Is my full-length sizing die toast?

[J-B welder]

I was not trying to be rude. I just assumed that most reloaders would have that equipment on hand. I too sometimes will inspect my brass and polish by hand, but in some instances, a tumbler comes in pretty handy if you are doing large batches of brass. Most people that shoot a lot just do not have the time to hand polish their brass and speaking for myself only, I can not stand dirty brass going in my dies or my rifle chambers. Brass inspection is very important, especially when doing load development and checking for pressure signs. You are doing it right, keep doing what you are doing and be safe. I have a lot of money tied up in my equipment and saving money by reloading takes many years to even break even, so I have just always bought what I thought I needed and didn't worry too much about the cost of it.
PS, I have had many years to purchase my equipment also. I started out in the early eighties with hand-me-down equipment from my father.
Enjoy your new hobby and remember that most on here handload for the custom ammo and accuracy that is achieved by doing it themselves. With the price and availability of components in todays markets, it is hard to save money but it is very gratifying.

I do appreciate your concern, as well as the replies from everyone who has offered advice and tried to help with this particular issue. It would appear that the denting problem has been eliminated, but if that turns out not to be the case, I have this thread to look back on for other possible remedies. LOTS of other possible remedies.

This probably isn't the most appropriate website for me to be using, because I'm unlikely to ever be a 600+ yard shooter, probably will never shoot more than 500 rounds a year, and am not interested in making my off-the-shelf gun shoot 1/4 MOA. But there's a lot of knowledge here that members seem willing to share, and I if I choose not to go to the same extremes, then it's on me to live with the performance results I get.

And yes, I have found it gratifying so far, although it's starting to become frustrating because none of the loads that initially seemed accurate are proving to be replicable. Certainly is teaching me patience, if nothing else.

Thanks again to everyone who has offered their thoughts.

 

[misterc01]

One comment - ensure what you do, you do consistently, and document everything. If things go awry, you have a baseline to work from to resolve it.

 

[436]

I have an RCBS full-length .243 caliber full-length sizing die that was given to me by a friend, and I don't think it's been used in quite a while. The first time I used it in the used Reloader Special (1st generation) I have, it dented the shoulder of the cases I was resizing. I was very careful not to get any case lube on the neck or shoulder of the cases, so I don't think that's causing the dents. Just to be sure, I took out the decapping pin and twisted a clean cotton cloth up into the die to remove any substance that might be up there. Still dented the shoulders. Then I looked inside the die with a flashlight, and I could see what looks like a spot or two of rust around the shoulder cone, which seems like it might be what's creating the dents.

Knowing RCBS has a great reputation for standing behind their products, I sent them an email to see if they could do anything to help, and I got this reply: "I am sorry you are experiencing this issue with your die, However we do not cover any rust nor do any service on any item that has rust damage. I hope this information helps. Thank you for contacting RCBS!"

Not a surprise really, but I thought it was worth a shot. My question at this point is, is there anything that can be done with this die, and if there is, is it going to cost more than just buying a new one? Maybe a gunsmith could ream it out lightly? Thanks for any suggestions.

I didn't read all the comments so this may just be a repeat... try some J-B non-embedding bore cleaning compound paste with a drill and applicator don't go overbroad it doesn't take a lot of spinning. I've used this method on some of my older dies and they come out great, like new. Clean the die out with Hoppe's #9 and let dry. Just a shot.

 

[cdoubleu]

You cannot have a gunsmith run a normal reamer in it as a chamber reamer is a larger size than a sizing reamer. Get a 1/2" or 12mm flex hone, 320 or higher grit. It will work on any standard bolt face size die (.473) for cleaning up surface rust/polishing without dimensionally changing it to the point of ruining.

 

[MZmoose]

Polishing out the rust is time consuming and may change the specs of the die, just get a new one.

 

[GatorTrapper]

If I didn't need them, I'd give the OP my my old Lee 243 die set just to kill of this thread where the same ideas have been repeated over and over and over.

 

[J-B welder]

If I didn't need them, I'd give the OP my my old Lee 243 die set just to kill of this thread where the same ideas have been repeated over and over and over.

Oh, please. This is only post #63. There are threads on here that go for weeks with people repeating themselves repeatedly. Use the ignore function.

 

[misterc01]

And here I thought repetition lead to better learning and retention.

 

[Blackhawk]

Cleaned out the die, cleaned out the vent hole, and tried sizing a dozen more cases while being very careful to use a minimal amount of lube. No dents. Not sure whether it was the cleaning or just not using as much lubricant, but either way I appreciate all the suggestions and insight offered. That's what I like so much about this site: lots of people willing to share knowledge and experience to help others out.

I'm really happy that you have solved your die problem!
Congratulations