Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Bad Lot of Brass? Help!

I opened a brand new box of brass earlier this week (20 count). I uniformed the primer pockets, deburred the flash holes, primed them, charged them, and seated the bullets. Run out was unsatisfactory on better than half of the loaded cartridges, but I was able to straighten them with a Tru-Angle tool. The ammunition performed satisfactorily at the range (one 10 shot group measured 1 5/8 inches; not great, but I was hoping it would maybe tighten up some using sorted, once-fired brass).

Today, I set out to reload the brass from that session. I lubed the cases up with Imperial Sizing Die Wax (my routine), and began, dipping the mouth of the first case just barely into and out of a tin of Imperial Dry Neck Lube just prior to running it through my full-length sizing/depriming die (Redding, set up to bump the shoulders back just about 0.002 in). The result was a stuck case (rim tore off on the upstroke of my Bonanza Coax Press). It happens, I know. It's just never happened to me.

After drilling, tapping, and removing the stuck case, I tried again, though I was a little more leary about the lube this second attempt. The result was a resized case with a deep vertical dent just below the shoulder of the case, and a matching shallower dent in the shoulder. Too much lube this time?

I gingerly tried again, with the same result on the third case. Fourth case, despite wiping off all lube and then carefully reapplying the Imperial Wax, yielded similar, but with an additional horizontal dent below the shoulder, right next to a vertical dent. The fifth case ended up with seven relatively-evenly-spaced horizontal dents circumferentially, just below the shoulder! The next case ended up with just a shoulder dent. Then, on the last one I tried, the rim snapped off again, so another stuck case.

What's going on here? Do you think this brass may be too soft, or too hard? Or, is there something else that might account for this? I'm flummoxed!

What chambering?

Who's brass?

It might be as simple as the die being out of spec.

Has this happened with other makers brass?

300 Dakota.

Dakota Arms Ammunition.

Same die I've been using since 1995. Over 1000 rounds loaded, total, in all of those years.

Before today, I'd never had a stuck case. Have seen infrequent dents before. Nothing like today.

Clean ones die.

My thought also

Thanks for the tip.

Once I drilled and tapped the very first case, there were, unsurprisingly, a bunch of brass filings cluttering the shoulder/neck area of the die, and the threads of the decapping pin.

I had to mop those out thoroughly, and repeatedly, including spraying carb cleaner, and running a shot gun brass bristle brush, wrapped in cotton pads, in and out of the die body.

So, pretty sure one could say the die was clean, at least after the first resizing attempt. But, that doesn't explain the issues with all that followed.

After sleeping on it, giving it some more thought, I'm planning to mic the neck walls, probably turn them. This brass is rare, and expensive, so I'm gonna do whatever I can to salvage, if possible.

Also, FWIW, I resized and deprimed two other boxes of brass from the same source last December, according to my records, and again on June 1. Because I noted a couple of shoulder dents (maybe once per 10 pieces of resized brass), I had already cleaned this die.

If your using Redding dies , they don’t have a vent hole , wipe the necks and shoulderbefore sizing .i use one shot and never a problem Excess lube will cause the vertical dents

Thanks for the reminder on the Redding re: vent holes.

I'm going to upgrade to their carbide size button kit on this die. Maybe it will make a difference.

Might try Hornaday one shot or a slightly lighter case lube. I like Imperial but last time I used it I was forming cases and got a lot of dents. This rarely happens with the spray on lubes.

I would say try some spray lubes or the alcohol/lanolin homemade stuff. I was using Hornady Unique case lube and was getting some dents. I was new to reloading and figured I was using too much lube, and I was , but the nut on the Hornady dies was set to where it was blocking the vent hole on the dies. Since then, I've gone to the alcohol/lanolin homemade lube and not one case dent since.

As to lube application, I'm still on the first RCBS tube I purchased in about 1965. Roll cartridges on the lightly lubed foam pad. With my application, I can feel lube on the brass, but not see it.

Thanks, I may give the spray lube a try.

I don't claim to be an expert at this, but I have been hand loading, primarily for hunting rifles, since 1992 (over a dozen different rifles).

To the best of my recollection, the only shoulder or body dents I've experienced in the past 15 years were with brass for the Dakota.

I'm lubing them all the same. I'm getting dents with several, on the one hand, and I got stuck cases with two. I don't see how I could possibly be running the entire spectrum, from too much to too little lube, over the course of 7 cases. So, still befuddled.

I had problems with dents and the Redding die on my 300 RUM. Switched to the RCBS die and no dents.

I had similar issues with non vented Redding FL dies in my 280 AI pulled the neck off several brass, then it broke the depriming rod! Talked to Redding and they sent me tapered size button works a lot easier.

Looking at Redding catalog # 16307 Tapered size buttons for .30 caliber.

All of my sharp shoulder AI cartridges had similar issues with Redding dies, Redding tech said to take a Q tip and lube inside case at shoulder neck with sizing wax, tried it helped but not as much as the tapered button. Asked Redding tech about the carbide sizing button he said it would help but try the tapered button first.

Link for tapered sizing button
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012654390

Thanks again for the input. I appreciate the information on using the tapered button.

Sounds like maybe the Redding die could certainly be a contributing factor.

Unfortunately, I am not aware of anyone else that currently offers dies for this cartridge.

Now that you mention it, I don't recall having these difficulties back in the 90s, when I originally started loading for this rifle.

I was only using RCBS case lube, and rolling those cases on the foam pad, back then.

Having said that, those original lots of brass (which I still have, some loaded up to 10 times) were from a different manufacturer. They weighed, on average, about 50 grains/case more than this newer stuff.

So, I don't know if the scarcity of problems resizing back then was due to the difference in lubrication or the difference in brass. Guess I was ASSuming it was the brass!

At this point, I'm willing to try just about anything to avoid having to dump this brass in the trash.

Throw it out. QC ain't what it used to be -- handloaders made "factory" get better, a LONG time ago. Today the volume has probably opened specs up. Not worth the hand wringing.

2 cents

Rabst, to check if its a button issue remove it and size a case.

Thanks. Smart! And really simple! Don't know why it hadn't occurred to me.

With the first one I tried, this time using my old RCBS case lube and pad to lubricate, the case slid up into the die silky smooth (Coax Press).

When I raised the handle and removed the case from the shell holder, though, there were horizontal dents below the shoulder (noted on some of the cases previously)! But why?

Then it finally dawned me: I had been hand loading for two different rifles, and measuring with a Hornady Headspace Comparator Kit to adjust the shoulder bump on each. But, each rifle uses a different insert, and I, inadvertently, measured and adjusted the die to adjust shoulder bump using the wrong insert for this rifle. I was bumping the shoulders too far back.

Idiotic mistake. But, I sincerely appreciate all the help to sort it out.