Bullet Seating Question

[nickster]

I'm building some loads for my 6.5 Creedmoor and the seating die is leaving marks on the bullets. I can feel the circular dent it leaves in the bullet. I'm using Hornady Custom Grade dies with FL Sizing die and seating die with a micrometer added. I'm seating 140 and 142gr bullets into factory Hornady new brass after running them through the sizer. The bullets seat really hard so I can see why the die is leaving a mark. The Hornady tech told me I could buy a bushing type sizing die and a seating stem made specifically for Amax bullets. They don't hone out the FL dies anymore and they don't make an oversize expander ball.

Is there someone that hones out a FL die to desired dimensions? Or does anyone make an oversize expander ball? Either one might work. Thanks.

Any other suggestions?

Steve

 

[rardoin]

I'm building some loads for my 6.5 Creedmoor and the seating die is leaving marks on the bullets. I can feel the circular dent it leaves in the bullet. I'm using Hornady Custom Grade dies with FL Sizing die and seating die with a micrometer added. I'm seating 140 and 142gr bullets into factory Hornady new brass after running them through the sizer. The bullets seat really hard so I can see why the die is leaving a mark. The Hornady tech told me I could buy a bushing type sizing die and a seating stem made specifically for Amax bullets. They don't hone out the FL dies anymore and they don't make an oversize expander ball.

Is there someone that hones out a FL die to desired dimensions? Or does anyone make an oversize expander ball? Either one might work. Thanks.

Any other suggestions?

Steve

Consider getting a Redding S Full Length bushing die and a bullet seater with a VLD stem although once you get the neck tension at .002-3 the current seater may be fine.

 

[ireload2]

You could get a .270 expander and spin polish it down.


This guy's web page will show you how to lap out a die neck with a simple adjustable lap.

https://rickaverill.com/projects-past-and-present/lapping-reloading-dies/

 

[FeMan]

Sounds like a lot of neck tension, but some loads like a lot. How do they shoot?

I use a Sinclair expander mandrel and get the turning and expanding mandrels. The expander buttons that come with the dies can be a major source of high neck runout. I get good runout and can control the necks to 1 or 2 thousandths under bullet diameter. You really don't want less than that. If I want more tension, I use my bushing neck die to step the neck diameter down to where I want it.

 

[Sheldon N]

Things I'd do....

1) Check your dimensional neck tension to make sure you're not running too tight of a sized neck. Compare the OD at the neck of a sized/empty piece of brass to the OD at the neck of a loaded round. Difference should be around .002".

2) Anneal the brass, softer brass should seat the bullet more easily.

3) If the seating die is leaving marks, you can smooth the surface a bit with metal polish and a Q-tip chucked in a drill.

Side question, is this super clean brass (ie stainless pins, no carbon in the neck)? That can also make seating pressure a little higher as compared to tumbled brass that has a little carbon left inside the neck. Also, you are champfering the inside of the neck, right?

 

[Had2muchofForums]

How stable is your reloading table? If it is not supported enough, the flex will cause seating marks on bullets.

 

[nickster]

It was new brass on the first firing. I noticed that a lot of pressure was needed to pull the expander ball back through the neck.

Reloading table is 3/4" plywood. Probably not sturdy enough and it's easy enough to add more. I'll do that.

I was hoping not to have to buy a new set of dies although that might be the right think to do. I may get to that point yet.

I like shrinking the neck expander idea or lapping the neck of the sizing die and probably the cheapest, and if I screw it up, I'm not out much.

I don't know why I didn't think of taking some measurements before posting this, but I'll take some measurements tonight to see what the difference is between a loaded and fired round.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Zero333]

More interesting is the neck measurement of a sized case and a loaded case

 

[Tim Singleton]

The neck tension will probably settle down after the first firing. New stuff sometimes has a lot of tension

 

[Steve Ladino]

Sounds like really thick neck walls, turn the necks and use some lube inside the necks, only a small amount (Imperial wax ) already on your index finger rubbed across the neck mouth ....clean out with Q Tip before charging.

 

[nickster]

Neck diameter was taken with dial calipers (that's all I have) just above the shoulder junction.

New case, sized .289
New case, 140 SMK seated .291
New case, 142 SMK seated .291
Once fired case, sized .289
Once fired case, 140 SMK seated .291
Once fired case, 142 SMK seated .291

The 140s had no rings or marks, the first 142 bullet had a ring around it like the others.
The second, I seated verrrrrry sloowwwwwly, and it had no ring.

I'm sorry to say it looks like my seating style, which was obviously too fast, was the majority of the problem. The 140s maybe have a little thicker skin as I didn't notice the ring tonight until I seated the first 142. I must have really been slamming them into the seating die and didn't realize it. Important lesson learned. I also learned, while taking the measurements, I should probably turn the necks just enough to make them uniform.

Thanks for the help and the suggestions. I will still follow up with some of them.

Steve

 

[mr45man]

"I noticed that a lot of pressure was needed to pull the expander ball back through the neck."

It might be interesting to size a case without the expander and measure it

 

[Keith Glasscock]

New cases don't have carbon in the neck to reduce friction from seating. Either tumble in corn cob media (if they aren't yet primed) or use a dry neck lube. I see above about using imperial. I've never tried it but don't see why it wouldn't work

 

[Zero333]

I HATE the Hornady expander ball. The rcbs expander seems to work much easier.

Annealing the brass is the only way to reduce the drag of the expander.

Another reason why the seating plug could leave a ring on the bullet is because it doesn't fit VLD bullets very well.


Here is the link to a recent daily bulletin article about seating dies leaving rings on bullets...

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...vice-how-to-avoid-ring-marks-on-your-bullets/