Hi there,

I have a Dillon 550b and picked up the .308 dies after successfully working up a .223 load.  So far, I've had a bunch of difficulty on .308 in the form of cases getting stuck in the resizing/depriming die.  After removing the first stuck case carefully, I took a q-tip and lubed the inside of the die and then generously lubed a few more test cases.  I got stuck again.  

I'm waiting for some Dillon case lube and they're recommending any lanolin based lube but beyond that, are there any other suggestions folks might have here?  

Also, are there some precautions or things that I should know that are different from reloading a smaller caliber like .223?

Thanks.

BTW - the folks at Dillon made a great recommendation - I couldn't get my stuck case out, even with the built in stuck case remover.  They said toss the die into the freezer for a night and try again.  Sure enough, that helped me knock it loose.

Did you take these "New" dies apart and clean them real good with a solvent, like Brakleen?

What lube are you using?

I never lube the inside of my dies, only the cases.

.308, especially surplus Lake City brass, is hard and resists resizing. I use Imperial Sizing Die Wax applying a light coat to the case body making sure none gets on the case shoulder. I spin the case mouth edge with any residual lube left on my fingers after coating the case body.

Spray lubes work OK for .223 and great on pistol cases, but .30 caliber rifle brass resizes easier when using something more substantial. I have never stuck a case in over thirty years of reloading thousands of rounds. I have come close on several occasions. If you feel abnormal resistance STOP! Forcing the issue will insure a problem.

Make sure you don't mix commercial brass with your G.I. surplus brass, the G.I. brass requires a two (2.0) full grain reduction in powder charges because it has reduced internal capacity. Whenever in doubt weigh your resized, trimmed and unprimed brass. Surplus brass weighs almost 180 grains, commercial brass is usually under 165 grains.

I resize all of my rifle brass on a single stage press prior to running it through my Dillon. This allows me greater control of headspace and it would have had to be run through the Dillon two times anyway because it needs to be trimmed after being resized. It's easier to resize on the single stage, trim, chamfer, deburr then tumble in corn cob to remove the lube. Then it's ready for the Dillon.

Use the Dillon lube.


I highly recommend Forster dies.


Use the Dillon lube or a lanolin based lube.  I have never had a stuck .308 case.

Sir, +1 to that.  FWIW I like to scrape a bit of Imperial across the case mouth before running it through the sizer die in addition to the case body.  I also use a carbide expander ball to ease the insertion and withdrawal of the decapping assembly from the case mouth.  Both of these steps combined seem to not only ease the resizing process but ensure greater uniformity of shoulder set back by reducing the friction of the expander ball being withdrawn from the case interior.  I recommend either Forester or Redding dies.  HTH, 7zero1.

This. I use the 'scrap my thumb across the top of the case mouth method'. I use Imperial as well and reload primarily LC brass in .308.

The HEET+Lanolin works wonderfully and leaves your hands nice and soft. ;)

LC 308 if it's been shot in a SAW or whatever is _fat_.  I usually have to hit those twice, size it about halfway, then lift up and then size it again the full length.

Honestly given the wear and tear on the die, press, table etc, I'll be paying the premium to get 'ready to load' brass going forward.   I only buy a couple hundred at a time, get 3 or 4 loads out of them then buy another set and save the old set for some future point that I get access to an annealing machine.  My 308 shooting schedule is probably lighter than most.

If all the above fail, try more lube.  .308 can be a bench shaker and now I up the lube.

What kind of lube were you using when it got stuck?  I'm betting myself $50 it was OneShot.