Have 7mm-08 Bregara. fired case from this gun will not go into one rcbs die and one forster die. With more than usual force it goes about 2/3 way in. It will go into an old RCBS die, but that one has some kind of scratch or defect inside it that puts a pretty good dent just below shoulder. About the size of a piece of tumbling media, but I can't see anything. Is there a correct way to clean that up? Im guessing rifle has a larger than normal chamber? measuring at shoulder just by hand with calipers there is .005 expansion from factory ammo to a fired case.

Do you have a .308 die you could run it in first?
Or, try running it into the seating die shy of where it would start to crimp.

Five thou is nothing with brass; what kind of case lube are you using? What press?
I routinely size many times more than .005 when forming or sizing brass.

Disassemble the sizing die and clean the inside with a tight fitting patch and Brake Cleaner,
that should remove the "tumbling media" or the like causing the dent.
If your die has a vent hole in its side make sure it is clear.
A "pile-up" of case lube can cause a shoulder dent in the same place as well.
What case lube are you using?
Which press as asked above?
I too have rifle chambers that are "large" and the fired case would be a chore to re-size in some presses.
I have been using a Bonanza CO-AX ( a compound leverage single stage press ) and it takes very little effort to size any case due to the mechanical advantage of the linkage. It is still made and is one of the most powerful presses ever designed.

Thanks guys.
Re did the inspection/cleaning, no change so used massive amount of wax and things working now. couldn't get rid of the dent from one of the RCBS and the brand new forster leaves a scratch full length of case, but one RCBS is working a bit tight but manageable.

Massive amount of wax, is not something I like to hear. What case lube are you using? Too much lube does not help, and will cause case dents.
I use Hornady in the tub.
Something still ain't right; I can FORM cases on my Rock Chucker and so can anyone else here. Brass is very ductile.

after I used a lot of wax on the first couple they got a lot easier, then it was just a bit more than usual every 3-4 cases.No dents. I hand load a lot and never ran into this before ? Would trade all I know for half of what I don't know Yes I agree, more lube is generally not the answer.
Possibly due to the dies not being used for a long time i didn't get them cleaned properly before starting ?

What kind of "wax"? I would stop using that and get some brand name case lubricant. Having to use "more" lube is never necessary.
I never clean dies and use ones I got in 1966. Something is not right here.
Come over and we can solve it; I guarantee it.

Use a good case lube! I use a gas line antifreeze ISO-Heet (98% isopropyl alcohol and add 1oz. of lanolin, shake well in a spray bottle. Works Great and cheap.

Hip

Imperial sizing die wax. Best thing i've ever used. As to the dies I'm pretty sure i figured it out. When I put them away 9-10 years ago I put a coating of Krol oil on them as I sold my 7mm-08.
got the new 7mm-08, loade up some primed ready to go brass, went to reload after I shot those and just ran a dry patch in die before use. I have since learned not to use that oil for long term storage as it leaves a residue.

Dies are like iron frying pans; never clean them or the seasoning will be gone. As I said, I have dies from the 60s, never cleaned, and all work fine for case sizing and forming.
Now, if you are sizing dirty brass; just don't do that.

Always clean brass. As to the dies , I'll pick a set give it a try, but most likely i'll get em out the next day, wipe em down and put them back and never tell

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Dies are like iron frying pans; never clean them or the seasoning will be gone.

Come on over and I will show you 100 sets of dies that work fine (I use Hornady lube only, but I have used most other brands in the past) I believe the OP just proved my adage.
What I mean is, never clean them so as to remove all the lube that is impregnated in the steel. You will get stuck cases until the die is re-seasoned.
Has no one ever noticed this?
You treat yours however you like; as always, never read, nor do, anything I say. And please, no more hate mail. I get enough now....

If the dent is slight elongated, could be caused by the expander. I have two that caused slight dents. They both appear smooth and one I did replace. Cure, just a touch of Hornady lube to every third case mouth.

Come on over and I will show you the 46 die sets that I use and have cleaned when I thought they needed cleaning. Never had to "re-season" any of them. I have never noticed what you say you have noticed.

Merry Christmas.

Depends on what you cleaned them with; back to the OP's problem, he cleaned them down to bare steel.
Remember the adage; Just because someone has not experienced a given phenomenon, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
And no, I ain't going to the South Pacific to visit you.

quote:

Originally posted by eny:
Thanks guys.
Re did the inspection/cleaning, no change so used massive amount of wax and things working now. couldn't get rid of the dent from one of the RCBS and the brand new forster leaves a scratch full length of case, but one RCBS is working a bit tight but manageable.

The dent from the RCBS die will fire form out. The Forster die should be returned, they will polish out the scratch or replace it. Or you could get a 410 or 20 gauge shotgun barrel swab and get some 400 or finer grit and sizing wax and put that into an electric drill and polish it out yourself. I find when first sizing cases in a clean die not to be skimpy with the resizing wax for the first couple cases until the die surface is coated. Sounds like you just need to lube the bottom half of the case after the first few. I use resizing wax and no other lube.

quote:

Originally posted by eny:
Imperial sizing die wax. Best thing i've ever used. As to the dies I'm pretty sure i figured it out. When I put them away 9-10 years ago I put a coating of Krol oil on them as I sold my 7mm-08.
got the new 7mm-08, loade up some primed ready to go brass, went to reload after I shot those and just ran a dry patch in die before use. I have since learned not to use that oil for long term storage as it leaves a residue.

A patch and a needle eye jag with a little Ronsonol will clean those dies up slick.

I haven't been in the habit of cleaning dies either (through ignorance of the need) but have never had a problem. I haven't even obsessed with cleaning the brass after firing, certainly not tumbling, but so far have not had a stuck or obviously scratched case. I do jiggle them in Shellite (white gas) to get the lubricant etc off after sizing.

I typically don’t clean dies until I start having issues. For progressive presses I typically use the spray on lubes, but use imperial for single stage press use.

Sometimes if you haven’t used that die in a long time, the old lube and dirt solidify and you have to clean it out- but I like to not do so because the left over lube seems to do a better job of preventing rust than using oil.

As to the OP issue, if the case becomes large enough that it doesn’t fit in the radius of the sizing die, it won’t size. With enough effort, the case collapses. I’ve seen it happen once, with one of the newer low taper case designs and a generous chamber with an undersized die. The maker (Forster) looked at it, admitted it was smaller than minimum, and replaced it. I found out by putting a factory new case in it and seeing a step in the brass.

Anything man made can have a screw up.

vent hole is probably plugged on the die making the dent.
take the lock ring off and clean the hole.

The only die I ever had problems with sizing was a 270 WSM. DPCD is correct in that in essence the die needs a little seasoning. I use One shot spray lube and dissembled the die, sprayed a small amount in it. Then reassembled and put a little bit of paste type lube inside the case neck to lube the expander. Never had another issue after that. Before that it felt like I was definitely going to stick a case and I had to use a ton of pressure on the down stroke for the expander

I have found that if I haven't used a set of dies in a while that the first couple of cases are a little difficult to size until lube is spread and coated the inside of the die.

Hip

All that wax probably had some kind of grit in it like sad or whatever. the damage is done. Id send the die and 3 fired cases back for a fix..That solves lots of problems..