Bullet Seating - my technique

[wildcat284]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to share this with you. All opinions are welcome.

I finished loading a batch of 40 rounds of .243 ammo for my Sako AII varmint rifle. To date this has been my most successful reloading session, as every single one of the bullets has a runout of .002 or less.

Up till now, I have had a problem with runout of in most cases of around the .004 and .005 and even greater. You can imagine how annoyed I have been, when my case necks have a runout of .002, and then at the end the loaded rounds are much greater than that.

So, after carefully selecting my brass and prepping, and throwing the same consistent weight of powder I sat down at my press ready to seat the projectiles. This is the procedure I worked through.

1). Placed the case hard into the shell holder. When I seated the bullet in the neck, I made sure it was sitting up and down and not tipped. I have discovered if the bullet is tipped, then even though with my dies being as good as they are,Redding), the bullet gets seated with a runout of 0.004 or greater.

2) Let the ram raise up gently and come to a gentle halt as the bullet comes into contact with the bottom of the seating stem.

3) Then, just raise the ram up a fraction till the bullet is just seated in the neck.

4) Then lower the ram just enough to get your fingers around the case, and rotate the case about 1/4 of a turn, then raise the ram a little more.

5) Follow the same procedure above again

6) Finally, rotate the case about 1/4 to 1/2 a turn, then finally raise the ram so the bullet is finally seated.

Each one of these loaded rounds, I then run over my RCBS case master. As mentioned in the beginning, by using this process my runout over these 40 rounds was never more than 0.002. As a matter of fact, a big percentage of them were between 0.000 and 0.001.

Now all I need to do is go and shoot em!


Regards,

Michael.

 

[billmo]

Michael, I too have found that the easier you operate your press
handle, the less runout is found. Also, the inside of the seater stem that makes contact with the bullet, needs to be clean with just a hint of lubrication. Break free on a Q-tip works great. This will allow the bullet to move more freely as it is guided into the stem bottom area. Bill

 

[GSP7]

Ive been doing that all along. I gently get the bullet started and rotate the case as i continue up and down pushing the bullet into the neck

 

[tightneck]

Sounds like a lot of work to me. Why not use a seating die that supports the entire case before the seating operation begins, like a Wilson or even a Redding Comp die. This will insure that the bullet gets started on the right path when it enters the neck. What causes runout is actually the re-sizing operation most of the time.

 

[Cheaha]

I used to seat a bullet in 3 steps,turning the case a third of the way each time untill I visited Mickey Coleman several years back. He was loading 6PPC rounds for the Southeast Regional Bench Rest Event. I watched him ramming the bullets home in one swift stroke. I questioned his technique and he laughed and said something to the effect of "old wives tales die hard" IIRC. I'm thinking he was 21st in the world of BR @ the time. I went home and tried it and sure 'nuff, it didn't open my groups a bit. If partial seating, turning , partial seating didn't make a difference to a World Class BR Shooter then I doubt it would help this accuracy minded Crow shooter.

 

[Lane]

Michael, My sincere congratulations lot's of time and effort! If I may make a suggestion. Use a sharpie and mark five rounds with a index mark for reference to the chamber. You have done all this work with concentricity before fired. The index mark will help you correct any problems after fired. Just a extra step you may want to consider. My sincere congratulations on your work have fun. Lane

 

[Ackman]

That's been done for years and years, and years. It's nothing new. I used to do it pretty much automatically. Then Redding Comp seaters came along and that all changed.

 

[Lane]

Push-feed, controlled round feed. Ejector, extractor. Is the run-out random or consistent? Is the run-out cause in hook-up,chamber,die, method or component,other? Do you build a cartridge from the bolt face forward or from the bullet backwards? I guess it's all good! Lane