Sometimes you should quit while you’re ahead. I’ve been dreading pulling 40 rounds due to incorrect head space on the brass. I had a little extra time and decided to pull them today. Afterwards, I still had a little time, so I decided to start re-sizing them….
To make a long story short(er), since I never tumbled or wiped them off after sizing/loading them a few months ago, I figured they’d have enough one-shot left on them to size. They even felt a little “slimy”.
The first ten went through the press no problem, and then, you guessed it, one stuck real good. I pulled up on the handle hard, and the rim ripped off the case.
I was supremely lucky, because I had pulled the de-priming stem out before I started sizing, since I just needed to push the shoulders back not de-prime. This enabled me to stick a “punch” through the die body to hammer the case out. After a few failed attempts, and one smashed thumb nail, I grabbed a couple old drill bits and was able to knock out the case. I’m sure this wasn’t the best idea, but it got the job done without nicking or damaging the inside of the die.
Afterwards I cleaned and lubed the inside of the die and re-lubed the remaining cases. The rest of the sizing was uneventful, and I learned another valuable lesson for the reloading bench. Good grief…