I was told today that you need a special seating die for Hornady ELD-X bullets due to the fact that their jackets are so thin that my regular seating die will dent and scar the copper and cause imperfections and flat spots on the tip. I find that hard to believe, esp. if i have done a proper job of prepping and sizing my brass. I also might be wrong. The only time i ever had a problem seating plastic tipped bullets was when i tried to load Hornady LeverRevolutions in my 30-30 cases. The round profile of the seating die was made for conventional flat and round 30-30 bullets and the pointy plastic tips were pretty much flattened. But when i load plastic tip bullets in my .270 win and .300 blk, i have never had a problem. Am i on the right track?
ELD-X seating die?
- Thread starter DACthebiker
- Start date
ronemus
Gold $$ Contributor
Some dies need alternate "VLD" seating stems, but most seaters will be OK. My preference is Forster Ultra Micrometer seating dies; the stem geometry and metallurgy are good, so they need no alterations. I have used Redding dies, but their stems tend to flare and gall the sleeve sonner or later.
To avoid putting a ring around the nose, you should avoid excessive "neck tension" (0.002" max); any more and you're using the bullet as an expander, and lead doesn't hold up like steel does for that task.
Compressed loads will also cause rings. Crunching the powder doesn't do the load performance any good, and alters the burn rate - breaking kernels increases the surface area which makes the powder burn faster, but the reproducibility is usuallu poor.
To avoid putting a ring around the nose, you should avoid excessive "neck tension" (0.002" max); any more and you're using the bullet as an expander, and lead doesn't hold up like steel does for that task.
Compressed loads will also cause rings. Crunching the powder doesn't do the load performance any good, and alters the burn rate - breaking kernels increases the surface area which makes the powder burn faster, but the reproducibility is usuallu poor.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
They always work fine with a vld stem. Like was said above if you have a compressed load thats about the only time youll see that no matter which stem you use
I can confirm to you that Redding's competition dies does create ring marks on "VLD" type bullets, and if it bothers or affect your shooting, you need to purchase a separate VLD seating stem. This, by the way, was slightly disappointing to me as I figured that "competition" dies should surely imply that the user would probably be primarily interested in long range/competition/precision type shooting, and for those disciplines, "VLD" type bullets would be considered "standard"? But it wouldn't be the first time that my assumptions turned out to be wrong, so I never bothered to write the folks at Redding to ask them why the VLD stem is not the standard stem to be included with the competition sets...
I have the forster micro seating die, and I was getting some rings on a few of my bullets despite careful neck tension with the 143 ELD-X. I measure the bullet diameters and to my surprise, there was a .002" variance in the same box, over the first 3-4 measured! You'll need to measure and sort those bullets... all of them.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Your name must have came from using them from what ive seen so far with them
pirate ammo
Guaranteed to take the wind out of their sails
Lol thanks guys!at least it's not frequent fliers,,
pirate ammo
Guaranteed to take the wind out of their sails
hey, that's whats friends are for..
Came here looking for an answer as to why my BTOs were varying more than I thought they should have with the Forster...and there is my answer! Late to the game but thank you sir.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Ok so when did their QC go to complete crap? That's horrific for what's supposed to be an ELD branded bullet. I have a bunch coming so I guess time to weigh/measure and sort...yay fun.
AckleymanII
Gold $$ Contributor
Were you using dial calipers to measure with?
I have "bedded" the seater stem. Put some release agent on a bullet, degrease the seater stem, put a dab of bedding compound in the seater stem, push the bullet into the seater stem till it stops, wipe off excess. let it sit up for 24 hrs, remove the bullet. I have had to drill out a few seater stems when the point was too long for the existing hole.
Digital calipers with a Hornady comparator.
I honestly did not measure each bullet with my comparator. Only the loaded round. Did not think to measure the bullets themselves... I have now measured a handful from what's left in the box and they all seem pretty consistent though.
Assuming the bedding supports the bullet more consistently?
AckleymanII
Gold $$ Contributor
Yes
jackieschmidt
Gold $$ Contributor
I shoot 162 ELD X’s in my 7mm Geramo. I use the standard Redding Competition Seater With no problems
This is, however, a neck turned case where I only use around .002 tension.
This is, however, a neck turned case where I only use around .002 tension.
Like you I also modified my seating stem.
Loading my 224 Valk, I was causing damage to the tip of the bullet.
I used JB weld and filled the stem and then let it set up to a point that it was still pliable.
Seated a bullet with grease on the tip and then let the stem set up with out the bullet in it...
Now i can seat the bullets without damage.
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