Sizing die break in?

[ehull20000]

BLUF I'm interested to know if break in is required for a new sizing die.  

 

The long story is as follows.  

 

I just started reloading for my 300 WSM.  The goal of this project is to provide empirical data to determine what barrel length and reamer profile to choose for my next barrel.  Right now I have a cheap take off barrel that will serve it's purpose until the new barrel / reamer combination is decided upon.  

 

I'm trying to push the berger 230 gr hybrid target because of it's high G7 BC.  Later I will experiment with other bullets, but right now I want to focus on the 230 hybrid.  

 

I purchased a set of Lee Pace Setter 300 WSM dies to go with my Challenger press as well as a Lee Reloader press.  My plan was to size my once fired in my rifle Winchester cases with the Challenger and seat with the Reloader so as not to have to mess with the dies.  

 

I made a mistake and didn't clean the inside of the neck where the expander first contacts the case.  I know this now. 

 

I sprayed Hornady One Shot on the case walls and into the case mouths as they sat flat and lined up dress right dress on a paper towel.  I rolled the cases 180 and sprayed again.  This is the same procedure I learned from my dad when I began reloading in high school.  I think this was insufficient lubrication as I got several cases stuck and eventually ruined a very nice die.  I think I can order new parts from Lee to replace what I have messed up, but I need to inspect the inside of the die first.  That is for another time.    

 

I made some phone calls to my brother and two buddies that also reload.  They were not much help.  I did some reading in my manuals, on the internet and watched some YouTube videos.  I inspected my cases for unusual dimensions and found none.  I came to the conclusion that I should try again.  I purchased a Lee Collet Die as well as a Redding Body die.  I cleaned the body die prior to use with solvent and then lightly oiled.  After letting the oil set for a few minutes I wiped off the interior wall as best I could.  I lubed the cases this time with some Lee Resizing lube applied with my fingers to the entire case wall surface and encountered a great deal of pressure both going in and coming out of the die.  I should mention that I was not seeing any movement of the shoulder as measured with a Hornady Lock-n-Load Straight O.A.L. gauge measured at the .420 datum on the shoulder.  There was so much pressure that I was again very concerned with getting a stuck case so I stepped back and did a few more hours of reading.  

 

Somewhere along the way I decided to give the die another shot.  I had tried many variation of how far the die was screwed in ranging from touching the shell holder plus one turn to backing off two turns.  I marked the top of the die with a Sharpie to better eyeball these adjustments.  I finally settled on touching plus one - two turns and lowering the ram in stages.  I don't know why or how, but finally it worked without significant pressure and the shoulder was moving back!  Sweet sweet success!  

 

I have now sized my brass and moved the shoulder back about .001-.002 from the chamber walls.  I'm still completely unsure of why the die suddenly worked.  One thing I can imagine is maybe the die needed some break in with my particular cases and lube, but I'm unsure of this.  Does anyone here have a method for breaking in a new sizing die?

[gregintenn]

No break in needed, but I would suggest taking the new die apart and cleaning the cutting oil/metal dust from it's inside before using.

 

I have great luck with the Lee wax paste lube. I get a dot on my finger, rub it on the  sides of the cartridge, avoiding the shoulder and neck. Then I'll dab just a light touch to the mouth of the case of every 4th or 5th shell. Resize, and wipe off with a rag.

 

I've never stuck a case in a Lee sizing die, but I have pulled the neck sizing button out of a few. All you need to do is reinstall it.

[Caster]

THE WSM cartridges are a bugger to size in the first place.  Fat case tapered to a tiny neck in comparison to the body.

 

No break in required though, but as Greg already pointed out, all new dies need an enema before being out to use.  

[ehull20000]

Oops, sorry about posting this in the wrong forum.  I'll pay more attention in the future.  

 

Thanks for the input, I'll try cleaning the dies better next time.  Two questions for each of you.

 

What do you use to clean dies?  

 

After cleaning what do you apply to prevent corrosion?

[gregintenn]

 

What do you use to clean dies?

Take out the depriming rod/neck sizer and pull a rag through.

 

After cleaning what do you apply to prevent corrosion?

Nothing inside. Wipe fingerprints off and wipe down with an oily rag; much like a gun.

[Caster]

Carb cleaner.  Spray the crap out of it, scrub it out with whatever is handy but not abrasive.  Don't much worry about corrosion as case lube will be in there in short order.  I don't want any spray lubes in there that might make hydraulic dents in the shoulder.  

[Jonnin]

Oops, sorry about posting this in the wrong forum.  I'll pay more attention in the future.  

 

Thanks for the input, I'll try cleaning the dies better next time.  Two questions for each of you.

 

What do you use to clean dies?  

 

After cleaning what do you apply to prevent corrosion?

 

cleaning depends on what is wrong with it.  A new one, I would spray a paper towel with rem oil and jack it thru a few times, wadded up so as to be a very tight, difficult to push thru friction cleaning.    The first go can be loose fit to get the big pieces out.     Then dry patch it to get the oil off.   From there going forward, if you don't touch it a lot inside,  case lube will get on it and protect it during use cycles.   Cleaning after use ...  it depends on what you have going on.  I have bits of lead in mine, and some soot from case insides,  occasional brass scrapings from cases that had a burr or something, etc and I give em the new die treatment every so often.   If you don't load lead and are not getting anything else major inside, you can probably do a minor wipeout now and then to get rid of excess case lube and such.   It just depends on what it looks like how much you need to do.   Mine get kind of nasty after 1k or so rounds.

[ehull20000]

Right on.  Carb cleaner and some light oiling before storage sounds like the best plan.  I recall reading in one of my reloading books a fella recommended car wax to keep corrosion from showing up.  I might give that a try too.  

 

I'm thinking a shotgun bore brush would be the ticket for cleaning the inside of the die.  No lead for me so I think I'll be good there.

 

Thanks for the help.   

[Grunt67]

Never heard of breaking in a die. As Greg posted, clean the gunk out inside & out, you're good to go. Periodically cleaning doesn't hurt either.

[Sunfish]

(300 WSM) once fired in your rifle. I would go with neck sizer as your brass will last much longer and should be more accurate. Dies are generally much harder than anything your going to push into them. Grit is not your friend