Well I just got my first set of dies for the Lee classic turret press I picked up alittle while back. I went with Lee's 4 die set in 9mm. Now I'm getting it setup now but it seems to me that there is more resistance when sizing than should be. This is my first time, so it may be normal but for some reason I was expected it to be "butter" smooth. I followed the directions and raised the ram up and screwed it in until it touched than fingered tightened the lock nut.
It seems to me that it's setup correct. A bullet would just drop in before and now it can't and the cases are stretching abit aswell.
How much resistance should there be?

It really depends on what the rounds were fired in. Sometimes a little lube helps even though its a carbide die.

You've got your de-capping stem set too deep, back it out to where it is just deep enough to de-cap primers.

I've noticed 9mm shells are much harder to size than .45ACP or .357mag.  I use spray lube whenever I resize/decap 9mm brass.  Not necessary to use the lube if you have carbide dies, but it sure helps a whole lot.  The only issue is that the cases pick up dirt and grime pretty easily when the lube has dried into a film on the case.

I noticed this, though it varied by brass manuf.

You've got that right.  Other than some GI 7.62 Nato brass I've never run across anything that takes as much force to resize as 9mm brass.  That goes for range pick up brass or my own fired through the BDM.  I don't shoot +P ammo either.

I know I've mentioned a tip here before, but haven't heard anyone comment on it. I usually spray my pistol brass with a dry Teflon lubricant that I get at Home Depot. It cames in an aerosol can and applies very easily. I give the brass a light spray-just enough that you can barely see a white film. It will dry to a thin coating that is wiped off when the brass goes through the sizing die. The brass goes through the sizer like butter. The only spot where any residue remains in around the case rim/extractor groove. I tumble my loaded rounds for a couple minutes after loading, which removes any remaining lube.

I have no idea?

I've now done about 1k worth. It's def. harder on some than others. WCC, Sadu?, S&B seem to be the worst. Most FC, Win, PMC etc. do go pretty easy

Lube makes everything better. Use it even with carbide.

 

Lee only list the 4-die set with a carbide sizing die. This set was a good choice BTW. So if you just bought the set its pretty certain its a carbide sizer. It may have a T/C designation, Ive never noticed on my set.

On a side note
How deep are you guys seating? I'm using 115gr FMJRN from Winchester and Winchesters info says COL is 1.100. Same thing in my Hornady manual. That seems kinda deep to me though
I measured some Federal 115FMJ's and they range from 1.142 - 1.154 and Winchester Nato 124FMJ range from 1.149 - 1.152

Time to read a good loading manual.

It appears you have a carbide die, but not knowing is a really bad thing.

Carbide dies for straight wall cases do not require lubrication, though using some (I lube about every tenth shell) makes things run smoother.

Steel dies REQUIRE lube or you WILL stick a case and ruin it getting it out.

Yes they are Carbide dies. For some reason I misunderstood his question

I fill a bag up with brass, give it one to two sprays of this stuff: http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=204960

Shake the bag around to get it all over all the brass, and the sizing/decap process goes by much smoother and faster.  The spray is completely neutral to your powder too, so no need to worry about getting it in the case.  Wear gloves because it'll pick up bunches of grime and dirt from the pile of brass.

Yes, Lee's Deluxe 4 die pistol sets have a carbide resizer in the decapping/resizing die as well as one in the FCD.  You can read about them HERE. They are great dies and all I use for my pistol and straight wall reloading (30 carbine, 38/357, 40s&w, 45acp, and 10mm).




 
 

I load 9mm on a 650 using a Lees resizing die. But I started out dry because everyone says thats the purpose of the carbide. I even polished my dies with Flitz.  All was OK, seemed like th press took a lot of effort (I am forming metal after all), and they'd stick on the downstroke on the expander, but I thought thats just the was its supposed to be.

Then I tried Hornady One Shot, made by Hornady afterall, must be good right?. It was a little easier pulling the handle, but it was sticky and gummed up the dies too quickly. Didn't like the amount of residue left over on the loaded rounds either.

So I tried Dillon Case Lube at the suggestion of many, and WHOA - WTF!!    I thought my 650XL broke after a couple cases cycled through!  The handle takes literally HALF the force to cycle the press!  I'm completely sold on DCL, and after several thousand rounds the dies stay clean and not gummy at all.

I use the wet-SST method, then oven dry.  Lay the brass out on a towel on the floor, tip them all horizontal, couple squirts of DCL, then pick up the towel and rock it back and forth 10-12 times to distribute the DCL. Dump the brass into a bowl and in 10 minutes they're ready to load into the press.  I don't bother removing the lube for shooting.  Its the single best product I have found that makes loading more enjoyable, and my press is sure to last longer too!

I recently started reloading .40S&W with the Lee 4-die set.  I noticed that the resizing took a lot of effort at first too.  I use Hornady Unique case lube for reloading .223 and decided to use a little on a few of the .40 cases.  Just the two or three lubricated cases seemed to add enough lubrication in the sizing die that I didn't need any more for the whole batch.  Much less effort after that.

YMMV,

Mike

I use a very light spray of Dillon or even Hornady's one shot even when using carbide dies. It harms nothing and smooths the process out considerably.

My first suggestion would be to increase the expansion the case mouth flair ever so slightly. This is usually the the cause of resistance. The bullet is catching the edge of the case neck upon seating.

Just make exterior case neck dimension gets returned during seating or in the final station using a Lee fatory crimp die..

I've reloaded most of my 9mm on a single stage. RCBS carbide dies and RCBS RS3 press. Sizing/decapping was the major pain in the arse. Expanding had hardly any force required, and seating/crimping was also relatively light. I actually broke the top of my little reloading bench trying to size some 9mm.

Those primers are usually crimped in... that's why they are tougher.
You'll need to remove the crimp before you try to prime, or you'll almost certainly crush the new primer.

If you don't want to sort them all out at this point, be VERY attentive when you seat the primers.
If there is any increased resistance, STOP.  Check the case & you'll likely have one of those.

Also because 9mm is not a straight wall pistol case like most others. It is slightly tapered.

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