Die problem ?

[snipecg21]

Not sure if this is the right spot but here goes. I was sizing and depriving a batch of 30-30 brass I've had stored for quite awhile, mix of mine and range pickup. Some of these cases would almost jam in my die, squeal as they went in and were some of the hardest to size brass I've ever had. Others sized smooth and easy. Headsta.p didn't seem to matter. Anybody have any idea if it's my die or did I do something wrong ?? Oh I did try relube after the first to so I dont think case lube was my problem

[Bazoo]

Sounds like lack of lube inside the case mouth. If they are nice and clean it won't matter much but if they are older and not particularly clean inside the mouth they'll screech something awful. If you ain't done so, itll help to polish your expander button.

[country gent]

Do some quick measuring if the brass base shoulder and neck compare to known easy sizing cases or even sized cases. This gives an Idea of the amount of sizing your doing. How is the brass's appearance clean and shiny or tarnished and dirty? Is the die clean and prepped ? What lube are you using?
I would start by checking to make sure its the right die. Clean and very lightly pre lube the die. set it in press. Lube brass with a good lube imperial sizing die wax, lanolin, ext. lube outside and then with a nylon brush or bore mop lightly lube inside of necks. Size some cases start with the smaller ones as measured and then the larger measured ones.

I sometimes get a squeak when a dry expander ball comes back up thru the neck expanding it up to size. a light coat of lube ( die wax, motor mica, graphite) inside the neck helps here. If you use the lanolins waxes here cases must be cleaned before loading.

[wv109323]

Since the brass was fired in different chambers , it needed different amounts of resizing so different force needed to resize. The main body of the cartridge is usually free of the die when the button expands the neck on the up stroke. You should be able to determine whenmthe noise is made.
If you are pad lubing with a lube, I highly recommend Hornady lube. It is far superior over rcbs and lee lube, the only ones I have experience with. Before switching to it I would stick a case and rip the base off about every 5-700 rounds. This was usually .223 or .308 military cases. Also excess lube would dimple cases. With Hornady lube I have sized around 10000 rounds of .223 without a stuck case and no dimples. A bottle runs less than 5 bucks and will probably lube 50000 cases. It will definitely help you.

[wv109323]

Since the brass was fired in different chambers , it needed different amounts of resizing so different force needed to resize. The main body of the cartridge is usually free of the die when the button expands the neck on the up stroke. You should be able to determine whenmthe noise is made.
If you are pad lubing with a lube, I highly recommend Hornady lube. It is far superior over rcbs and lee lube, the only ones I have experience with. Before switching to it I would stick a case and rip the base off about every 5-700 rounds. This was usually .223 or .308 military cases. Also excess lube would dimple cases. With Hornady lube I have sized around 10000 rounds of .223 without a stuck case and no dimples. A bottle runs less than 5 bucks and will probably lube 50000 cases. It will definitely help you.

[snipecg21]

I tumbled in walnut media for 3-4hours before living and sizing. The cases that do this seem to start catching on the last 1/2 or 3/4 inch of case, I'm thinking they were fired in a rather loose chamber. I can't measure any tonight, I'll have to bring my calipers home from work.

[triggerhappy243]

I tumbled in walnut media for 3-4hours before living and sizing. The cases that do this seem to start catching on the last 1/2 or 3/4 inch of case, I'm thinking they were fired in a rather loose chamber. I can't measure any tonight, I'll have to bring my calipers home from work.

Your brass needs to be super clean and completely devoid of any walnut media dust.............. inside and out. I wash all my rifle brass before I resize. makes a huge difference.

[Bazoo]

30-30 brass fired in a sloppy chamber will show a noticeable bulge above the case web. I just sized some like this and it was harder but didn't squeak. I was using my lee hand press and Hornady 1 shot case lube. Sounds like maybe you're not getting enough lube on the lower part of the case. Lube will flow under pressure and a little dry spot won't be noticed until you really need the lube there. Also lube in the die from the previous case will cover you on that occasional missed spot (not a whole case).

[toallmy]

It might be a good time for annealing the case mouth also .

[6bg6ga]

I've had pick up cases that were so bad they couldn't be sized. Just remember clean super clean the cases. I use the ultrasonic for really clean cases. Make sure they are dry and lubed properly. My advice is if they don't size throw them because they aren't going to size. I picked up some 223's off the ground cleaned them and some were shot in a oversized or abused chamber are were not sizable. I couldn't even salvage them for 300 blackouts. So, some pickup are worth it. Make sure you keep the pickups away from your guns brass so you know your not developing a chamber problem in your gun.

[Shawlerbrook]

Sounds to me like the cases were not completely clean. I am guessing it was probably the range brass that might have been out in the weather. I’ll bet some SS pin cleaning would do the trick. I like to separate brass from different unknown sources.

[6bg6ga]

Easy to check. Own a micrometer? Try checking the cases like I did. Mine weren't a question of being clean mine were simply out of spec diameter wise. There is a point of how much you can size a case. Mine were super clean and I wrecked a good sizing die in the process and fortunately the die was replaced. Some of you need to experience some of these ground pickups that were shot out of a badly worn chamber. The expansion of the cases is something you need to see. I know of one guys AR that he has severely overloaded the charge and it hasn't blown up but has expanded the chamber. He doesn't fl his brass but does the neck and he reloads them again. His brass is totally worthless to anyone else.

