Last time you cleaned your seating die?

[ljnowell]

So I load a fair amount of 38, shooting Bullseye, PPC, and other matches with 38s. Around about 15k per year. I've noticed the last couple days that occasionally I was damaging the top of HBWC. Nothing major, just cosmetic. So today I went ahead and took my seating die apart.

I'm not going to lie, it's been a long time since I took this die completely apart. Years. At least three or four. That's a LOT of 38 special the way I load. At least thirty, maybe 45k rounds(I took almost a year off with a stroke).

I just thought it would be good to remind some of you guys, especially those that load a lot, it never hurts to take those dies apart and clean them. The sizing die was bad too buy nothing like this.

 

[243winxb]

Just cleaned mine after loading/shooting about 500 rds of 357 mag. Lube build up from home cast. Got to do something with over 2 feet of snow on the ground. I use Hoppe's number 9. What do you use?

 

[ljnowell]

I scraped out the majority in those big chunks then used Hopped 9 and a 357 bore brush. Worked great. Only took a few passes through and it was squeaky clean. I can't believe I didn't think about it. I'm going to clean the others now.

 

[FROGO207]

I buy lead bullets by the 500 or use the same boxes to store the home cast bullets in similar quantities. I will take the stem out and clean it every 2K or so when seating lead bullets. Less often if using jacketed or plated though. But I use enough lead that I probably clean them at least every 6K rounds loaded anyway. However I do look inside my dies every time that I screw them into the press just to make sure they are OK to use.

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

One of the features I really like about Hornady New Dimension seating dies is that the stem and sliding alignment sleeve (the only parts that contact the bullet or cartridge case) drop out of the die, after you remove the spring clip at the bottom of the die.

Clean them, put them back in the die, then re-install the spring clip, and you're good to go, with no loss of die settings (you don't even need to remove the die from the press).

Andy

 

[Candyman87]

I'll clean em about once a year. More if I'm loading lead. Never seen one that bad though!

 

[horsemen61]

Once every six months or so

 

[Blue68f100]

If I'm shooting lead every couple of 100 rounds when I start noticing a change or sticking. The lube starts making things stick. Shooting jacketed several 1000's rounds.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

One of the features I really like about Hornady New Dimension seating dies is that the stem and sliding alignment sleeve (the only parts that contact the bullet or cartridge case) drop out of the die, after you remove the spring clip at the bottom of the die.

Clean them, put them back in the die, then re-install the spring clip, and you're good to go, with no loss of die settings (you don't even need to remove the die from the press).

Andy

Dillon seating dies allow for this as well.

 

[walnut1704]

Every 2000 rounds or so, more often if there's an issue.

 

[LeonCarr]

The seating die and the crimping die if you seat and crimp separate get really cruddy really fast when you are loading the swaged lead bullets like HBWCs. When loading swaged lead I dry brush them about every 500 rounds.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[DivideByZero]

I clean my dies at the end of summer or early fall. I completely disassamble everything and soak every piece in a large container with acetone or break cleaner. After they are clean and dry, I hit them with a light coat of Remoil. That process has worked well for me.

 

[hdbiker]

die cleaning

I clean my .38 spl, .44 mag ,.45 acp dies quite often because I shoot my own cast and lubed bullets..hdbiker

 

[ljnowell]

If I'm shooting lead every couple of 100 rounds when I start noticing a change or sticking. The lube starts making things stick. Shooting jacketed several 1000's rounds.

I couldn't do that. Heck 500 rounds or more is a single session. I think cleaning them after less than 4-5k rounds is probably excessive.

 

[PO2Hammer]

After looking at your pic, I feel much better about my reloading habits.
I used to clean them every time I loaded 357 because they loaded up with liquid alox leavin's, but now with coated bullets it may be a while before I clean again.

 

[ljnowell]

After looking at your pic, I feel much better about my reloading habits.

I used to clean them every time I loaded 357 because they loaded up with liquid alox leavin's, but now with coated bullets it may be a while before I clean again.

It only took somewhere between 30-45k rounds to accumulate that, lol.

 

[GBExpat]

Good reminder, thanks ...

The pistol seating dies that I use are all RCBS and I keep the stems stored together in a separate container on the bench, so those get cleaned when I remove them.

If I am loading lead, I will also do a quickclean with a q-tip on the inside of the die everytime I remove a stem. If there appears to be a heavier build-up than can be reasonably handled with the q-tip action, I expend a little more effort.

I use the quickclean-everytime approach with the crimp dies, also.

 

[ljnowell]

Good reminder, thanks ...



The pistol seating dies that I use are all RCBS and I keep the stems stored together in a separate container on the bench, so those get cleaned when I remove them.



If I am loading lead, I will also do a quickclean with a q-tip on the inside of the die everytime I remove a stem. If there appears to be a heavier build-up than can be reasonably handled with the q-tip action, I expend a little more effort.



I use the quickclean-everytime approach with the crimp dies, also.

I figured there are lots of other guys like me that load a whole bunch and sometimes just forget. I did.

 

[W.E.G.]

Every 2000 rounds or so, more often if there's an issue.

I like this answer.

 

[GBExpat]

I figured there are lots of other guys like me that load a whole bunch and sometimes just forget. I did.

Like I said, I think that it is a good reminder.

Everyone has different reloading patterns & habits.

I rarely reload more than several hundred rounds with the same load & bullet at a time, so that lends itself (especially the part about changing-out the stems) to easily working a quickclean into the process.

 

[ljnowell]

Like I said, I think that it is a good reminder.



Everyone has different reloading patterns & habits.



I rarely reload more than several hundred rounds with the same load & bullet at a time, so that lends itself (especially the part about changing-out the stems) to easily working a quickclean into the process.

When I was loading on my turret it was easier to remember. I have a press pretty much dedicated to 38 special. I just sorta lost track of how many rounds I loaded.

That's not an excuse though, because I hadn't cleaned them since before I got the progressive. I'll have to take a picture of one of the loaded rounds that let me know there was a problem.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I'll clean em about once a year. More if I'm loading lead. Never seen one that bad though!

Same here.