It sounds as though your brass needs re-annealed, its work hardened from loading-firing cycles. Brass can be miserable stuff, the harder it gets the more it resists changing shape. Its the main reason for split necks, they generally take the most beating firing and resizing.
When or how often to anneal? It depends on the brass and how much its worked. I have a batch of R-P 280 brass that needs annealed after two cycles otherwise I run the risk ripping the press off the bench pulling the expander back through the neck. After annealing the expander pulls through and bullets seat smoothly with only moderate resistance.
A bushing or a Lee collet die can reduce the amount a neck is worked, but it depends how much they reduce the neck OD after being expanded to the chamber after firing.
Lubing the inside of the necks isn't the answer, it doesn't fix the problem, it masks it kind of like the old '50s- '60s trick putting sawdust in a manual transmission with bad bearings to quiet it down!
Bill
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