Thread: Dud Hornady Die?

wondering if anyone can help with this, i went to use a brand new set of hornady 6.5x55 dies and the full length body die was so tight that i had to use some serious force to size the case and then on removal i had to bang down the handle with a lot more force

that was on a hornady case so then tried a norma case and had the same issue, except this time the removal of the die ended up bending the decapping pin on the way out. in both cases there was some damage to the neck of the case

the force is required at the last stage of the press, which i think is the shoulder/body sizing stage. has anyone seen this before or could they suggest what the issue might be? i haven't tried the seating die that came with it but assuming that is ok.

i doubt it is a case lube issue, my dies for other calibres work like they should with the same lube application

and do i toss it out?

Can you take it back to the seller (retailer) under warranty? That would be my first suggestion.

Yes, had same issue with 270wsm full length die, ended up definitely being the die, can't remember if it was an RCBS die or hornady but got a new RCBS one anyhow and works fine

Year it happens just had the same sort of issues with a lee quick trim die

Have you followed their instructions and cleaned with a solvent before use to remove the protective internal coating.

Have had the same issues with 3x Hornady FL dies. I'm not sure if the make them to really squeeze the brass back down excessively or what, but I hate them, it feels like I'm gonna rip my press off the bench. Just horrid compared to Lee, Redding and RCBS that I've used.

i will do as i get a fair bit of kit off the retailer, but i've goes and ordered a set of reddings from someone else as hear they are better quality

Originally Posted by timattalon

Can you take it back to the seller (retailer) under warranty? That would be my first suggestion.

interesting, the other 3 sets i have are firm and need a bit of leverage but nothing like this one. did yours sustain any damage?

Originally Posted by Beavis

Have had the same issues with 3x Hornady FL dies. I'm not sure if the make them to really squeeze the brass back down excessively or what, but I hate them, it feels like I'm gonna rip my press off the bench. Just horrid compared to Lee, Redding and RCBS that I've used.

my hornady does the same. Scared the press is going to come off the bench. I use a heap of lube now.

Originally Posted by LOC

interesting, the other 3 sets i have are firm and need a bit of leverage but nothing like this one. did yours sustain any damage?

No damage. But there has been a few times I have been worried I am going to rip the case head off trying to get expander ball back through the neck. I took the expander ball out and found that it excessively resizes the neck. Seating a projectile in such a case was difficult and the projectile bulged the neck out. I think they size way to aggressively and the expander has to do alot of work to open the neck back up. With my redding dies I just screw the expander button off and run the case through without it with great results.

I had a .308 one which sized ok without excessive pressure but projectiles fell out. Finally I micked the expander button .311! Took it back we measured the 5 sets they had in stock and I ended up with a Lee set and some change.

Originally Posted by LOC

wondering if anyone can help with this, i went to use a brand new set of hornady 6.5x55 dies and the full length body die was so tight that i had to use some serious force to size the case and then on removal i had to bang down the handle with a lot more force

that was on a hornady case so then tried a norma case and had the same issue, except this time the removal of the die ended up bending the decapping pin on the way out. in both cases there was some damage to the neck of the case

the force is required at the last stage of the press, which i think is the shoulder/body sizing stage. has anyone seen this before or could they suggest what the issue might be? i haven't tried the seating die that came with it but assuming that is ok.

i doubt it is a case lube issue, my dies for other calibres work like they should with the same lube application

and do i toss it out?

Attachment 77662

Silly question but the die is set correctly, the decapping pin base is not hitting the web before the end of the stroke or something?

yeah not that I could tell, i had it backed quite a long way out. same setup as the rest of the dies i use although i'm pretty inexperienced at knowing what goes on in there

Polish the F$%k out of the expander both my Hornady dies had expander balls that were more grippy than slippery

Originally Posted by mikee

Polish the F$%k out of the expander both my Hornady dies had expander balls that were more grippy than slippery

ok can try that. is it possible to straighten the pin or replace it?