Lee 300 BO Dies not Putting Shoulder Low Enough?

[Divemasterphil]

I'm completely new to the 300 BO, but not to reloading in general. I not sure I have a die issue or if I'm doing something wrong. Here's what I've done so far:

1st I'm using once fired brass that was prep'd for 223/5.56 use

2nd, I used a cutoff saw to a length close to 1.375

3rd, I deburred

4th, Prep'd with Dillon Case lube

5th, Sized in Dillon XL650 with sizing die grounded to shell plate

And last, trim to 1.363 with Worlds Finest trimmer

And here my issue, they're failing the Sheridan Case Gauge. Use a mic the shoulder is .030 high (per sierra webpage, 1.102". There's no more adjustment so I'm kind of out of ideas.

I have some pictures and will post as soon as I figure out how

Thanks, Phil

[Jeremy]

Brass formed from a lee die not fitting in the sheridan gauge and chambers is a common problem. My first set of 300 dies were Lee and couldn't get them within spec, changed to the RCBS 300 dies and haven't had a problem since. I read a thread a few months ago about someone contacting Lee about it and getting the runaround. It's too bad because I usually don't have any problems with Lee dies.

Before you throw out the dies just double check that you are not using European brass, it tends to be too thick and not form the shoulder correctly.

[Divemasterphil]

Brass is FC 223/Federal, R-P 223/guessing Remington and Lake City.

Might just have to machine a mill of the bottom of this die.

I started using lee dies after I got sick of the Dillon Dies shooting spent primes all over the floor (9mm).

Thank for the reply

[AR-300]

mill the shell holder, not the die
what type of brass?

viewtopic.php?f=141&t=82732

[Divemasterphil]

It's a 5 station progressive press so milling the shell plate is almost impossible for me to do.

Most the cases are LC.

Phil

[Overton-AR]

You need to get a new size die. I had the same issue with my Lee dies.
There are several dies that just don't set low enough in a Dillon 650. I have
the same machine.....you need a Forester full length size die. They are
available at Midway for about $35 and they are awesome. They set the
should back to the proper depth and they don't leave that "funny smudge"
ring that my Lee dies left. The Lee dies actually stopped sizing about .25"
above the case head groove. I could see a "smudge" there on about 75%
of my cases.

The Forester is much better and worth the investment.

[davenc]

I had the same problem with my Lee die. I used a precision grinder at work to take material off the bottom of the die and that fixed the shoulder problem but that wasn't the only area where the Lee dies were out. The dia just below the shoulder was also .002 larger than the max and the rounds were getting stuck in the chamber. I sent samples of brass and the die back explaining what I found and got a $19 gift certificate that I lost btw. I bought a set of hornady dies that I'm using on my Loadmaster and they work great, I just pumped out 600 rounds.

[Divemasterphil]

I did finally grind about .050" off and got them to work. $30 for Lee die I guess I shouldn't have expected much and it was quick fix.

I loaded 100 round of Sierra 125grain with H110 at 18 grains. Blew out primers and had to failure to eject types.

At 25yds the three round groups all touched.


Thanks You All

[BobbyG]

I did finally grind about .050" off and got them to work. $30 for Lee die I guess I shouldn't have expected much and it was quick fix.

Thanks You All

WOW! .050 is a lot of material to remove from the face of any reloading die and suggests that Lee's quality control is out of control.

[exx1976]

I did finally grind about .050" off and got them to work. $30 for Lee die I guess I shouldn't have expected much and it was quick fix.

I loaded 100 round of Sierra 125grain with H110 at 18 grains. Blew out primers and had to failure to eject types.

At 25yds the three round groups all touched.


Thanks You All

Blew out primers? Are you sure your brass is in spec? H110 is the same thing as WIN 296, which is what I'm using. I run 18.3gr under a 125smk. Also, fc223 is federal cartridge civilian ammo. Lake city is 556 and it will say LC with a 2 digit year (so like LC 10) and have a NATO cross on it. No caliber designation.

I use LC 10 for my blackout brass, with cci 41 primers. What oal are you using? Mine are.. 2.210 IIRC? Whatever spec is in the Sierra manual is what I'm currently using. Also, the Sierra manual lists 18.3gr as the max for H110, so if you are blowing primers with 18gr, I'd double check your brass prep.