Reloading .22 Hornet won't go fully into decaping die

[Trapperpete52]

I am fairly new and green as a gourd to reloading I bought a handi rifle in 22 Hornet and have been shooting factory ammo to build up my brass stash. I have winchester as well as PPU brass. I also have 2 sets of dies Lee as well as RCBS in 22 Hornet. Using Dillon one shot for lube. A rock chucker supreme press. When first starting the case into the die it is stiffer then when doing my 45 colt rounds then stops about 3/16" from going the full stroke and is as stiff pulling it back out. The Lee die will most times pull the decap rod out of the nut as well. They seem to eject well on the first firing as will toss then over your shoulder when breaking it open. I have reloaded .223 and is a walk in the park compared to the hornet.

[DesertDug]

Might try cleaning dies with brake cleaner, and or make sure you have lots of lube on the case. Just some thoughts.

[Stumpkiller]

If you pull out the expander/decapper stem completely does it allow you to fully close the press? You may have it set too deep.

I have got to the punt in my reloading that I use a universal decapper, resize, and then a separate K&M Expander. Gives (me) more consistent results

[Trapperpete52]

Tried without the pin in and same results. Measured the neck before and after fired as well as where it stopped and both grew .004 I cleaned with wipe out the foaming cleaner. By the 2nd patch was nothing showing on it. You can feel the lube on the casing as it is tacky to the touch.

[Stumpkiller]

Lets back up. Without a case you have the decapping die screwed in so that the press bottoms out. But with a case you cannot fully close . . . even without the decapping pin/cherry?

Hmmmmm.

I have reloaded the .22 Hornet and it is a toughie. My dilemma was collapsing necks. In your case it's either got to be you're not lubing the cases well enough or not willing to put your weight into the press arm. Way more force than a straight walled pistol but it shouldn't be much different from the .223 Rem. I can't imagine any case where the .22 Hornet brass would hold up enough to "pull the decap rod out of the nut as well" without first stripping the brass rim off the case.

Do you mean the decapping pin is coming out of the expander or the steel threads of the die nut holding the decaying rod are stripping out?

I don't know a thing about PPU brass but I could see if the primer hole is off center it might grab the pin.

PPU Brass is Boxer primer, isn't it?

[Trapperpete52]

Dummy here. Put a drop of the heavy RCBS lube on the expander and it cured everything. Still don't make sense to me but it is working now. Thanks for heading me in the right direction.

[GaryB]

Glad to see you got it worked out. I use case neck brushes like these...

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/643384/rcbs-case-neck-brush-small-22-to-25-caliber

They help a lot.

[Trapperpete52]

Ran 75 rounds through without a hitch. Lubed the inside of about every 4th round with a small drop of the RCBS lube. I will for sure be getting a set of the inside brushes as well. Thanks again to all that helped me along.

[Stumpkiller]

You go, Trapper!

My absolute favorite is Redding Imperial lube applied carefully by fingertip and wiped off with a cotton rag after.

You don't need much, but you need enough. ;-)

[bsekf]

Might want some "white" scotch brite and polish the expander plug.

Bill

[Three44s]

Dummy here. Put a drop of the heavy RCBS lube on the expander and it cured everything. Still don't make sense to me but it is working now. Thanks for heading me in the right direction.

You are no ones fool! Kudos on figuring out your problem. I load 22 Hornet and 22k Hornet but I was stumped and as such reluctant to post on your thread in the quest of not looking foolish!

Everyone of us here could likely write our own chapter on FUBAR’s at reloading .... especially like me who has loaded since the fall of ‘75.

A belated welcome to the forum and to handloading!

Three44s

[Robinhood]

Everyone of us here could likely write our own chapter on FUBAR’s at reloading .... especially like me who has loaded since the fall of ‘75.

No kidding. The biggest FUBAR's where when I was in a hurry.