Hey guys I'm having trouble understanding how to set the seating die with the rcbs 3 carbide die set. The seat plug is pretty straight forward but the die body is where I don't understand. The instructions say to run a completed case less the bullet to the top of the stroke then screw the body down until you feel it make contact with the case, then back out one full turn and lock down. I do not plan to crimp but by following these instructions the case only goes part way into the die and I don't see it closing up end from the expander. Am I misunderstanding the instructions
- Thread starter Icewater
- Start date
Just how much flare do you have? A new guy will over flare, you need just enough so the bullets sits on the case. Adjusting the die and crimp feature is going to have to be trial and error, and believe me, a semi 9mm needs to be crimped.
Not always. Case tension is enough if you don't bell or bell micro-slightly.
A standard seater die, properly adjusted, is never going to touch the shell holder.
A standard seater die, properly adjusted, is never going to touch the shell holder.
Do a vid on yourself seating bullets in an un-flared pistol case. If nothing else I want to see the time it takes.
Don't knock it till u try it.
U can seat Berrys and Xtreme plated bullets as well as Zero 147 JHP and Hornady 147 XTP without flaring. The case mouth just slides around the bullet. You do have to be careful not to pinch your fingers between the die and the case mouth.
U can seat Berrys and Xtreme plated bullets as well as Zero 147 JHP and Hornady 147 XTP without flaring. The case mouth just slides around the bullet. You do have to be careful not to pinch your fingers between the die and the case mouth.
I do recall trying it, crushed cases were the result, and yes the finger part!
That's cuz you are slamming hard on the handle. You have to gently nudge it. Yeah it's slow
I will measure the flare with a caliper when I get home and report back. I am wondering if I am suppose to screw the body down until I feel the crimp shoulder then back it out a full turn rather than feel the flare gently rubbing the sidewalls. I'll report back with the dimensions
I think that's too much flare, you can set the expander to just ever so slightly flare, all that's needed. Now adjust the seater to remove the flare, if the full seating doesn't, a 1911 style chamber needs crimped because of feeding issues, these POS plastics maybe not so. Glock's will swallow and spit anything and still remain somewhat accurate.
The more flare the quicker you'll feel the side walls.
You don't need a lot of flare, unless you are loading lead bullets. Give it minimal flare. If you look close, the base of the bullet has a slight radius. It will overcome the case mouth without a flare. So minimize it.
Also, seat and crimp in two steps. Get a dedicated taper crimp die. It will make your life easier.
That would depend on the exact bullet.
It is a hornady 115grn round nose fmj. My factory is pmc 115grn.
I just test fired two. The first shot was good but the second round is getting jammed, I never pulled the trigger on the second round, just want to eject by hand to see it was cycling ok before I pulled trigger again. It is leaving scratches on the bullet and case near the bullet. The shot brass is showing no sign of over pressure.
I just test fired two. The first shot was good but the second round is getting jammed, I never pulled the trigger on the second round, just want to eject by hand to see it was cycling ok before I pulled trigger again. It is leaving scratches on the bullet and case near the bullet. The shot brass is showing no sign of over pressure.
Well I just cycled a couple by hand now and they were ejecting hard. I notice rifling on the bullets so I am going to seat them further until they cycle in my gun. I am about 1.168" right now, I'll try .010" more. Must be a different ogive
Be careful guys, 9mm is very pressure sensitive to seating depth. You for sure don't want to be in the lands!
I would go 1.100-1.135" with that bullet. Look how little bullet shank you have sitting in that case.
All FMJ's are not the same. There are 2R, 2.5R, 3R, etc FMJ bullets. The higher the number the more slender the nose. The blunter the nose the closer they are the rifling at a given OAL.
I should have checked my first rounds in the chamber, it's hind sight now. Thanks for the help and tips guys!
