Thanks JBinMN, I'll give it a try.
I'm sure galling is a factor, but it isn't much better with dirty brass. Those dirty 44 mags I mentioned still had soot in them, and the first one I tried stuck on there like the rest. That was with a clean plug, I wiped it off, and put it in dry. A lube of some kind seems 100% necessary to use these plugs. The Lee expanders can stick too, but not like these NOE plugs, not even close. If kept clean, the Lee expanders are plenty smooth when dry.