Forster Ultra Micrometer seating die

[Killing Time]

I own 4 of the Forster ultra micrometer seating dies and all have performed great, except occasionally the one for my 6 arc. I am getting inaccurate seating depths every now and then by means of not seating the bullet deep enough and it will leave a ring in the top portion of the ogive when it does this. I have disassembled, inspected, cleaned and lubricated the die several times but still have this issue. You can even feel it in the ram when you pull the handle to seat the bullet. I have not found any abnormal wear marks or signs of binding. I’ve even changed the seating stem. Has anyone ran into this?

Thanks!

 

[SeabeeKen]

Check the seating stem to be sure it fits the bullet well. They have standard and. Ld stems i believe

 

[209jones]

That could be due to a compressed load and the bullet bottoming out on it, could also be to do with neck tension being pretty tight, or maybe friction with a clean neck and the neck tension, possibly a burr on the seater plug which could be polished out.

 

[charlie b]

When that happened to me (with another brand die) it was a compressed load that did it. Kind of a wake up call for me since I had not checked the cases, I was just loading up a ladder. I was almost a grain below the book max so it took me by surprise.

 

[DiRTY DOG]

Cracked seating stem. Mine was caused by a lightly compressed load.

 

[Murray Brook]

Polish the inside of the seating stem with a mild abrasive ( metal polish ) and oooo steel wool. With the Froster Ultra IME compressed loads will split the stem.

 

[Killing Time]

Thanks guys for all the replies and suggestions. This last batch I seated was on the verge of possibly being a compressed load. But out of 30 rounds, I only had this issue with 3 rounds. I have inspected the seating stem, which only has maybe 100 on it since I replaced it, and I used some lapping compound on the end but I may not have done enough to it. The steel wool is a good idea. And I definitely need to pay more attention to the neck tension as well. Going through my reloading records, I have documented when this had happened and each time was with new brass. This could be a couple of things going on at once. I really appreciate the suggestions!

 

[charlie b]

Being that close on powder those 3 may have just not filled well. Maybe tap it a couple times to make sure the powder settles properly. Combine with the new brass which may have slightly less volume to start with and possibly more neck tension....

 

[Mark611]

I'm having the same problem with the same seater die with my 6.5 Grendel; I run them through an expander die .263dia after I anneal them {new brass} then trim and chamfer, I loaded 30rnds with it with Nosler CC's every one of them showed a ring around the ogive you could feel, I have opened it up to look inside for a burr yet but I'm going to right now, I using 27.2gns of AR Comp seating depth is at 2.260 mag length in my AR

 

[Retired shooter]

I'm having the same problem with the same seater die with my 6.5 Grendel; I run them through an expander die .263dia after I anneal them {new brass} then trim and chamfer, I loaded 30rnds with it with Nosler CC's every one of them showed a ring around the ogive you could feel, I have opened it up to look inside for a burr yet but I'm going to right now, I using 27.2gns of AR Comp seating depth is at 2.260 mag length in my AR

I use the Forster 6 inch. drop funnel when I drop powder, gets a little more space , and sent the seater stem back to Forster they did some hone work on it. Using !10 A tips it still leaves a slightly visible mark. Dont think Forster has different stems. Doesn't seem to effect accuracy. Whidden has two versions of stems. My Whidden 6 ARC seater leaves less markings on the soft A tip.

To all a great day.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I find new brass is always a problem. Graphite helps but doesn't cure it. The second loading the seating depths are far more consistent. Need to check the depth on the second loading too. It usually will seat deeper without adjusting the die.

Sometimes I get one that is off and after checking everything all I can figure is its a variation in that bullet.

 

[chromatica]

I use Forster Ultra Micrometer seating dies almost exclusively. I use it for 6ARC seating. I use it for 7/6.5 PRCW seating as well. When I bought new ADG PRCW brass, a lot of force was required to seat the first round and seating left a ring on my Berger 180. I tracked the problem down to excessive neck tension, and so I opened up the necks with a generic 7mm neck sizing die from Hornady (with a mandrel). After that exercise, the rings on my ogives went away.

 

[243Lapua]

I own 4 of the Forster ultra micrometer seating dies and all have performed great, except occasionally the one for my 6 arc. I am getting inaccurate seating depths every now and then by means of not seating the bullet deep enough and it will leave a ring in the top portion of the ogive when it does this. I have disassembled, inspected, cleaned and lubricated the die several times but still have this issue. You can even feel it in the ram when you pull the handle to seat the bullet. I have not found any abnormal wear marks or signs of binding. I’ve even changed the seating stem. Has anyone ran into this?

Thanks!

That's the reason I got rid of mine, the ring and a clicker.

 

[Killing Time]

I use Forster Ultra Micrometer seating dies almost exclusively. I use it for 6ARC seating. I use it for 7/6.5 PRCW seating as well. When I bought new ADG PRCW brass, a lot of force was required to seat the first round and seating left a ring on my Berger 180. I tracked the problem down to excessive neck tension, and so I opened up the necks with a generic 7mm neck sizing die from Hornady (with a mandrel). After that exercise, the rings on my ogives went away.

This is what I am thinking is my issue. I am going to load some more tonight but run a mandrel through the necks and see how it does.