have gotten rid of the axial grooves!

I ended up cleaning the die body, polishing the die body, then re-cleaning it until I couldn't see anything that disrupted the sheen on the surface in the neck area, when looking through the die body at a low-angle light.

I couldn't reach the neck area of the die with the felt polishing cone for my Dremel, so I found a cotton .410 shotgun swab and coated it with polishing compound. I screwed the die body into the press from the bottom, then with the swab chucked in my cordless drill, ran it through the body many, many times. Be careful to ensure that the drill is kept parallel to the die body axis, so that the wire end of the swab doesn't contact the inside of the die body. The die body was swabbed, rinsed and repeated until their weren't any signs of dirt or polishing grit remaining. Cleaning and polishing the neck mandrel was much easier, as it is an external surface.

I reassembled the die and ran through several pieces of brass using the same lubing scheme I always have. The brass looked great. Shoulder bumped back and no strange marks on the necks, or anywhere else, for that matter.

Thank for all your ideas and help!