9mm brass sticks in die

[daboone]

The 9mmL is a tapered case unlike 38spl or 45 auto(ACP). Because of that taper it does require more force to size than other straight walled cases. Although it's not required for a carbide sizing die I like to lube all my brass before sizing. It simply makes it easier and feel smoother to size.

Because you said "I run thru 200 cases and 2 days later my wrists are still hurting..." I'd suggest you take your calipers and measure an unsized and sized case to see what is actually going on. That way you can see if the chamber of you gun is oversized or if your die is over sizing the case. I doubt the die is over sizing your cases because you didn't mention any problem seating your bullets. Of course if you're belling/flaring the mouth during the powder drop that could hide the the over sizing if it exists.

[jloader]

I'll do some measuring this weekend...
But the same thing happens with range picked brass (fired by others) - as a matter of fact, of those 200 cases, 100 were fired by me and 100 were range picked.
The bullets sit just fine especially after going thru powder thru expanding die - I only expand about 1/8-3/16" of the top of the case without much effort.

daboone - what method do you use to lube your 9mm?

[Poppop]

This is for 9mm brass sticking in sizing die.
I know that thread was initially talking about powder thru expanding die, but keeping these two discussions in one thread may be beneficial.

In my process of reloading 9mm Luger I first decap in universal dacapper then wash the cases in wet bath in ultrasonic cleaner.
Then I resize them in 9mm sizer/decapper with the decapping pin removed.
I have to use a lot of elbow grease to power thru that die. I run thru 200 cases and 2 days later my wrists are still hurting...

I've read up on multiple sites that wet bath prior to sizing strips of any carbon and lubricants from the case and that causes the difficulties, especially on tapered 9mm Luger.

There seem to be 3 suggestions for sizing the 9mm:
1. resize 'dirty' cases - there is some carbon residue on the cases and that will lubricate them.
2. use case lube on cleaned brass
3. use tumbler with NuFinish to clean brass

I really don't want to use 'dirty' cases in my dies as there is some dirt/sand on them from picking them up from the ground (may be ok in indoor range).
Not sure I want to invest in tumbler just for the 9mm since my ultrasonic bath seems to do a great job.

Are there any other suggestions?

How about decapping with the carbide decap/sizing die--then clean the cartridge. I have been doing it this way for a long time and have not had a problem with dirt in the die

[daboone]

I use both the Lee stuff mixed with isopropyl alcohol for most of my handgun cases and 10% lanolin and 95%+ isopropyl alcohol for bottlenecks brass.

[GasGuzzler]

I resize them "dirty" but we all have different definitions. There's no harm in getting the dies a little dirty as long as you maintain them.

[RBHarter]

I don't sweat the outside carbon with carbide dies . I do however make sure the dust is off the brass , granite is hard on everything . I am more fussy about steel dies of course .

I'm so old skool the front of my high school says it's the old high school. I still use a roll pad and RCBS lube /2 or "wet finger" STP , all 3 are soaked into the pad . 38/357/Colts get 8-10 across the pad per 50 and about half that for the ACP class . In steel dies I skip about one in five or so .

What press are you using ?
I've had several presses that offered no real advantage over one another . I recently acquired a real modern tank of a press I've found that I can stick brass and rip the rims off with hardly more effort than it takes to pickup a large coffee cup .

[Steve]

Most of the guys I know that load 9mm always lube the clean brass with "Hornady One Shot Lube" before reloading. They don't clean the lube off, just shoot with it on.

[jloader]

How about decapping with the carbide decap/sizing die--then clean the cartridge. I have been doing it this way for a long time and have not had a problem with dirt in the die

I've tried decapping and sizing at the same time. My issue with this process is that I'm putting cases that are range picked (mine or others) that have dirt/sand on them. I could see if I was using cases from clean floor or cement pad. I've run a few and saw and felt the dirt on them. Wiping them off would be time consuming and would wipe off the carbon that I would be trying to preserve.

What press am I using? Load Master and C-frame. To me, getting a press that has "more muscle" is just masking the issue - the poor case gets to bear the brute force.

I've measured the cases before and after the sizing - nothing out of ordinary, those picked at the range had just about same diameters as those fired from my gun. The after measurements were just small enough that I have to use just a tad of expanding die to seat the bullet in it. So I don't suspect the die to be an issue.

So lube to the rescue.
I've tried lubing the clean, decapped cases. Since I did not have any brand name case lube, I've tried using silicon spray. Made a simple pad, moistened it with silicon and rolled every 3rd-4th case in it.
Worked great!!! Even on the C-frame the effort was reasonable. And what surprised me, the silicone lube dried out within a few hours - bonus - no need to wipe it off the cases.

Thank you all for your suggestions!

[Poppop]

How about decapping with the carbide decap/sizing die--then clean the cartridge. I have been doing it this way for a long time and have not had a problem with dirt in the die

I've tried decapping and sizing at the same time. My issue with this process is that I'm putting cases that are range picked (mine or others) that have dirt/sand on them. I could see if I was using cases from clean floor or cement pad. I've run a few and saw and felt the dirt on them. Wiping them off would be time consuming and would wipe off the carbon that I would be trying to preserve.

What press am I using? Load Master and C-frame. To me, getting a press that has "more muscle" is just masking the issue - the poor case gets to bear the brute force.

I've measured the cases before and after the sizing - nothing out of ordinary, those picked at the range had just about same diameters as those fired from my gun. The after measurements were just small enough that I have to use just a tad of expanding die to seat the bullet in it. So I don't suspect the die to be an issue.

So lube to the rescue.
I've tried lubing the clean, decapped cases. Since I did not have any brand name case lube, I've tried using silicon spray. Made a simple pad, moistened it with silicon and rolled every 3rd-4th case in it.
Worked great!!! Even on the C-frame the effort was reasonable. And what surprised me, the silicone lube dried out within a few hours - bonus - no need to wipe it off the cases.

Thank you all for your suggestions!

As you pick up range brass, tap it against something so that if there is anything in it it will fall out.
I have about 3000+ 9mm and about 1500+ .38 spec almost all range pick up with no problems. Eventually you will have enough brass tat you won't need to pick up range brass anymore.

[Ohio3Wheels]

Never let an unclaimed case go to waste or the recycler

Make smoke,