Wilson seat stem modification

[mike a]

Has anyone tried j/b weld or something to make the stem fit the bullet? I'm getting a ring on my VDLs. Also while I'm here, virgin 6.5 creed brass over my new k&m expander is really tight. Standard case lubes not good enough. (Suggestions). Moving up in the world, Lapua 6.5 creed brass, Berger bullets. Just like the big boys.

 

[Tiratore]

Wilson will supply a VLD "drift." (that's what they call the part that touches the bullet) for relevant calibers. Give them a call. That said, it didn't work too well for me on the Sierra 39 grain 20 caliber bullets, but dusting the neck ID with graphite did. If anything, velocity SD improved. Don't know if it will work for your application.

I am hesitant to try the epoxy remedy, but am told that if you use a bullet seated in the cartridge, and are generous with the release agent, it works OK.

Tiratore

 

[mike a]

Yes I have heard of using dry neck lube. Graphite you say. Any special kind/brand?

 

[Sniper338]

I get rings like this on my 22 250 AI... havent had time to mess with it. Seating tension isnt horrible. But the stem messes them up..

 

[Lapua40X]

View attachment 1006394
I get rings like this on my 22 250 AI... ....

OMG; how much neck tension are you running on that load?

 

[Tiratore]

Graphite - just the messy black dry stuff from the hardware store. I put it in an air rifle pellet tin about half full of #9 shot. Wiggle the case down in amongst the shot and out it comes lightly dusted with graphite.

Tiratore

 

[Preacher]

That ring is caused by to much neck tension !!!!!!
A different stem will not solve that problem...
You really need to check your neck diameter for that chamber..

 

[Fotheringill]

Maybe not. I woke up one morning at 3:30 am and started to seat. It was really tight and had HPBT rounds. After seating two, I saw similar damage. I was using the neck sizing die and not the seater. I don't want to say anyone is as stupid as I am, but OP, please make sure you are using the seating die.

 

[Iowa Fox]

For some reason I've had all kinds of problems with my Wilson seater leaving rings, both regular & vld stem. Using a 7/8 x14 regular seating die no other changes and no rings. I think its because of the bullet design and pressure coming from the top down vs holding the bullet with the 7/8x14 press dies with the ram pushing the case up to seat the bullet. My next step is going to be my K&M tappered reamer and reduce neck tension. If I still get an ugly ring the Wilson is going to get tossed into the box of not used stuff.

 

[edw]

One method I use to get a perfect fit to my seating stem is to take my favorite bullet and chuck it in a drill. Take the seating stem out of the die. Put Isso paste on the bullet and burnish the stem at a moderate speed. When your done the bullet will fit perfectly with no ring marks. The bullet on the other hand that was used as a tool will have to be thrown away.

 

[mike a]

View attachment 1006394
I get rings like this on my 22 250 AI... havent had time to mess with it. Seating tension isnt horrible. But the stem messes them up..

I said it makes a ring not the rings of Saturn. That's bullet abuse. Someone call BPS Bullt Protective Services.

View attachment 1006394
I get rings like this on my 22 250 AI... havent had time to mess with it. Seating tension isnt horrible. But the stem messes them up..

View attachment 1006394
I get rings like this on my 22 250 AI... havent had time to mess with it. Seating tension isnt horrible. But the stem messes them up..

 

[Sniper338]

I said it makes a ring not the rings of Saturn. That's bullet abuse. Someone call BPS Bullt Protective Services.

Ha, that picture was even after running the new brass tgrough the 21st century expander die..

 

[SheepDog]

Too much neck tension:
Are you checking the ID of your necks?
Are you chamfering the inside of the necks?
Is the seating plug correct for your bullets?

 

[JohnKielly]

Back a decade or so I recall on another forum a guy exploding because the seating stem was destroying his Amaxes. Looking at the images he posted, you could see the dags left on the case mouth by his rough as guts neck chamfering and the lumps of bullet metal adhering to it. We all said it would never happen to experienced shooters like us, but once when I had to pull some loads, I found striations on the rounds caused by me introducing the early model K & M VLD chamfer tool at an angle causing it to skip. Doesn't happen now I do the job with my Wilson tool.

 

[dickn52]

OMG; how much neck tension are you running on that load?

That is not what we call a ring...I think.

 

[rogn]

Could the I/D of the seating die neck be on the short side of tolerances? The neck may have difficulty expanding to seat if restricted.

 

[ireload2]

If I use a flat base bullet with a sharp corner at the base I always flare the case mouth slightly to let the bullet get past the edge of the case mouth, This eliminates having to bulldoze the edge of the case out of the way.

For some reason I've had all kinds of problems with my Wilson seater leaving rings, both regular & vld stem. Using a 7/8 x14 regular seating die no other changes and no rings. I think its because of the bullet design and pressure coming from the top down vs holding the bullet with the 7/8x14 press dies with the ram pushing the case up to seat the bullet. My next step is going to be my K&M tappered reamer and reduce neck tension. If I still get an ugly ring the Wilson is going to get tossed into the box of not used stuff.

 

[mike a]

So what size neck bushing (expanded up but not turned) are most of you all using. Virgin Lapua 6.5 creedmoor brass. To get say .002 n/t.

 

[Preacher]

So what size neck bushing (expanded up but not turned) are most of you all using. Virgin Lapua 6.5 creedmoor brass. To get say .002 n/t.

Can you easily push a new bullet into a fired case with no resistance ??
Measure up a loaded round and subtract .001 from that and use that number bushing to start with, and see how it shoots.
Then tighten it up another .001 and see how that works.......

 

[msinc]

I was getting very near the same ring on Nosler Long Range Accu-Bonds. It absolutely, positively, beyond a shadow of a doubt WAS NOT too much neck tension with mine and again they looked just about as bad. Some bullets, in my case the ones I was trying to seat, have a thin jacket up near the tip. That in conjunction with the incorrect {not the VLD} seater stem was the culprit. I purchased the VLD stem from someone, it wasn't L.E. Wilson...I think I actually got it from somebody on ebay. That was a lot better, but still not without a mark. Someone on here posted to wrap some wet or dry sandpaper around a bullet and spin the seater stem in a drill while holding it against the bullet. I started with 220 and went all the way down to 600 keeping it wet with water....it worked perfect. No more seating stem marks, problem solved.