Seating bullet by hand?

[TrxR]

Is it possible to seat a bullet without a press using a wilsons arbor die? Anyone ever try it by hand? Caliber in question is 30br

Thanks

 

[Falfan2017]

Is it possible to seat a bullet without a press using a wilsons arbor die? Anyone ever try it by hand? Caliber in question is 30br

Thanks

Yes very easy. An arbor press isn’t applying much leverage.

 

[tenring]

But will you have consistent OAL?

 

[Falfan2017]

But will you have consistent OAL?

Yes if you push it all the way down it’s steel on steel. Only thing is if you have heavy neck tension or a lot of powder on there with a real high seating force some may be a few thousands off but that could be a problem with an arbor press too.

 

[Keith Glasscock]

It takes between 35 and 65 lbs of force to seat a bullet in my 308 cases depending on neck tension. Using some sort of plate to distribute the load across the palm of the hand is helpful.

 

[Fast14riot]

Any simple lever system can make it easier. Just a piece of wood with a hinge at one end will be more than enough.

But, by hand works too.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]