Reloading - Cases Getting Stuck in Seating Die

Reloading
1

Hand loaded 50 rounds of 223 yesterday. I’ve been using Lapua brass up to this point, but it’s expensive and I wanted to see if I could get the same accuracy and consistency using a cheaper option, so I bought Starline brass to try. All brass is new, unprimed.

The last 6 pieces of brass all got stuck in the seating die. They jiggled lose pretty easily and all measured to correct coal.

  1. Is there any reason to think those last 6 rounds would not be safe to fire? I don’t see any visible damage and appears to be seated correctly, it just got stuck in the die after letting the press handle go up.

  2. How to fix this issue going forward.

    a. Does the die need to be disassembled and cleaned?

    b. Why is it happening? I’ve used case lube for reloads, but never for virgin brass. Should I have been using case lube this whole time before seating?

    c. There’s obviously a big quality difference that’s noticeable between Lapua and the Starline brass. Do I just chalk this up to the Starline brass requiring more prep, even being brand new?

2

Did you take the opportunity to run the new brass through a full length sizing die process?

I always do because I see new brass that has out of round case openings and occasionally find a case that is over SAAMI spec length so it needs trimming. I dry lube the necks during FL sizing, chamfer and de-burr as well.

3

A case getting stuck in the seating die is a bit odd. My concern would be there was something wrong with the neck and it took a lot of force to get the bullet in which could increase pressures.

You shouldn’t need to line the brass to seat the bullet.

4

When is the last time you cleaned the insides of the die? Gunk builds up over time brass particles residual burnt powder etc.