New to reloading, questions about 556/223

[greg vess]

I'd say about 75% of the brass I have had been shot from my rifle. I've been picking up range brass when I go to sight in my rifle or practice.

As for lube I'm using the Hornady spray can lube, not exactly consistent though

I use the Hornady dry shot as well in the spray can. I have one of those big Tupperware bowls and I mean big bowls that I put the brass in and I spray it down liberally shake it up and then spray some more and I've never had a problem with brass sticking in the dies. As long as you shake it up and spray the brass real good you won't have a problem. I think I've had one single case stick in 8 years and even then it wasn't real hard to get it out.

 

[BHPSteel]

Full length dies are going to 'work' your brass every time you reload, because they'll return the case to the standard dimensions regardless of the dimensions of your gun chamber(s). But you should expect that reloading brass that you've already fired should give you consistent resistance in the press.

I'm still pretty much a neophyte at a lot of this, but I have found Imperial sizing lube to be very good - but use it sparingly. I've used Hornady one-shot too, but as greg vess says, you kinda need to lube up the brass in a container otherwise it can get real messy at the reloading bench.

 

[greg vess]

I use Hornady dies as well and then for 6.8 I use Lee dies. All my seating dies are Hornady because I like the little micrometer adjuster at the top for adjustments on the fly. However, from reading a lot from veteran loaders on here there are better dies than the Lee and Hornady brand.

 

[CoreyH]

Full length dies are going to 'work' your brass every time you reload, because they'll return the case to the standard dimensions regardless of the dimensions of your gun chamber(s). But you should expect that reloading brass that you've already fired should give you consistent resistance in the press.

I'm still pretty much a neophyte at a lot of this, but I have found Imperial sizing lube to be very good - but use it sparingly. I've used Hornady one-shot too, but as greg vess says, you kinda need to lube up the brass in a container otherwise it can get real messy at the reloading bench.

Aight, I'll go liberate some plastic container from the kitchen and try it that way next time. I was told to basically on hit the bottom halves of the cases. Is that an accurate statement?

An the cases that stick....really stick....I have to lean on the lever rather hard to get em back out. Kind of alarmingly so. They also don't resize to the same size the other brass does usually they are bigger, I have to run em through again to get to match the dimensions I'm using.

I'd say so far is about 1 in 15 that stick like that

 

[BHPSteel]

Aight, I'll go liberate some plastic container from the kitchen and try it that way next time. I was told to basically on hit the bottom halves of the cases. Is that an accurate statement?

An the cases that stick....really stick....I have to lean on the lever rather hard to get em back out. Kind of alarmingly so. They also don't resize to the same size the other brass does usually they are bigger, I have to run em through again to get to match the dimensions I'm using

You need to make sure you get the necks. If you think about it, as you run the press, the first parts of the sizing dies will hit at the neck and the shoulder, which will lube the die for the rest of the descent.

If you use a bucket for lubing, you're gonna hit everywhere, which is OK. One-Shot's not silly expensive.

PS. And I might draw some fire for this - case prep, inspection and sizing really does seem to be the primary key to success in reloading.

 

[CoreyH]

You need to make sure you get the necks. If you think about it, as you run the press, the first parts of the sizing dies will hit at the neck and the shoulder, which will lube the die for the rest of the descent.

If you use a bucket for lubing, you're gonna hit everywhere, which is OK. One-Shot's not silly expensive.

PS. And I might draw some fire for this - case prep and inspection really does seem to be the primary key to success in reloading.

Not sure why you'd get some hate for that statement, seems pretty accurate to me. Frankly it's why I've been trying to pay such close attention to all the steps along the way. I want it done right and safely, I don't much care how long it takes tbh

 

[greg vess]

Aight, I'll go liberate some plastic container from the kitchen and try it that way next time. I was told to basically on hit the bottom halves of the cases. Is that an accurate statement?

An the cases that stick....really stick....I have to lean on the lever rather hard to get em back out. Kind of alarmingly so. They also don't resize to the same size the other brass does usually they are bigger, I have to run em through again to get to match the dimensions I'm using.

I'd say so far is about 1 in 15 that stick like that

Yeah the container really helps. Just make sure you shake it up real good and then hit it again. Usually I do three or four shakes with a coat of spray over the top between each shake. I've never had any problem with really hard Force sizing the die or with the case sticking in the dye. Except for that one piece of brass that was years ago that's the only problem I've ever had. Of course I spray it down really good though.

 

[BHPSteel]

Not sure why you'd get some hate for that statement, seems pretty accurate to me. Frankly it's why I've been trying to pay such close attention to all the steps along the way. I want it done right and safely, I don't much care how long it takes tbh

Well, it's the 'boring' part of the process. A lot of time and energy seems to go into talking about powder loads.

 

[greg vess]

You can do over 100 brass pieces at a time with the bowl this size. Next time you go to the department store try to pick one of these up. The first time my wife saw me spraying brass and her big salad bowl she liked to have brained me with the rolling pin.

 

[BHPSteel]

We've been talking a bit about dies, and I thought I'd share this, which I found helpful a couple weeks back when I was puzzled.

A Beginner's Guide to Types of Reloading Dies Comparisons

Reloading ammunition is a popular pastime for gun enthusiasts. It allows them to customize their ammunition and improve their shooting performance. However,

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