I'm A Bit Puzzled. Buckled Brass.

[SportingShooter 0]

I'm in a bit of a quandary

 

I've been cleaning and priming spent brass this weekend and I came to loading a few today. Now, it's the first time I've had the loading press out in over six months with everything else that's been going on but that shouldnt have made a difference.

 

I primed 20 cases and measured powder into each one. I attempted to seat one of the Hornady V-Max into the case but when I brought the round back out of the die, the neck of the brass had a ripple in it...

 

Then I measured it with my calipers and it was too long, so I put it back in the die and pressed it a little bit more until the arm was fully down. When I took it out the bass had another ripple on the shoulder as if it had buckled in the die.

 

I checked the die to check it was at the right height and not pushing on the top of the brass and checked the internal part of the die for the same. But it's done it to about ten rounds. They're deformed enough for me not to fire them.

 

They're Remington brass. Once, maybe twice fired in a Redding big boss press and redding dies.

 

Any ideas? All I came up with was weak brass...

 

Thanks

SS

[activeviii 8]

does your die crimp as well as seat?

 

i get it with my lee dies if i dont set up properley. only on the .222 though, on the other calibre's its fine.

 

when i change the dies, even though they have locking nuts, i still check on an empty case first. a fire formed case that i trim to lenght just to check with. i let the handle all the way down with a case in place. i then wind the die in until i can feel it touching. if it is touching the shell holder then all good but if there is a gap between shell holder and bottom of die then i know something is wrong.

 

now i know about it i haven't had the problem since but it was hair pulling to start with as it was only doing it when i was seating the bullet. i think it was the neck opening just enough to catch the sides of the die and then roll the case shoulders in on them self.

[SportingShooter 0]

I was thinking the same thing, about the die being too low so I checked with the same sort of method until it wasn't hitting the top of the case, but it was still doing it with certain brass

 

Mine is .222 as well funnily enough.

 

A bit more fiddling to be done...

[jamie g 17]

You will get ripples on the necks if you use to much case lube also

[the scudd 81]

to much lube

[SportingShooter 0]

You will get ripples on the necks if you use to much case lube also

 

 

to much lube

 

Thanks guys, you are most likely right

 

I've cleaned the case necks to remove almost all the lube but I also soaked and cleaned the seating die which must have removed some old lube/dirt and it seems to be seating just fine now. That'll teach me, 17 bent cases and a LOT of swearing later...

[The Seeker 3,048]

I've just had a similar problem with my .223 Lee loading seating die. When set up as per instructions I.e wind the die in until it touches the shell holder then half a turn. When I try to seat the bullet the whole top of the case buckles.

 

I have had to back the die off considerably and now its fine, but as I said if its set up as per instructions it's completely ruins the case.

[dicehorn 38]

As said probably lube is in the mix as a problem.

 

It is worth bearing in mind especially with thin walled cases such as the 222 and 223 that is does not take much effort to deform brass.

 

Not directing criticism specifically at you SS, but from alot of my observations looking over reloaders shoulders they go to considerable lengths to get their brass sparkly clean (a total waste of time in making ammo more accurate), smother their brass in lube ( including the the inside of the neck - ugh) then after using their dies simply put them back in the drawer. Far better for the reloader to spend time taking apart and cleaning the inside of their dies - anyone who has not done that for a while would be quite surprised how much gunk a die can retain.

 

IMO these lubes that require you to roll the brass on a pad or copiously spray your brass, apart from clogging up the efficiency of your dies are just plain messy - buy a small tin of Imperial Sizing Wax - lasts years - even cleans your cases when wiped off - once you use it you will laugh at yourself for not doing it before.

[SportingShooter 0]

I've just had a similar problem with my .223 Lee loading seating die. When set up as per instructions I.e wind the die in until it touches the shell holder then half a turn. When I try to seat the bullet the whole top of the case buckles.

 

I have had to back the die off considerably and now its fine, but as I said if its set up as per instructions it's completely ruins the case.

 

Glad I'm not the only one who had to ignore the manufacturers recommendations not to ruin my rounds....

 

As said probably lube is in the mix as a problem.

 

It is worth bearing in mind especially with thin walled cases such as the 222 and 223 that is does not take much effort to deform brass.

 

Not directing criticism specifically at you SS, but from alot of my observations looking over reloaders shoulders they go to considerable lengths to get their brass sparkly clean (a total waste of time in making ammo more accurate), smother their brass in lube ( including the the inside of the neck - ugh) then after using their dies simply put them back in the drawer. Far better for the reloader to spend time taking apart and cleaning the inside of their dies - anyone who has not done that for a while would be quite surprised how much gunk a die can retain.

 

IMO these lubes that require you to roll the brass on a pad or copiously spray your brass, apart from clogging up the efficiency of your dies are just plain messy - buy a small tin of Imperial Sizing Wax - lasts years - even cleans your cases when wiped off - once you use it you will laugh at yourself for not doing it before.

 

I don't (think) I go OTT with the whole brass cleaning regime, I usually just de-prime/neck size them and throw them all into a tumbler. Sorts them out quite nicely without much effort. I've learnt my lesson with the dies though, didn't think how dirty they can become and there was some gunk in there when I cleaned it right through.

 

As you say, surprising I'll keep my eye out for the wax next time I pop into the gun shop I go to with plenty of reloading gear.

 

Happy to say I managed to load fifty rounds yesterday evening without a single curse being omitted

[markha 99]

I've just had a similar problem with my .223 Lee loading seating die. When set up as per instructions I.e wind the die in until it touches the shell holder then half a turn. When I try to seat the bullet the whole top of the case buckles.

 

I have had to back the die off considerably and now its fine, but as I said if its set up as per instructions it's completely ruins the case.

 

I have the same die set as you and use as per the instructions in the case with a rockchucker press and have no problems.

 

This is from the Lee instructions:

 

You wind the full length sizer till it touches the shell holder then screw in 1/3 to 1/4 more.

You wind the collet neck sizer till it touches shell holder then 2 full turns.

You wind the bullet seater till it touches the shell holder then 1/4 turn more, Not 1/2 a turn as per your post.

 

Buckled shoulders are due to the collet being closed (stuck) or die set to deep.

 

Most problems with dies damaging cases is user error.

[richmcgin 32]

i have had this because my neck sizer was set up wrong. i find that too much lube seems to dent the neck rather than ripple it