davsco Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 (edited) loading 38 super on a dillon 750. using a dillon crimping die, new starline brass and .356 zero jhp's. as the round comes out of (down from) the crimping die, it sticks/catches enough that powder shakes out of the round coming down from the powder die. at first, i thought it was the powder/expander catching but it's def the crimping die. i have to run a chamber brush thru the expander crimping die roughly every 20 rounds and then zero sticking again for a bit. honestly i haven't removed that die to see what's in there (ie is it shavings from the bullet or case) just because i don't want to have to set it up again... the finished rounds look, case gauge, and shoot fine. just a pita to have to snake out the crimping die somewhat frequently. any ideas? thanks! Edited June 22, 2023 by davsco said wrong die... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddc Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 17 minutes ago, davsco said: loading 38 super on a dillon 750. using a dillon crimping die, new starline brass and .356 zero jhp's. as the round comes out of (down from) the crimping die, it sticks/catches enough that powder shakes out of the round coming down from the powder die. at first, i thought it was the powder/expander catching but it's def the crimping die. i have to run a chamber brush thru the expander die roughly every 20 rounds and then zero sticking again for a bit. honestly i haven't removed that die to see what's in there (ie is it shavings from the bullet or case) just because i don't want to have to set it up again... the finished rounds look, case gauge, and shoot fine. just a pita to have to snake out the crimping die somewhat frequently. any ideas? thanks! I'm a little confused... you suspect the crimping die but have only cleaned your expanding die, not the crimping die? I think you are going to have to disassemble the crimping die, clean and inspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davsco Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 23 minutes ago, ddc said: I'm a little confused... you suspect the crimping die but have only cleaned your expanding die, not the crimping die? I think you are going to have to disassemble the crimping die, clean and inspect. yeah said the wrong die, fixed original post, thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Could it be due to excessive crimp? Shouldn't be any more that .002 less than the bullet diameter + brass thickness. Basically, just enough to remove the flare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterj Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 0.356” is fine for 38ACP 0.355” is standard for 38 Super Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HesedTech Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 8 hours ago, davsco said: as the round comes out of (down from) the crimping die, it sticks/catches enough that powder shakes out of the round coming down from the powder die. Get your dremel out with a buffing end and polish the inside of the die. Also check the die for horizontal machining marks. One other thing, make sure you haven’t over belled the brass. I learned that can cause problems at the crimp die. A tell tale sign is brass shavings near it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davsco Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 27 minutes ago, HesedTech said: Get your dremel out with a buffing end and polish the inside of the die. Also check the die for horizontal machining marks. One other thing, make sure you haven’t over belled the brass. I learned that can cause problems at the crimp die. A tell tale sign is brass shavings near it. yup, there are minute brass shavings, almost like dust. i don't think i'm expanding too much but will check the spec's. i did slightly increase the belling when i originally thought the sticking problem was the case sticking on the powder nipple. i will note that spritzing inside the crimp die with one-shot every primer reload (100 rounds) seems to have removed the sticking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 18 hours ago, davsco said: yup, there are minute brass shavings, almost like dust. i don't think i'm expanding too much but will check the spec's. i did slightly increase the belling when i originally thought the sticking problem was the case sticking on the powder nipple. i will note that spritzing inside the crimp die with one-shot every primer reload (100 rounds) seems to have removed the sticking. I had a crimp die that was tight and rough inside. I took a bore mop of a larger caliber, slathered on some Mothers mag wheel polish, chucked it in the drill press and polished away. Only took a few minutes and it smoothed it right up. Just for the heck of it take a handful of brass and chamfer the outside mouths of them and see how they go through. So many have a burr on the edges even after several loadings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysrracer Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 Are you lubing your cases? The crimp die is easy to remove and easy to set up. Take a Sharpie and draw a line on it. Clean it out. If you're wet tumbling your brass with pins, it's sticking in the powder expander. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 Opening Post stated that you are using 'new starline brass'... did you tumble the brass before loading ? This gets rid of minute brass dust that can stick to dies during the reloading process. I used to tumble new brass for an hour, there should be no need to lube new brass as long as it's tumbled first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysrracer Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 58 minutes ago, BritinUSA said: I used to tumble new brass for an hour, there should be no need to lube new brass as long as it's tumbled first. No need to, but why not make it easier on yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyScuba Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 (edited) New starline 38supercomp brass is HORRIBLE to load. On my Revo I have to crank up the clutch and she’s not a happy camper. When I’m going to load new starline again I’ll resize(??) it as a separate stand alone step on my automated 650 after washing it. - the cases come out nasty and oily if you don’t. is this normal for starline brass? Edited June 25, 2023 by MikeyScuba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, MikeyScuba said: New starline 38supercomp brass is HORRIBLE to load. On my Revo I have to crank up the clutch and she’s not a happy camper. When I’m going to load new starline again I’ll resize(??) it as a separate stand alone step on my automated 650 after washing it. - the cases come out nasty and oily if you don’t. is this normal for starline brass? It seems to have a coating on it either from the last process or as a tarnish preventer. And like I said above there’s that sharp edge on the mouth. The sizer and expander just rolls it over but it’s like sizing and loading brass that’s .001-.002” thicker in that area. Edited June 25, 2023 by Farmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted June 26, 2023 Share Posted June 26, 2023 On 6/23/2023 at 8:16 AM, scooterj said: 0.356” is fine for 38ACP 0.355” is standard for 38 Super No, thats just wrong... .356 is standard... Some MFG streamlined and are using .355,, but that doesnt change the standard any more than some using .308 for 7.62X39 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davsco Posted June 26, 2023 Author Share Posted June 26, 2023 19 hours ago, BritinUSA said: Opening Post stated that you are using 'new starline brass'... did you tumble the brass before loading ? This gets rid of minute brass dust that can stick to dies during the reloading process. I used to tumble new brass for an hour, there should be no need to lube new brass as long as it's tumbled first. the whole reason i'm buying new expensive brass is to NOT have to do any extra work! so no, i haven't been tumbling. i was lubing with one-shot in a bag but stopped that. i am not running them thru a sizing die. the cases have stuck a little in the crimp die with and without lubing them. i will remove and try to clean up/smooth out the crimp die. but spritzing it every 100 rounds or so seems to have reduced the sticking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 New brass does that. Sticks to everything (although mostly the expander/dropper IME). Hit them with the one-shot and try to get some on the inside. Chuck 'em into a 99-cent plastic shoebox, give 'em a light spray, shake, repeat and dump into casefeeder. Either .355" or .356" work fine. Pick whichever your barrel likes. Hornady splits the difference and claims the the HAPs are .3555" (To be pedantic, the SAAMI spec for .38 Super is .356"-.006 so any bullet down to .350" would be "in spec."-- more modern rounds are usually -.003" so still g2g down to .353") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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