Problems with new Hornady 243 dies purchased here

[RVTECH]

That to me would be embarrasing and would have to wait a month or two to get it back from Hornady....

You don't have a stuck case puller? Might want to buy or make one.

 

[bbbass]

I only worked 50hrs, but since I only got paid for 40 I had to live cheap. It was my supervisor that got me into rifle reloading. He had a Rock Chucker. I started reloading shotshells when I was 20 because I loved to shoot clays and was living on a Petty Officer 3rd Class salary.

 

[Caveman Jim]

You don't have a stuck case puller? Might want to buy or make one.

Not yet..... I'm still a n00b......

 

[Lilhigbee]

You may have a stuck case puller and not realize it. A #7 drill bit (13/64" will work), 1/4"-20 tap, 1/4"-20 X 1" bolt, 1/4" fender washer and a stack of washers with a hole big enough to fit over the case head and you have a puller. Drill through the primer hole and tap it, stack the large-hole washers around the case until it is recessed in the stack about 1/4"-3/8", put the fender washer on top and screw the bolt into the case. Tighten it up until it pulls the case out. The only difference between this and a commercial puller is that the commercial puller comes with a fancy cup instead of the stack of washers.

 

[Crohnos01]

You may have a stuck case puller and not realize it. A #7 drill bit (13/64" will work), 1/4"-20 tap, 1/4"-20 X 1" bolt, 1/4" fender washer and a stack of washers with a hole big enough to fit over the case head and you have a puller. Drill through the primer hole and tap it, stack the large-hole washers around the case until it is recessed in the stack about 1/4"-3/8", put the fender washer on top and screw the bolt into the case. Tighten it up until it pulls the case out. The only difference between this and a commercial puller is that the commercial puller comes with a fancy cup instead of the stack of washers.

This.

Works like a charm. I have the commercial puller now, but for years I used a couple of washers and a electrical EMT coupling... worked great, but I was always losing or using the parts on something else so I finally just bought the commercial kit and keep it in my reloading bench.

A friend of mine that has been reloading almost as long as I have said something one time which I think rings true.... "if you are going to reload, you are eventually going to have a stuck case" I think it just happens... you don't try to make it happen of course, but if you crank rounds through a press, it eventually happens to everyone.

 

[Caveman Jim]

This.

Works like a charm. I have the commercial puller now, but for years I used a couple of washers and a electrical EMT coupling... worked great, but I was always losing or using the parts on something else so I finally just bought the commercial kit and keep it in my reloading bench.

A friend of mine that has been reloading almost as long as I have said something one time which I think rings true.... "if you are going to reload, you are eventually going to have a stuck case" I think it just happens... you don't try to make it happen of course, but if you crank rounds through a press, it eventually happens to everyone.

Good to know that it happens to others besides n00bs....

 

[Caveman Jim]

This.

Works like a charm. I have the commercial puller now, but for years I used a couple of washers and a electrical EMT coupling... worked great, but I was always losing or using the parts on something else so I finally just bought the commercial kit and keep it in my reloading bench.

A friend of mine that has been reloading almost as long as I have said something one time which I think rings true.... "if you are going to reload, you are eventually going to have a stuck case" I think it just happens... you don't try to make it happen of course, but if you crank rounds through a press, it eventually happens to everyone.

Well by golly I do have the resources to do that.
Thanks for that tidbit!!!

 

[cidrmakr]

Never buy used reloading stuff. You have no idea what the last guy did. Dirty brass will destroy a die. Buy a good new one, it will last a lifetime. At Midway usa you can buy a stuck brass remover kit for about $10. Sooner or later you will need it. Brass sizing lube: I like hornady spray on. Just get the brass slightly wet, dry it with a hair dryer, and first brass in the die lube the inside of the case neck with a q tip. If the expander sticks lube another inside.

 

[whiskeybill]

Call Hornady and send the die in for inspection. Never had any experience with them, but I have sent questionable dies in to RCBS and they can inspect and polish if needed for next to nothing. .243 is NOT a difficult case to resize. Get your reloading manual out, mike the outside neck diameter of the case at the mouth. See if it is within drawing specs. The ONLY time I have had a stuck case in over forty years is when I failed to lubricate properly. Even a properly lubed case run into a rough die will go in and out, but scratched up pretty well.

 

[HotRod61]

Not yet..... I'm still a n00b......

That's exactly why you need one

 

[xtratoy]

What are you using for lube? You need a special lube specifically for resizing brass. WD-40 and the like don't work for this purpose.

 

[EricJK]

From experience, Hornady dies are cut closer to minimum dimensions; I learned this after buying an RCBS "small base" die and then measuring resized cases - cases from the Hornady die were consistently .001" smaller than from the RCBS die. My rifles are .308 Winchester.

I strongly suspect your rifle is closer to maximum dimensions. With a Hornady die that's probably closer to minimum dimensions, this isn't a good combination (as if I need to tell you that), and this could be the reason for the "hard" sizing.

I recently purchased a Redding small base bushing full size die and had the same experience - with what was normally appropriate lubrication using a Lyman lube pad, I could not get cases fully into the dies. I have my Lyman turret press on a Lee workstand, and while some brass (Federal and Norma) can prove troublesome with pulling necks through the expander, I'd never had problems like this except when I forgot to lube cases.

I used Hornady's Unique case lube - Redding's Imperial sizing lube would probably also work - and cases moved with ease into the die. This would be my suggestion - try it out before sending the die back to Hornady.

 

[3MTA3]

One thing I do know about being at the bench behind a press is getting comfortable. I do know that I am going to have a 8 inch Riser Mount made to mount my press higher. because just bending over that last two or three inches for the down stroke hurts my back... I'm thinking of hydraulics here.... lol not really but yeah if I continue aggravating my lower back anymore I'm gonna have to take up sofa sitting as my new hobby...

Check out the ultra mounts and other accessories at Inline Fabrication. The mounts are rock solid and they seem to have one for every press out there - I wish I knew about them before I bought the factory mount for my Dillon. They even have one that allows you to swap presses. I have been using their LED lighting system and it really helps with visibility:


inlinefabrication.com

 

[thorborg]

My first location for my single stage press I thought would be adequate but flexed, and to add insult to injury lifted off the floor on the up stroke! I held back on a smooth or forceful stroke in fear I would damage portable bench and was disappointed in the amount of force it appeared to take to do radical resizing.
I then mounted it to my shop work bench built excessively heavy and stout for hand planeing and chiseling wood.
Like night and day. The perceived energy was half of my first attempt and made smooth rhythmic strokes possible. (here comes the jokes now)
All else being correct, I would look to your mounting as it must be rock solid if you intent to move much brass.
Since my shop was not my intended reload space, and using a piece of reclaimed cabin stair step I was able to dedicate a stead fast (bolted to the wall and floor) bench just large enough (24" long) for the press bullets and staging boxes and have had no problem since.

I too have back surgeries and residual problems plus one fused neck vertebrae so do better pulling the handle rather than pushing it down. To that end, I made the bench top 42" high and use an office type wheeled chair that has a lever to adjust height which is very handy as I like it higher when depriming.
Plus, some of my calibers have a brass and bullet length that is longer than the press throat so I find it helpful to be able to view the bottom of the die when feeding it bullets.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Check out the ultra mounts and other accessories at Inline Fabrication. The mounts are rock solid and they seem to have one for every press out there - I wish I knew about them before I bought the factory mount for my Dillon. They even have one that allows you to swap presses. I have been using their LED lighting system and it really helps with visibility:
View attachment 349680

inlinefabrication.com

Thanks Bro got my FSIL going to make one to show off his welding skills. I am getting a magnified light just for the reloading station.

 

[Caveman Jim]

What are you using for lube? You need a special lube specifically for resizing brass. WD-40 and the like don't work for this purpose.

A brand new tube of Lee case lube.

 

[DizzyJ]

As mentioned earlier, look into the Imperial sizing wax/lube. The stuff is awesome. You can literally lube thousands of rounds with one small can.

 

[Caveman Jim]

My first location for my single stage press I thought would be adequate but flexed, and to add insult to injury lifted off the floor on the up stroke! I held back on a smooth or forceful stroke in fear I would damage portable bench and was disappointed in the amount of force it appeared to take to do radical resizing.
I then mounted it to my shop work bench built excessively heavy and stout for hand planeing and chiseling wood.
Like night and day. The perceived energy was half of my first attempt and made smooth rhythmic strokes possible. (here comes the jokes now)
All else being correct, I would look to your mounting as it must be rock solid if you intent to move much brass.
Since my shop was not my intended reload space, and using a piece of reclaimed cabin stair step I was able to dedicate a stead fast (bolted to the wall and floor) bench just large enough (24" long) for the press bullets and staging boxes and have had no problem since.
View attachment 349692
I too have back surgeries and residual problems plus one fused neck vertebrae so do better pulling the handle rather than pushing it down. To that end, I made the bench top 42" high and use an office type wheeled chair that has a lever to adjust height which is very handy as I like it higher when depriming.
Plus, some of my calibers have a brass and bullet length that is longer than the press throat so I find it helpful to be able to view the bottom of the die when feeding it bullets.

I'll definitely be getting a different type of stool that has a short backrest & adjustable height in the near future. My bench is 36" high to match my tables away (it's the out feed table) & very sturdy. I set up on this temporarily till this summer when I build an enclosure just for reloading.

 

[DirectDrive]

I'll definitely be getting a different type of stool that has a short backrest & adjustable height in the near future. My bench is 36" high to match my tables away (it's the out feed table) & very sturdy. I set up on this temporarily till this summer when I build an enclosure just for reloading.

View attachment 349703

Caveman
Is that a "straight pull" press with no compound toggle linkage ?
If so, then you are going to get more resistance with that type of press, especially when doing larger cases.

A friend of mine has an old RCBS "Junior" that is built that way.
It's not great for large cases.

 

[3MTA3]

Caveman
Is that a "straight pull" press with no compound toggle linkage ?
If so, then you are going to get more resistance with that type of press, especially when doing larger cases.

A friend of mine has an old RCBS "Junior" that is built that way.
It's not great for large cases.

I used a rock chucker just like that to load 6.5x55 and 30-06 when I was 12 - didn't seem too bad for my scrawny arms then. I even resized 30-05 to other calibers. Jim - try a can a spinach next time? Just kidding, with lube it should be just fine. Wish I was closer so I could run up there and take a look.