Seating dies

[Bob3700]

I have a Redding competition seating die for my 6.5/284. The problem I have is that u cannot feel the bullet seating pressure. My other seating dies are Forrester Micrometer and I like it much better as u can gauge the bullet seating pressure.
Thinking of ordering the Forrester to replace that Redding die.

 

[LA50SHOOTER]

Try a Wilson Straight-Line Seater with a Force Measurement featured Arbor Press. Or even just a regular arbor press. You'll really be able to feel it & see it if you get an arbor press with force measurement.
- Every new caliber barrel I have done also gets a Wilson Straight-Line Seater Die Blank sent with it and I have the same chambering reamer that does the barrel do the die.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Both dies only guide the bullet into the case. I cant see how the same case in any seating die would feel different in any case. The die does not hinder or help the bullet go in. If you want to feel seating pressure you need an inline die and arbor press. Evidently there was different neck tension on the forster seated cases over the redding seated cases. No way would i put a redding in a drawer to step back to a forster anyway

 

[Bob3700]

Both dies only guide the bullet into the case. I cant see how the same case in any seating die would feel different in any case. The die does not hinder or help the bullet go in. If you want to feel seating pressure you need an inline die and arbor press. Evidently there was different neck tension on the forster seated cases over the redding seated cases. No way would i put a redding in a drawer to step back to a forster anyway

The Redding Competition seating die has a spring loaded sleeve that masks the bullet seating effort. The Forrester Micrometer seater doesn't have this feature and you can actually Feel the friction of the bullet seating. I let the weight of the press handle seat the bullet. You cannot do that with the Redding Competition seater. Both dies hold the case and bullet in alignment when seating. So I don't see the Redding have any design advantage to seat a bullet any straighter than the Forrester.

I have used several Wilson in-line seating dies and while they do offer a good sense of feel when used with an arbor press. There has been no measurable advantage in seated bullet runout in the Wilson vs the Forrester seating die.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Runout comes from steps before seating 99% of the time.

 

[KMart]

Take the spring out, I have a Forster micro seater, it has a spring also.

Take the spring out of the Redding Competition seater. Both Forster and Redding have springs, but the Redding is much stiffer. I take the springs out and you can feel the bullet engage the case mouth and the resistance all the way down.
Also, clean the die body and sleeve of the Redding die while you have it apart. Put a drop or two of Hobo Oil on a small cleaning patch and lube the surfaces where the sleeve and die body ride against each other.

 

[Ccrider]

Strange. I can feel the bullet seating with my Redding Comp die using a Forster Press. It’s not like using an in-line die but I can tell if more pressure is required to seat a bullet.

 

[Petros284]

Runout comes from steps before seating 99% of the time.

Spot on! That is why a concentricity gauge is such a valuable tool. Checking runout throughout the reloading process will pinpoint where your problem occurs from. Many people check their rounds after they are loaded but to truly learn anything check after every step.

 

[Bob3700]

Take the spring out of the Redding Competition seater. Both Forster and Redding have springs, but the Redding is much stiffer. I take the springs out and you can feel the bullet engage the case mouth and the resistance all the way down.
Also, clean the die body and sleeve of the Redding die while you have it apart. Put a drop or two of Hobo Oil on a small cleaning patch and lube the surfaces where the sleeve and die body ride against each other.

I get where the runout comes from. Will try taking the spring out of the Redding seater and see how that works. Thanks for the input.

 

[NCVarhtr]

Dusty is correct. I believe most of the runout from crooked necks. I like the Wilson straight line seater dies and I buy blank dies that are caliber specific and have my smith cut them with the chamber reamer. If the necks are straight, then usually the bullet/cartridge will be straight.

 

[HTSmith]

I think Dusty has it right on different neck tensions between the dies also. I use the Redding Competition seating dies a lot and I can definitely feel the bullet seating even with the spring in. I can also feel the difference between brass sized w/ at 267 bushing v. a 266. This is w/ a Co-Ax press.