Hornady LNL progressive press?

[rebs]

Is anyone reloading 223 on this press and having trouble getting the same seating depth? i am using Hornady seating die with micrometer head

 

[drop_point]

Have you measured the bullets? Usually such problems are either the die or the bullets.

 

[rebs]

I have measured the bullets. I am using Berger bullets
The measurement from base to ogive is the same on them all
what could be wrong with the die? What should I look for?

 

[Enosiophobia]

My belief is that the base, which is "floating", can result in different pressures. I switched to a Rock Chucker for any loading that matters.

 

[Ruger15151]

First, never measure base to tip. Always measure base to ogive. It doesn't matter the brand of bullet, the base to tip of the bullet will always vary based on how the bullet is made. However, your seating die stem only pushes against the bullet near the ogive. So, if your process is good, the seating depth, base to ogive, will be constant regardless the length of the bullet

There are several reasons why you could be getting different seating depths and it isn't caused by the bullet.

However, the problem with Hornady LnL presses is that you get a lot of shell plate tip. If you are sizing and priming in station 1 and seating a bullet in station 3, the force of sizing is greater that the force of seating a bullet. So.. the shell plate tips towards the station that has your sizing die. Depending on the brass, the pressure required to size some brass is greater than for others which will vary how much the shellplate tips. This will cause varying seating depths on the other side of the shell plate..

You can verify this by leaving brass out of all the other stations and jsut seat a bullet. Your seating depth will be different than what it was when you were also sizing brass, dumping a powder charge, etc.

Most will place shims under the shell plate to reduce the tilt. If you google you will find information on how to do it.

However if your loading 223 for an AR and the difference is only a few thousands, don't worry about it. You are jumping the bullet so far that your rifle will never know the difference.

 

[drop_point]

Are you measuring to the ogive of loaded rounds? Or are you measuring the cartridge over-all length and getting variance?

 

[rebs]

Are you measuring to the ogive of loaded rounds? Or are you measuring the cartridge over-all length and getting variance?

yes I am measuring to the ogive

 

[drop_point]

How much variance are you getting?

 

[Rsadams]

Measur case head to bullet ogive with a comparator and you will find your seeing the difference in case head thickness and bullet lengths.... The seating die seats the same everytime.... Your chasing your tail and we have all been there....

 

[rebs]

How much variance are you getting?

about .007 with that much difference it is hard to adjust in .003 increments to find the best seating depth

 

[lb-ft]

I load on a LNL. Then for precision rounds, I do final seating depth as an additional, separate step in a quality single stage.

LNL leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[drop_point]

about .007 with that much difference it is hard to adjust in .003 increments to find the best seating depth

Another question, are all your primers fully seating? That can be an issue on the Hornady press. 0.007" in CBTO is a LOT of variance and way more than I've had on the LNL AP.

You said Berger bullet, but you didn't say which bullet. Which bullet? If a VLD do you have a VLD seating stem? Is your load compressed?

 

[rebs]

Another question, are all your primers fully seating? That can be an issue on the Hornady press. 0.007" in CBTO is a LOT of variance and way more than I've had on the LNL AP.

You said Berger bullet, but you didn't say which bullet. Which bullet? If a VLD do you have a VLD seating stem? Is your load compressed?

the primers are fully seated. I am loading Berger 80.5 full bore bullets

 

[DiRTY DOG]

If you are sizing in the same operation as seating... Then you're not trimming case lengths, chamfer/deburring, or dry lubing necks. You're not doing any case prep other than sizing. Guessing not annealing either? Maybe you have a neck tension problem? What kind of sizing are you doing? How's your shoulder bump consistency?

Do you have the same spread of seating depths if you don't size in the same operation? Meaning if you size first in a seperate operation, and then later actually load the pre-sized cases on the LnL in a different operation just prime, powder, seat?

 

[drop_point]

the primers are fully seated. I am loading Berger 80.5 full bore bullets

VLD seater? Compressed load? And Dirty Dog's questions about annealing/rim/chamfer/deburr are also relevant. I can load some really consistent ammo on the LnL AP, but brass makes two trips through the press.

 

[cdgaydos]

For me, I see this when the shell plate tilts….
I don’t size 223 on the progressive (sizing cams over a bit and puts repeatable pressure on the shell plate fixing this issue) so, I use the Lee Factory crimp die to put pressure on the shell plate…

 

[DiRTY DOG]

Great idea! I don't know if plate tilt is real or not. But counter any possible tilt concerns by lightly caming over with another die in the opposite side of the plate.

 

[rebs]

VLD seater? Compressed load? And Dirty Dog's questions about annealing/rim/chamfer/deburr are also relevant. I can load some really consistent ammo on the LnL AP, but brass makes two trips through the press.

yes VLD seater, no compressed load. Would you please elaborate on your two trips through the press?

 

[big5ifty]

Sounds like the seating stem is grippng the bullet slightly, so the downstroke of the ram is pulling the bullet out a bit.

If this is the problem, you will see it if you use that seating die in a single stage press as well.

The VLD seater will contact the bullet on the ogive only, so if the bullet ogive and seating stem are angled correctly to each other, there will be a press fit, for lack of a better term, between the seating stem and the bullet.

I think if you increase neck tension the problem will go away.

 

[drop_point]

yes VLD seater, no compressed load. Would you please elaborate on your two trips through the press?

Before I do anything, I anneal the brass. First time through the press, I use a universal decapping die, FL sizing die with proper bushing for about 3 thou neck tension and no expanding ball, then a expander mandrel. The brass is then run through the tumbler, then trim/chamfer/deburr in one step, then run through the press again. First station, I keep the decapping die in case I missed anything there, then a second pass through the mandrel die, followed with powder charging, then seating, then crimping on a LEE FCD if its going in an auto-loader. I've found this keeps any residual sizing lube from causing powder to stick in the neck, it gives me and opportunity to trim/chamfer/deburr sized and cleaned brass, and it is just a more pleasant process that takes the violent jarring and cam-action out of the process you get with fully-progressive single-pass reloading. I still do pistol rounds in a single pass but that is another animal.

Why I ask about the VLD seating stem is that I've found they can be a terrible fit for some bullets. Often I see a little ring around the bullet where the VLD seating stem can actually grab onto the jacket and stick and it results in inconsistent seating. I suppose it is pulling the bullet slightly when the ram descends like the previous poster stated. What I ended up doing was taking valve grinding compound and putting it on one of the bullets I Intended to use with that stem and lapped it to get rid of the sharp spot and it solved my problem. That was on a Rock Chucker, not a progressive. Maybe check for a ring on your jacket or next time you seat bullets, cover one with layout die or blue sharpie to see if you can see how much contact the bullet is making with the seating stem.