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Why is it very hard to get expander and powder funnel back out of case?

There are two situations that create this problem. The first is one seems to be associated with the Dillon powder funnel and only a couple of calibers (45 Auto and 40 S&W). The land for expanding case mouth is too long and when you begin to bell mouth the bottom of expander gets into the thicker taper of case and wedges causing it to be very hard to get back out. They have modified several by increasing radius on end and slightly shortening expanding land and this eliminated the problem completely. Call Starline and they will take care of it if you wish. One other cause can be a burr at case mouth created by the final trim operation, which grabs onto expander as it comes back up. This situation does not often appear and can be fixed by deburring case mouth or inside lubing cases.

Is Trimming Handgun Brass Necessary? Why is Starline, Inc. brass shorter than the trim-to-length in their reloading manual?

• Trim-to-lengths given in most manuals often confuse people if they are unsure of their actual purpose. Most manuals generate their own trim-to-lengths from SAAMI maximum cartridge drawings. They usually pick a number just below the SAAMI maximum and state this as the recommended trim-to-length. Depending on specific caliber, some cases will shrink and others will grow when fired and reloaded. The trim-to-length is trying to say: "If case is longer than trim-to-length, then trim back to this." The confusion comes in when people purchase new brass and want to trim it back to trim-to-length stated in the manual. One must understand that a manufacturer will not produce cases at maximum length and that they as manufacturers must have a reasonable tolerance to work with. 

• Most people do not wish to trim brass, so at Starline, Inc., they operate a tolerance of .005 below SAAMI maximum and that window ranges from .003 to .010 below, depending on the caliber. All auto-feeding cartridges are held within .004, and revolver normally is within .005. The trim-to-length they recommend for peak performance is a variation of no more than .005 and length within .010 of published trim-to-lengths, but never exceeding trim-to-lengths. Remember, consistency in length relating to consistent crimp is more important than all cases being the same length as the trim-to-length in manuals, assuming it is not too long.