Not happy with new Lyman sizer die

[Patrick L]

I have used Lyman products for as long as I have been reloading. My latest acquisition is a bit of a disappointment.

I bought an H&I .311 sizer die to use in my RCBS LAM II. I actually already had one, but I use it in my old Lyman 45 with a different kind of lube, and I wanted to avoid the hassle of removing it and cleaning out the lube in order to use it in the other sizer. My older sizer die (only about 2 years old) works perfectly, and I get wonderfully sized bullets with it.

Anyhow, the new die has almost no taper to the leade. A .30 cal gascheck will not start into it by hand, I have to use the leverage of the press to get the gaschecked bullet started. The sized bullet doesn't eject cleanly either, even with the up adjustment set for all the way. I have to "pry" the gaschecked base of the bullet out of the last 16th inch or so of the die. After sizing only 20 bullets I noticed a coppery discoloration ring around the mouth of the sizing die, almost like copper fouling. My sized bullets even lack the burnished look they have with my other sizer dies. I think the gaschecks are having bits of copper shaved off, and they are scratching the side surfaces of the bullets.

My older Lyman .311 die and my RCBS .310 die both work perfectly, without any of the tightness or stickiness problems I am having with this new die. Needless to say, I am very disappointed. I purposely bought a Lyman die because they have a reputation for smoother sizing.

Did I get an out of spec die, or have others noticed any problems with current Lyman dies?

[NVcurmudgeon]

Sounds like the horrible old Lyman dies without tapered lead-in of more than forty years ago. Bet it's defective. In fifty years of using Lyman equipment I've had two problems, both fixed with free replacement. Send it back and post results here.

[Buckshot]

.............Yup, you got a crapper. Send it back. If this is our first issue (and considering the number of H&I dies they make) I wouldn't be too harse on'em. Stuff 'DOES' happen

.............Buckshot

[Patrick L]

Spoke to a nice gentleman from Lyman today. He said something does not sound right, please send the die and a few sized bullets to them and they will take care of things for me. I will send it tomorrow and keep you all posted.

[Patrick L]

Well, I received a new sizer die in the mail today from Lyman. They had tested it with one of the bullets I sent, as there was a sized gaschecked bullet in with the die. I haven't tried it in the lubsizer yet, but even inserting the bullet by hand into the mouth of the die shows a nice radius to the opening.

I guess I can't complain about Lyman service!