Stuck cases?

[Gold Cup .45]

I just bought some " Lee carbide dies", that I seem to get stuck cases with. If these are carbide, why the stuck cases? I am using 9mm, and getting stuck.. I brought the first set back, and they gave me another set, and told me they are carbide dies. I also noticed some black grease inside the size die. I cleaned it out, and started over with reloading....15-20 rounds later, the new die stuck a case again?

[versifier]

Hi Gold Cup, welcome. That shouldn't be happening with carbide dies. I can think of two possibilities. The first is dirty cases (really dirty, gritty). That will ruin carbide dies. The other is not so common but much more serious - oversized chamber. What are you shooting your 9mm's in and what kind of barrel does it have? Measure your cases before and after shooting at the web and the neck and compare the numbers. I have sized many, many thousands of 9mm cases through both RCBS and Lee carbide dies without a hiccup, and the odds against you getting two sets of bad dies approach astronomical, still, I guess that might be a third possibility. Either way, your next step is to do some measuring.

[kg42]

Also:

Carbide dies have a carbide ring clearly visible in the resizing die's body, only.

Are you sure all your cases are made of brass? Are they all the same brand? How do you clean them?

Another thing is that the 9 Luger is a tapered case, and you don't need to full size it for proper chambering (it could actually overwork the case head).

Just in case, if these stuck cases happen in the second die, you need to chamfer them slightly (inside); that's the only worry I have with LEE's 9mm dies.

And, are you sure the shop gave you dies in the right caliber ?

kg

[Ross]

Carbide dies in Luger and .30 Carbine really should be lightly lubed. The case taper keeps them from working like straight walled cases, and they bind.
Tapered cases are accommodated in the carbide ring by making the base small enough that the mouth will grip the bullet, rather like a small-base die.
If you find one of the uncommon full-length carbide dies it will come with the instruction to lube.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross