I have a set of RCBS reloading dies for my 204... when I do a full length resize of the brass I constantly bend the Expander-Decapping rod. I have had to replace two of them now... then issue seems to be that if I keep the rod short it doesn't completely punch the primer out and if I lengthen it just enough to get the primer out it seems to bend it after a few rounds...

Any suggestions? Anyone else having this issue?

Thanks David

Are you bending the entire rod or just the decapping pin itself at the end of the rod ???

If it's the entire rod more than likely you've got it set to low and it's bottoming out on the base of the case.
You should be able to lengthen the the pin itself allowing to raise the rod for more clearance.

I'm bending just the decapping pin....

Bent and/or broken pins are usually an alignment issue !!!

Is the pin centered in the die ???

I checked it and rechecked it, even made sure the pin was only 3/16 inch past the die bottom as specified by RCBS... I'm wondering if some of these cases have the primer hole screwed up prior to me resizing and punching the primer? I'm using winchester brass and they are all once fired brass... now you've got me thinking... I'm going to go through all this brass I just resized and see if there are any score marks in the primer flash hole, will also look over the new brass to see if these is any flash hole formation issues with this stuff... maybe some of these flash holes are out of round??

When you set up your die don't tighten the decapping stem until it's in a case and in the primer hole, and like Chambered said the pin should be centered and tight. On the Rcbs dies, the expander collet holds the decap pin stem and if it does hit resistance it will bend or break, thus the reason to have a case fully inside the die and than tighten the decap stem. One good thing about Lee dies is the pin is held by a collet and if it encounters resistance, it will shove the pin upwards.

Another thing you can do with the pins is to take and heat them with a propane torch until cherry red and drop them into a bucket of cold water to quench them.

FYI... I have found several issues with this new brass (Winchester brass) where the flash hole is out of round or has brass filings still hung in the hole.. I'm betting this is what is contributing to the issues...

Old engine oil is better then water. The older and "dirtier" the better.
The carbon in the oil then transfers into the metal and makes it even harder.

I sized/decapped thousands of rounds with my .204 RCBS dies and never had a problem. Always used either Rem or Nosler brass. Man, that Nosler custom brass is so consistent, it's awesome. Really improves the accuracy.

Ominivision1 wrote:

. One good thing about Lee dies is the pin is held by a collet and if it encounters resistance, it will shove the pin upwards. .

He said it, not me, Chambered!

I was gonna say centering issues too but Chambered beat me to it...I was thinking crud in the holder causing misalignment.

the RCBS .223 dies I got this week did not have a centered depriming rod. I noticed is was off just slightly. Had to return.

Fireman_DJ wrote:

Old engine oil is better then water. The older and "dirtier" the better. The carbon in the oil then transfers into the metal and makes it even harder.

You paid attention to your grandpa didn't you? lol

Warnberg wrote:

FYI... I have found several issues with this new brass (Winchester brass) where the flash hole is out of round or has brass filings still hung in the hole.. I'm betting this is what is contributing to the issues...

I always prep new brass with a RCBS primer pocket deburing tool !!!
All cases are trimmed to length first, then use this tool to chamfer/debur the inside of the pocket.

Flash hole de burr on the inside is a good thing to do once in a lifetime for a piece of brass.

i busted some pins on RCBS dies and they sent me a 5 pack and told me to set up the dies like OV1 said tightening it up in the case. no more busted pins...
In adddition to crud in the shell holder - make sure it is the right one.