I ended up with two different loads using blue dot and my OAL is 1.135" I'm estimating about .030" from the lands. These are not crimped - it seems to be controversial to crimp, these bullets don't have the crimp groove. I have also been told not to trim my brass(9mm) because it creates too much work and is not necessary. If I were to crimp I think I would be forced to trim for a consistent crimp. These are my first handloads, if I have any issues at the range I'll report back
I ended up with two different loads using blue dot and my OAL is 1.135" I'm estimating about .030" from the lands. These are not crimped - it seems to be controversial to crimp, these bullets don't have the crimp groove. I have also been told not to trim my brass(9mm) because it creates too much work and is not necessary. If I were to crimp I think I would be forced to trim for a consistent crimp. These are my first handloads, if I have any issues at the range I'll report back
I dont crimp my 9mm loads. I flare the mouth to .377 on .356 bullets and .376 on .355 bullets. I also slightly chamfer the mouth as it helps the bullet slide it. Icewater, have you heard of the plunk test? I helped a fellow reloader earlier this week and some bullets would plunk at 1.150 and the next bullet wanted 1.142. These were Barry's plated bullets. Make a couple dummy rounds, no primer and flare the mouth to .376 and see if the bullet will set on the case. The rounded corners of the bullet should disappear into the case. It may take a flare of .377 if its a .356 diameter bullet. Unscrew the plunger and seat the bullet long as in 1.169. Pull the barrel out of your gun and drop the dummy round into the chamber and listen for the plunk of the case bottoming out in the chamber. Grab the case head and pick it up and drop it a few more times as you rotate the round. If the bullet hits the lands, the bullet will stick and be hard to pull out of the chamber and, you will not hear the plunk... Seat the bullet deeper until you get repeated drops while rotating the round. Easy to pick up and a plunk on the drops. I normally seat .003 to .005 deeper cause not all bullets will be the same shape, length, etc.. I normally find around .004 difference in a box of 100 of high quality bullets and I have seen up to .018 differences.
After you make a couple dummies, cycle them through the gun a few times and measure the lengths to make sure you have no set-back of your bullets. Out of the 3 die sets I have worked with for 9mm, the case mouth diameters ranged from .370, .372 and .374, all of these did not have any set-back. But, do your own testing.
My last range session was testing crimped loads vs no-crimped load of identical specs. All groups fired that were non-crimped were more accurate and velocity was a tad higher than the crimped version.
After you make a couple dummies, cycle them through the gun a few times and measure the lengths to make sure you have no set-back of your bullets. Out of the 3 die sets I have worked with for 9mm, the case mouth diameters ranged from .370, .372 and .374, all of these did not have any set-back. But, do your own testing.
My last range session was testing crimped loads vs no-crimped load of identical specs. All groups fired that were non-crimped were more accurate and velocity was a tad higher than the crimped version.
U don't have to crimp if you flare minimally so when the bullet is seated the case wall is straight. Winchester is the only manufacturer that crimps the shit out of their 9mm ammo. I dunno why. A taper crimp is useful when you have a bell on the case mouth after seating. But you should still crimp slightly only to straighten out the case mouth.
Do a search for the plunk test.
Flaring to .380 will reduce your case neck tension, you may have bullet set-back when chambering the round. NOT Good
Flaring to .380 will reduce your case neck tension, you may have bullet set-back when chambering the round. NOT Good
I think I get it....
Since the chamber is cut into the barrel by dropping the cartrige it would make a plunk sound when the brass case hits the chamber shoulder. If the sound danmpening lead bullet hits the rifling it won't plunk and may slightly stick into the rifling.
Next time I load I'll measure my flare and bullet od, and keep it minimal
Since the chamber is cut into the barrel by dropping the cartrige it would make a plunk sound when the brass case hits the chamber shoulder. If the sound danmpening lead bullet hits the rifling it won't plunk and may slightly stick into the rifling.
Next time I load I'll measure my flare and bullet od, and keep it minimal
Not to hijack the thread, but I load my auto pistol rounds by flaring the case and taper crimping in a seperate station or seperate step if on a single stage press. I find my most accurate load with each bullet with no regard for distance to lands--it's not like I'm shooting at 1k yds. I load my ammo for 100% reliability. I also shoot a lot of cast pistol bullets. NOT taper crimping sacrifices too much in the reliability dept for my tastes. Any ammo-related stoppage is a failure on my part and is unacceptable. Pistol bullets I churn out by the thousands on my Dillon, and I have no patience to fight unflared or collapsed cases. Rifle rounds get much more attention to details depending on their intended use. YMMV