[lightman]

Lots of good advice above. I might suggest a few things. The brass needs to be clean. Its not necessary for it to be sparkly clean but it needs to be free of dirt, dust and grit. Your die needs to be clean also. You can clean it in much the same way as you do a gun barrel. I will also polish the expander ball with a piece of 1200 grit emory cloth using an electric drill. Then lube the cases, including inside the case neck. I bought carbide expander balls for the bottleneck cases that I load the most but they cost about as much as a die set! Its pretty common for brass fired in different chambers to require a different degree of effort to resize. Experience will tell you if this is the case or if something is wrong. Just remember, if something does not feel right check it out before you force it.

[mdi]

Another thought; brass can be "too clean". If a very clean case doesn't have enough lube or neck ID lube, it will drag on the steel die and often "squeal". I've read of some pistol cases, wet tumbled with no wax/polish additives in the solution to squeal/shudder as they are sized.

[gwpercle]

I'm not going to say lack of case lube is your problem.... But a little more or better case lube would more than likely help....when they start squealing like a pig it's time to rub them with some STP Oil Treatment ...that will sop the squeal and help with removal .
Gary

[44magLeo]

I think if you can sort your brass by what was shot in your rifle and what is range pickup and keep them separate, would be a good start. Then work them as separate lots.
When I fire factory loads, I put the empty cases back in the box.
When I buy bulk brass, I Put these in boxes. When loaded and shot, I put them back in the boxes they were in.
This way I can keep them all together and know the source.
If I buy once fired brass I sort by trying each case in the gun I will shoot them through. I do the same with range pick up brass. Ones that fit go in one container, Ones that don't go in another.
I then try to keep these separate through the life of the cases. I have found that the ones that don't fit the chamber do take a bit more to size. Never ones so tough as to not size though.
I like the Lee case lube. It is water soluble so easy to clean the cases A hot water bath with a bit of Dawn dish soap and vinegar. I like the Imperial lube too. A bit smoother to size a case with but a bit more to clean off.
I use the Lee on case that fit in my guns but I use the Imperial on the others and any case forming I do.
On the range brass I decap, then wash with the hot water, Dawn and vinegar solution. This gets the cases clean. I then size.
I also have the imperial Neck Lube kit. The kit has a container of dry graphite lube and a container od ceramic beads. I lube hand lube the cases. No pads, they tend to collect dust. Then dip the necks up to the shoulder in the neck lube. This lubes both the outside and inside with the graphite. Really eases the expander passing through the neck.
Once sized I then wash again with the solution. I mix the solution by the gallon. I pour the solution in a large stainless steel pot. Heat on stove to boiling. Shut off heat, pour in brass , agitate a few minutes. I pull out a case and feel if it feels clean, cases wit lube feel slippery.
Once clean I pour out the pot through a colander to catch the bras and collect the solution. I reuse the solution till it doesn't clean well.
Rinse under hot water from the faucet till no more solution then let dry.
Once dry. Load and shoot.
Leo

[1hole]

Sounds like maybe you're not getting enough lube on the lower part of the case.

Bazoo is right, that IS the problem.

The ONLY thing that can make a squeal when squeezing down that last half inch is a poorly lubed case surface being rammed into a dry die. Lube the lower case properly and all will be well, otherwise you're courting a stuck case and stripped off rim. If .30-30 cases weren't so tapered you'd probably already have that. (They sell stuck case removers for fixing it tho, very handy devices!)

[gumbo333]

Imperial wax on the outside then out a dab of Lee Lube on a q-tip and swab the inside neck. No squeal, easy resizing.

[Walks]

In the olden days, RCBS, Lyman and other manufacturers sold caliber specific case neck brushes for the specific purpose of Lubing the inside of case necks. You put lube on the brush by rolling it over the lube pad. And YEP, the pad got dirty. Now they sell only .22, .30, & .45 Cal brushes.

I tumble my brass first and then lube and size. I use one pad to just "charge" the brushes and another to roll the cases across to pick up sizing Lube.

The only cases that don't get this full "treatment" are .223, .308 & .30-06 to be fired in auto-loaders.
After tumbling they get the inside of the necks "Lube-brushed" and then sprayed with Hornady "one-shot" case lube.
Then sized, hand primed and on the Hornady L-N-L for Powder, bullets & crimp.

[triggerhappy243]

I could not help but re-read this entire post. I am a veteran reloader.....(over 40 years), so I have seen alot in my day. This squealing case thing on 30-30 brass is something I have never seen before. Squealing brass as the case goes into the sizer die, is ALL, not enough lube, and nothing is said about what lube is being used. I use rcbs case lube II as my primary case lube because it works 100% of the time. I also have (still have) the original rcbs case lube in 2 tubes. And for the veteran reloaders in this group, you probably remember it. A very thick and tacky clear syrupy lube, that was super slick. I use that when I form brass into a different case size. In all my years of full length resizing, I have never stuck a case in a sizer die. I did do a bench experiment to try and get a case stuck and it took my depriving the case of adequate lube in order to start showing me signs of it happening. That being said, If you are sticking cases in your sizer dies............... it is all a lube issue( a lack of lube). Dirty brass is another culprit. If there is grit, like fine sand on the brass, it will embed in the brass and the die. This adds traction to the surface and grabs hold making extraction more difficult. So, I eliminate the possibility of this dirt by depriming and washing my brass in stainless steel chips. Yes, it is time consuming, but it eliminates all possibility for problems down the line. I hope this helps all who read this.