Bullet Marks

[warbird2006]

I started to load 223 recently, did only 308 in past.
For some reason the Redding competition seating die is leaving marks on my bullets.
This is my case preparation process for new Lapua brass:
1. full body
2. trimming
3. chamferrng
4. neck expansion and turning it
5. neck sizing with redding comp. neck die with 244 bushing
I have not have die marking my bullets before
Any help will be appreciated

 

[Grimstod]

Is the die clean?

This happened to me once before but it was for a very diferent reason.

 

[jonbearman]

Does the seating stem match the profile of your bullets? How much actual neck tension do you have?

 

[CatShooter]

I started to load 223 recently, did only 308 in past.
For some reason the Redding competition seating die is leaving marks on my bullets.
This is my case preparation process for new Lapua brass:
1. full body
2. trimming
3. chamferrng
4. neck expansion and turning it
5. neck sizing with redding comp. neck die with 244 bushing
I have not have die marking my bullets before
Any help will be appreciated

It is the sharp edge of the seating cup. It hurts nothing. You can sent to Redding and they'll fix it, or you can polish it yourself.

 

[KenO]

What kind of marks, a ring? Is it a compressed load? Heavy neck tension? What bullet, some have/had a thin jacket.

 

[CatShooter]

What kind of marks, a ring? Is it a compressed load? Heavy neck tension? What bullet, some have/had a thin jacket.

The marks are in the picture.

 

[jlow]

You are probably using a lot of neck tension which then requires more force to seat the bullets which will cause those marks…

You did not give the make of your brass but assuming neck thickness of 0.012” and bullet diameter of 0.224”, your neck tension will be four thousands which is high. If you were using Lapua brass which has even thicker neck like 0.013”, your neck tension will be up in the 6 thousands which is huge. Suggest using a bushing which will keeping neck tension down in the 2 thousands range.

 

[tmwinds]

I had exactly the same problem with Lapua .223 brass yesterday. Hard to seat with a Wilson seater and arbor press and marked the bullets just like your photo.

I ran a .224 expander in the necks and then sized for .002 neck tension. End of problem. The inside necks were to tight from the factory, especially when trying to seat a flatbase bullet.

 

[chevytruck_83]

Sounds like you have your answer for the markings. I'm curious since you say you've only loaded for 308. Are you loading for a custom built rifle that you turned the necks or is this a factory rifle? I only ask because if your only shooting recreation with a factory rifle some 223 rifles shoot very well with unturned lapua.

 

[warbird2006]

Ok,
I don't think the load is compressed, I use 24 grains of IMR 4048.
It seams the piece inside the die which actually pushes on the bullet is sharp and marks the bullet even when I lightly press by hand.
It actually cuts it to the bullet and holds it, see the picture.
How do I polish the die part without damaging it?

 

[Grimstod]

Rap the part in paper and put it into a cordless drill chuck. Thus making a miniature lathe. You can use some sand paper 400gr or finer as you spin it.

Like this

 

[jlow]

Neck tension has nothing to do with a compress load. Neck tension is how small the internal diameter of your neck is vs. the diameter of your bullet.

If you seater has a sharp edge it could cut your bullet when seating, you can polish it out with 0000 steel wool, just make sure you do it properly i.e. don’t polish one side more than the other or you will have concentric seating problems.

 

[KenO]

Your seater doesn't match your bullet as others have posted. What I have done is to "bed" the seater.

Pull the seater stem out of the die, use any kind of bedding Devcon or JB Weld (which can be bought it small tubes), and a release agent like Johnson paste wax or Kiwi neutral shoe polish.

Fill the seater cup with the bedding, coat the bullet with the wax, and seat the bullet wipeing off he excess. I then put the seater back in the die, put the die in the press and let the weight of the handle form the bedding over night.
Clean off the round the next day and you should be good to go.

 

[Lapua40X]

Run the cases over a properly sized expander mandrel as a last step to reduce neck tension and round out the case necks. You might also, as previously suggested, just polish up the sharp edges of the seating stem (assuming it's the proper shape for the type of bullet you're loading)

Your seater doesn't match your bullet as others have posted. What I have done is to "bed" the seater.
...

IMO, better to spend the twenty bucks and buy the right tool for the job. Then you'd have the correct seater stem to cover both bullet profiles.

 

[queen_stick]

Your seater doesn't match your bullet as others have posted. What I have done is to "bed" the seater.

Pull the seater stem out of the die, use any kind of bedding Devcon or JB Weld (which can be bought it small tubes), and a release agent like Johnson paste wax or Kiwi neutral shoe polish.

Fill the seater cup with the bedding, coat the bullet with the wax, and seat the bullet wipeing off he excess. I then put the seater back in the die, put the die in the press and let the weight of the handle form the bedding over night.
Clean off the round the next day and you should be good to go.

Do you drill out the center after the bedding sets up? If not, you run the risk of seating off of the meplat if you get a bullet with a "longer" ogive. (longer than the one you used to bed the seating stem). Also, what do you do if you change to a bullet with different profile (go from secant to tangent, or vice versa)?

 

[KenO]

I did it because I had some extra bulky Russian 4895, and it was a very compressed load for the .308 Palma, with a 185 Lapua Scenar. I didn't drill anything out, it matched the bullet perfectly, and have used it to seat custom 185s and Berger Hybirds, without making any marks.

It worked for me, it was suggested when I posted the same question on a different forum quite a few years ago.

 

[queen_stick]

KenO,

Thanks for the info.
I was just curious how well the bedded stem worked with bullet inconsistencies or with different kinds of bullets.
This is a good idea, and I have one seater that I might try this with....

 

[lpreddick]

KenO's process is exactly what i'v tried for the same reason. the hollow cup of the bullet seating stem will allow a bullet to enter and "engrave" it's surface with the bullet actually going into the cup and if neck tensions vary just a little, the base to ogive measurement varied by .002-.005. i like .002 neck tension and was having this problem. one can buy seating stems and prep each for a specific bullet. one note: i tried filling a forster stem cup with bedding compound and release agent and it worked ,EXCEPT, forster's stem goes into a fairly tight hole in the top of the case holding gizmo and the hardened compound set slightly off and it seated bullets with unacceptable runout. the redding stem somewhat floats and may not be a problem.

 

[dkhunt14]

Your seater doesn't match your bullet as others have posted. What I have done is to "bed" the seater.

Pull the seater stem out of the die, use any kind of bedding Devcon or JB Weld (which can be bought it small tubes), and a release agent like Johnson paste wax or Kiwi neutral shoe polish.

Fill the seater cup with the bedding, coat the bullet with the wax, and seat the bullet wipeing off he excess. I then put the seater back in the die, put the die in the press and let the weight of the handle form the bedding over night.
Clean off the round the next day and you should be good to go.

Do you drill out the center after the bedding sets up? If not, you run the risk of seating off of the meplat if you get a bullet with a "longer" ogive. (longer than the one you used to bed the seating stem). Also, what do you do if you change to a bullet with different profile (go from secant to tangent, or vice versa)?

You are right Walter. The bullets won't all seat the same on the bearing because some of them have longer or shorter points. I think they sell a VLD seater stem which works better on some bullets. Matt

 

[Kodiak99317]

Try cleaning the inside of your necks first with a brass or nylon brush, only takes a couple of pushes in and out, and the marks will disappear.