Sick and Tired of STUCK Cases...

[GW Staar]

Well me about 45 years, and no stuck case yet. I've always used RCBS shellholders, so maybe that's why? Closest was LC 7.62 that was indeed used in a machinegun....which I bought in bulk. Still shooting it. I knew I could force it but I also knew the risk so I didn't. When the going got tougher, I replaced the wax lube with RCBS waterbase lube and pad.....that was enough for most, but for the few still hard, STP was the last resort. Patience, slow and easy...especially coming out. I always used mica in the necks of that stuff liberally. Never forced it, it just stretches the hell out of the necks even if you don't stick it.

Below was the last batch of that MG stuff. It was worth the trouble. If I had stuck some....it may not have been....patience and slow is the best advice I got.....if it gets difficult back off....before you can't.

 

[Pottimus]

Lube it till you get shoulder dents then back it off. . smells like STP, the racers edge.

 

[jmorris]

So I'm calling it quits. I'm not spending my time dealing with this crap anymore.

Not an altogether uncommon solution for a number of former reloaders out there. One really needs a process of elimination mind set at times to avoid frustration as well as the ability to walk away once the become frustrated and only continue once back in the right frame of mind...or not.

 

[N555]

I use pam cooking spray on brass inside a Ziploc bag, squirt them, shake them around and get one stuck 223 our of every few thousand use rcbs standard FL dies. If I stick a 223 in a die its usually not enough lube or part of the rim was already damaged and I didn't catch it. So my fault and my fault.
Never had anything bigger or straight wall or a 5.7x28 get stuck.
If you're getting 308 brass stuck definitely not using enough lube, I have loaded many thousands of 308 derivative cases and never had one get stuck I almost had a few get stuck, it was not enough lube every time.
Also small base dies love creating stuck cases. My solution to that was don't use small base dies.
It's not a difficult problem.

 

[CQB45ACP]

I genuinely want the guy to learn how to do this stuff but I’m a lousy teacher and this long distance diagnostic stuff is for the birds.

I know people think I’m being a smarty pants suggesting cooking lessons and knife handling skills but I really think the root problem here is a lack of finesse and fine motor skills. If you don’t know how it feels when a piece of steel is seizing up then you can’t stop your motion in time to prevent a lockup. It’s in the touch and those skills just have to be learned. Don’t know what else to say.

Well said. Subtleties are important. How many times in life do we say to ourselves "that didn't feel right?" Or sound right or doesn't look right? Or worse, taste right? Can't put our finger on it but we know something's off.

When I was a kid we went on a field trip to hear a symphony orchestra and while they did play a complete piece (nutcracker probably) much of the time was teaching us what a piccolo sounded like vs. a flute vs. a whatever. Then the conductor put it all together and you really could pick out the individual instruments even though 50 others were playing. And that was the goal.

I've been struck many times how nuanced reloading can be. It's not a brute force hobby. Not saying OP is doing something wrong, but it never hurts to slow down and take a deep breath or just walk away.

 

[rdnktrkr]

I'm going to throw my 2 cents in here just for S&G.
When I purchase a new or used die I like to clean and polish it with 400 and 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and valve lapping compound, then a good cleaning, I've noticed a difference in the Lee, Hornady and RCBS dies I've used.
I use the Lee universal decapping die then clean my brass, either wet (very dirty), or dry. I like the Alcohol/lanolin mix (1in12 seams about right) I started with Heat and then found 99% alcohol at the pharmacy, I spray into a gallon zip Lok bag moving cases around in it until coated well, then LET THEM DRY before reloading. I like the Lanolin/alcohol mix better than the Lee or Hornady lubricant I was using. Some shell holders ARE better than others, I've even found some Lee holders are tighter fitting than others with the same #s.

 

[Soonerpesek]

I'm going to throw my 2 cents in here just for S&G.
When I purchase a new or used die I like to clean and polish it with 400 and 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and valve lapping compound, then a good cleaning, I've noticed a difference in the Lee, Hornady and RCBS dies I've used.
I use the Lee universal decapping die then clean my brass, either wet (very dirty), or dry. I like the Alcohol/lanolin mix (1in12 seams about right) I started with Heat and then found 99% alcohol at the pharmacy, I spray into a gallon zip Lok bag moving cases around in it until coated well, then LET THEM DRY before reloading. I like the Lanolin/alcohol mix better than the Lee or Hornady lubricant I was using. Some shell holders ARE better than others, I've even found some Lee holders are tighter fitting than others with the same #s.

Not sure if that was as noticeable as it should have been........................................good info.

 

[.308 Norma]

Well me about 45 years, and no stuck case yet.

That's me. And that's why it's puzzling to me to see that this thread has gone on for 5 pages so far.
Of course, the reason I've never had a stuck case might be because I bought a stuck case remover years ago.
BTW, I use regular ol' RCBS lube and an RCBS lube pad (that's I've re-covered several times). And I use carbide sizing dies for most of my straight walled handgun cases.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

That's me. And that's why it's puzzling to me to see that this thread has gone on for 5 pages so far.
Of course, the reason I've never had a stuck case might be because I bought a stuck case remover years ago.
BTW, I use regular ol' RCBS lube and am RCBS lube pad (that's I've recovered several times). And I use carbide sizing dies for most of my straight walled handgun cases.

I have had cases stick until I unstuck them. First was a .30-30. I didn’t realize the neck thickness could vary quite so much. A “perfectly positioned” expander suddenly became a one-way obstruction, so it wasn’t as much “stuck” as wedged. Cases could go in but couldn’t get out. I managed to remove the stuck case by screwing the stem down and shimming the rim; got the case out of the die without doing any harm to either but it was a tense couple of days.

This was before Al Gore invented the internet so I had to wait until I could call my uncle Charlie in Orlando - long distance! He was none too happy with me since we had been over the difficulties of resizing other people’s brass before and I was supposed to know better than to make assumptions. But he told me how to fix it anyway.

The next stuck case I had was also a .30-30 and it also wasn’t so much “stuck” as wedged. That was actually a little harder to fix and I didn’t save the case. That’s when it occurred to me that maybe decapping and neck expanding in the same step with mixed brass from multiple chambers might not be the best idea.

 

[.308 Norma]

This was before Al Gore invented the internet so I had to wait until I could call my uncle Charlie in Orlando - long distance!

LOL!
Yep. I had to call Dad in Homedale, Idaho (about 300 miles and "long distance") when I had reloading problems before Al "invented" the internet.

 

[GW Staar]

You guys got it wrong......Biden invented the internet.....Al Gore invented the "Darknet". Both indirectly with puppet strings. Neither are smart enough to tie their own shoes on their own. My avatar represents what we Americans ought to be doing....looking over our shoulders for threats.....and puppet strings.

I have a secret method with hard brass....... I stroke til it first stops.....I look and see that it still has half a stroke left.....then I back it out. Voila......no stuck brass.

 

[jmorris]

...looking over our shoulders for threats..

Don’t need to do that, see them all the time, looking right into the camera...

 

[GW Staar]

Don’t need to do that, see them all the time, looking right into the camera...

Yep, you see the distractions. They do such a good job of focusing us on those.....while the worst we miss until its too late to stop them. One of the common strategies of war too. Ha, and just like that, we're off topic on a taboo subject. Strike that boss.!