Seating 90VLDs with a Redding seater die...

[XTR]

... do I need a modified seating stem for the VLDs ?

I posted this is the small stuff forum but I'll post it here because I think it will get more viewing.

I've been battling with trying to get 90VLDs to shoot in my mid range F-TR rifle for a while now and have gotten results that can best be described as horrible. I mean 3MOA "groups" at 200 yards. Frustrating to say the least.

Checking the runout on my 308 bullets has been kind of a spot check formality for a couple of yrs now. I load with a Lee Collet sizer and Forster seaters in my T7 and there is never any to speak of. These 90s have four to 5 thou on the bearing surface! You can see the meplat wobble when you roll the bullet.

These are not turned necks, the necks show maybe 1 thou of runout on a Sinclair tool. The runout is in the bullet seating, not the necks.

I've been trying to load these on my Dillon, I'm using the same procedure that I use with my T7 just using the Dillon I've used it to make bullets for my service rifle and the results have been good with 77gr and 80gr noslers, and those shoot well in my bolt gun, like sub .5 at two hundred well, but they are seated much shorter.

I'm using a Redding seater. Do I need to drill out the seater stem for the VLDs? Maybe I need to move to the T7 to seat them. (I've got a Widden tool head on the 550B) I've got a 223 shell plate coming for my T7, I can't go out and check right now.

Suggestions?

 

[Shynloco]

Redding makes the replacement seating heads for VLD bullets. That way you won't mess up the original seating head for use in non VLD bullets. I have them for my Redding dies and they work nicely.

 

[XTR]

Yea, Midway Sinclair has the VLD seater stem in stock. I just placed an order last week yesterday. I hate paying shipping.

 

[tenring]

Sure, you can get the deeper seating cup from those sources. But first, take a dab of Prussian blue on a Q tip stem and apply it to the meplat, drop bullet in against seater stem and withdraw. If any blue shows on seater cavity, you will need a deeper one.

 

[XTR]

Taking the seater apart and looking at things I would guess that the difference in the VLD stem vs the regular stem is the angle of the cut. The stem is over ½ inch deep. The meplat of the bullet can't get up in there that far, but the seating surface bears on the bullet over .100 further up the bullet than on a Nosler. It also looks like the VLD is wedging in to the very top of the bevel as opposed to making contact on the beveled surface.

I think I may have found one bugaboo. Hey if I can make this work for $18.99 + shipping it will cost me about ¼ of what I've wasted on load tests that haven't worked.

 

[XTR]

yea, um, not to waste the shipping charge I managed to find another $40 in stuff to buy