Finding a seating die thats close enough

[darth_ritis]

I don't normally reload for 224 Valkyrie, but I thought it might be interesting to experiment with a different bullet as JP's explains here:

I have a couple Redding competition dies that I wonder if they would be close enough to at least seat a bullet straight and not damage the case. I have a 22 PPC die with both a regular stem and a VLD stem, and an old 22 Nosler die which would be closer body dimensions. Would either work for a few bullets just to test the idea?

I'd go buy a proper Valkyrie seating die if the idea works, but I don't want to spend money on reloading gear for a rifle I'd normally just feed factory ammo in.

 

[antithesis]

The PPC is fatter all the way around. No good way to stabilize the 224 brass in the PPC die.

 

[darth_ritis]

The PPC is fatter all the way around. No good way to stabilize the 224 brass in the PPC die.

Yeah, I had doubts that would work. The Nosler is much longer but the same body diameter as the Valkyrie, so I wasn't sure if the length would be a problem.

I loaded a couple using the Nosler die, I'll have to test feeding once I get the upper assembled.

 

[supercorndogs]

Either should work fine. The seating die does not support the case during bullet seating. The seating die contains the seating stem.

 

[TheOfficeT-Rex]

Either should work fine. The seating die does not support the case during bullet seating. The seating die contains the seating stem.

This is true of traditional seating dies, but not of 'competition' style seater dies from redding, forster, whidden, rcbs, etc. which use a spring loaded sleeve to stabilize / align the case and bullet inside the die.

 

[antithesis]

The in-line seating dies-- or at least the L.E. Wilson brand --have tight tolerances as well (but no spring).

 

[Mike Casselton]

Call Redding and purchase the correct sleeve. Shouldn't cost very much.

 

[TheOfficeT-Rex]

The in-line seating dies-- or at least the L.E. Wilson brand --have tight tolerances as well (but no spring).

When you say in line, you mean the arbor press type, correct? I like some aspects of their design, but I don't think they're practical for most reloaders who use/own standard, thread in die presses.

 

[antithesis]

When you say in line, you mean the arbor press type, correct? I like some aspects of their design, but I don't think they're practical for most reloaders who use/own standard, thread in die presses.

Correct. I have a Forster Co-Ax that I used for sizing and seating. One day I got the 'what's my seating tension' bug and bought a K&M arbor press with a force pack and a couple of L.E. Wilson seating dies. I won't go back to standard dies for my bolt guns.

Some people say they are slow which is simply not true. I find them to be faster since I don't have to fuss with making sure the bullet does not get bumped on the die when putting it in the [universal] shell holder, I have the arbor press set in a comfortable spot away from the front of the bench, and the throw on the lever is very short. The dies themselves are easier to work with as well.

 

[spife7980]

I think he’s saying that it’s not practical for those who don’t want to buy a second press when they already have a press they find good enough.