[Woodsey495]

Has Anyone Here Ever Have Any Problems With The Hornady 357 Magnum Carbide Sizer Die ???
This Is The Toughest Sizer Die I've Ever Used .. I've Never Had To Use Two Hand's On The Ram Rod Before Just Resizing Brass .. Clean Brass At That .. It Is A Little Better With Case Lube But Not Much ... Took It Apart And Cleaned It Also To Check And See If Anything Out Of Ordinary But All Is Fine ... Dies Are Roughly 3 Years Old And About 2 Grand Of Brass Through Them ... Not Even Really Broken In Yet .. Any Suggestions ???

Just Would Like Your Honest Opinion ...

Thanks

 

[Rugerfan57]

I'll be interested in any feedback you get on this issue. I have three sets of Hornady dies but not the .357. No problems with mine so far,

 

[NebRugerFan]

I've been using the same set of Hornady 38/357 dies for almost thirty years and have never had a problem. Are you using the Custom Grade line or the American Series? I believe both carry a lifetime warranty. A call to Hornady may be in order.

 

[brnwlms]

So question, the force required seems excessive. Is that a change, or have they always been that way?

 

[DaddyO66]

Sounds like they may be a bit tight.

 

[Woodsey495]

So question, the force required seems excessive. Is that a change, or have they always been that way?

Brnwlms ... It's Definitely A Change ... I Just Used Them Last Week And No Problems .. I Had To Lube Each Single Case ... But Towards The Last 20 Case's It Started Letting Up To We're It Was Working Normal Again .... I Thought Maybe Build Up ... But I Clean My Dies After Every Setting ... No Oil Of Course ... Just Wipe Down And A Cotton Swab Inside Around The Inside ... I Don't Understand It

 

[brnwlms]

How about the brass? Was it your brass? Fired in a gun that you have reloaded brass out of before? Was it every piece of brass or every sixth piece?

 

[Woodsey495]

How about the brass? Was it your brass? Fired in a gun that you have reloaded brass out of before? Was it every piece of brass or every sixth piece?

Brnwlms ... My Brass ... Shot Out Of My GP100 ...
2nd Time Reloads ...
It Was Really Tough Through The First 30 Or So .. Then It Eased Up A Good Bit ... But Nothing Like It Should Be .. At Least I Don't Think So Anyways ... I Lubed Every Case Up Until The Last Case ... The First Case I Almost Didn't Get Back Out ... That's When I Stopped And Tore The Die Down To Inspect And Clean ... But Nothing ..
Found Nothing ... No Dents ... No Scar's ... No Abnormal Wear ... I Just Don't Understand It ... Last Week I Did Up About 100 Cases ... No Problems ... No Lube ...

 

[biquer]

Just a thought…
Even though your brass was clean, perhaps some dirt got in the die. It might not take very much to gum things up. You might do a thorough cleaning with a good solvent followed by a wipe with lint-free cloth as best you can.

 

[trainking]

Woodsey495,

This is a total SWAG, but do you have something binding the ram on your press? The reason I ask is if I don't clean / wipe down the ram on my rockchucker every so often, it gets sticky for the lack of a better word. I know if a sliver of brass works its way into the primer catch area? it can start binding. It is just a thought. Otherwise, damned if I know.

 

[JohnnyDollar]

I run several Hornady dies, and the only time I have had any resistance as you describe is when the ram needed cleaning or the die needed cleaning. But never that much force needed.
Does everything move freely when you have no case on the ram?

 

[tronicst1]

Do you have the ability to try a different Sizer Die ?
Does your Sizer Die have a Decapper in it, if so try it without the Decapper in it ?
What does the brass measure, is it extra big for some reason ?
Does the expended brass come out of the cylinder OK ?

 

[GTO]

You should be asking these questions to Hornady. Their customer service is pretty good from my experiance.

 

[DirtyShirt]

I didn't even know he was sick.....

 

[exex]

Never had a problem with Hornady 38/357 sizer on a Hornady press in 15 years. Like you say, really weird to happen all of a sudden. Hornady press? Progressive press where something moving got worn or a new piece put on? Hate it when stuff just happens: mostly because when I figure it out it's some little thing I changed and forgot that I did it

Lots of good things to try posted above. Asking Hornady would be worth your time once you give up on DIY.

Spitballing here: Do you just dry-tumble brass? I've read that at least with some steel dies (NOT carbide), wet-tumbling brass really clean could cause them to stick a little.

Nebarsa-resident commercial break: My favorite cleaner/lube, especially where a dry lube is better, is Hornady OneShot Gun Cleaner and Lube. I use it on firearms on initial cleaning and occasionally after that, but always on my reloading dies and presses. Probably won't help as much on the carbide part of the 38/357 die, but good for press moving parts. Won't contaminate anything gun-related and is resistant to getting gummed up.

 

[Robert70]

Has Anyone Here Ever Have Any Problems With The Hornady 357 Magnum Carbide Sizer Die ???
This Is The Toughest Sizer Die I've Ever Used .. I've Never Had To Use Two Hand's On The Ram Rod Before Just Resizing Brass .. Clean Brass At That .. It Is A Little Better With Case Lube But Not Much ... Took It Apart And Cleaned It Also To Check And See If Anything Out Of Ordinary But All Is Fine ... Dies Are Roughly 3 Years Old And About 2 Grand Of Brass Through Them ... Not Even Really Broken In Yet .. Any Suggestions ???

Just Would Like Your Honest Opinion ...

Thanks

Is that only w/357mag brass? As with any reloading press that uses a 'ram', Once a year I clean & prep my reloaders with fine steel wool, clean again and dress with a very light coating of dry moly lube. Doing this keeps the 'presses rolling'.

 

[Vin]

Lube the ram of your press, see if that makes a difference.

 

[Uncle Grinch]

This is a real interesting and puzzling thread. I’ve got a few Hornady die sets and just ordered another (9.3x57) ,but it hasn’t arrived yet.
Got another question. The OP thread also puzzles me. Anyone notice that the first letter of every word is capitalized. That makes it hard for me to read.

 

[bubba68]

Got another question. The OP thread also puzzles me. Anyone notice that the first letter of every word is capitalized. That makes it hard for me to read.

Never noticed it until you mentioned it. Don't focus on the capital letter at the beginning of each word and it shouldn't bother you any.

 

[gwpercle]

The problem I had wasn't with rifle die set but with pistol Die sizer , the set was 41 Magnum ... not a carbide die with a ring of carbide but a special carbide hard " Nitride finish " ... the finish was supposed to let you resize like a carbide "ring" die but to be honest the "finish" just didn't live up to the advertisement hype . I ended up lubricating the cases , with STP like case lube and sizing them ... if not ... I was afraid of sticking a case . To this day I use it like a "steel" sizer die
This was a few years ago ... I had hoped the "Nitride Finish" had been replaced or improved ... but maybe not .
Gary