Seater die being consistent?

[AWLEAPHART]

Hello everyone,
I have aways used Wilson Seater die but I bought a normal screw in the press die and I have noticed that some seatings can be off .010 longer. Maybe a case has little more neck tension than another but I was thinking it would be closer than that. With a .269 neck bushing the bullet is lightly lose in the case so Im using a .268.I can't turn the bullet in the case with the .268 bushing. Has anyone had this happen to them before.
A Leaphart

 

[243winxb]

Normal dies can be set to crimp. Dont let the crimp ring contact the case mouth while seating a bullet. The COL can vari .005" in a single stage press and as much as .010" using a progressive press. Best to measure head to orgive, not to the bullet nose.

Neck tension may be effected if over crimping.

I had to go to a smaller bushing after the brass work hardened.

 

[Mozella]

I think what you're seeing is exactly why folks buy the Wilson seating die and an arbor press. That's why I bought mine.

 

[lpreddick]

Before I started annealing I had this problem frequently. I would adjust the seating die then have one seat much deeper. It doesn't take much neck grip (tension) to resist the bullet's seating, then it goes into the seating stem .005-.010". Bullets with varying base to ogive can do this which is why i sort factory bullets, which i rarely shoot. One can often feel the greater resistance to seating then measure bullet too long while next one seats easy and is just right. Annealing your brass (real annealing) and neck resistance will be more uniform, assuming you use good brass. Remchester brass can have varying neck thickness and the problem might still be there. Turning the necks of any brand after Annealing is most likely to give you uniform brass.

 

[Shynloco]

Before I started annealing I had this problem frequently. I would adjust the seating die then have one seat much deeper. It doesn't take much neck grip (tension) to resist the bullet's seating, then it goes into the seating stem .005-.010". Bullets with varying base to ogive can do this which is why i sort factory bullets, which i rarely shoot. One can often feel the greater resistance to seating then measure bullet too long while next one seats easy and is just right. Annealing your brass (real annealing) and neck resistance will be more uniform, assuming you use good brass. Remchester brass can have varying neck thickness and the problem might still be there. Turning the necks of any brand after Annealing is most likely to give you uniform brass.

Thx for that insight. I'd been getting more unhappy with my Wilson Seaters and started thinking it was probably the factory bullets being off by .002 - .004. I guess either I'm too lazy to sort or I've become more firm in my belief that since I don't have but two custom rifles, that the others just weren't worth the effort since I don't compete. SO I reverted to using my Competition Seaters (Redding and Forster) which make it really simple to make slight adjustments to Seating depth since I measure each of my loads via Ojive measurement. I'm still not absolutely convinced it not the factory bullets that aren't off by that small amount of adjustment, but I'll go ahead and anneal more often (based upon your advice which makes prefect sense). SO thx for the reminder and advice.

Alex

P.S. All my brass has been turned and re-measured to make sure they are all the same thickness.

 

[AWLEAPHART]

I have always annealed before each reloading. This is the first time I didn't anneal and I think thats the problem.
A Leaphart

 

[Rockoz]

I have always annealed before each reloading. This is the first time I didn't anneal and I think thats the problem.
A Leaphart

I have always annealed before each reloading. This is the first time I didn't anneal and I think thats the problem.
A Leaphart

i agree that you should anneal every 2nd or 3rd time you reload, this will keep things more consistent in the pressure required to seat a bullet depending on neck tension of course. You will get a feel when things are starting to get inconsistent in bullet seating pressure required to seat. one thing i have found with 80 A-max's is they vary in base to ogive, this in turn will make the seater stem contact area to ogive different also. i have found that getting the seater stem contact as close as possible to ogive or land contact area the more consistent seating depth will be. i use a redding comp seating with the seater step honed out with a flame shaped diamond burr, i then use fine grinding paste and lap a projectile into the stem. This has helped my seating depth consistency greatly along with base to ogive sorting. In reality a larger seater stem would be much better to get the contact area as close as possible to the land contact area. Hope this makes some sense and good luck with your seating. Pete

 

[Iowa Fox]

I've found so many different things can affect bullet seating. I've switched from Wilson/arbor to a good press seater except on 17's. Even the press you use can make a big difference. I have at least a half dozen single stage presses set up and found one does a better job than the rest with the same seater die.

 

[Richard Coody]

sorting bullets by weight and bearing surface is a pretty simple task. i just really look for the oddballs. some manufacturers are very consistent. some not so.

get you an arbor press with some sort of seating force indicator. you will be suprised at the variations in seating force especially with unannealed brass.