Out of reloading the last 100 rounds I experienced this 3 times. Starting to piss me off. Any ideas? The bullet was not jammed or rammed --felt nothing peculiar as I stroked the press --no unusual resistance.
Which seating die and stem?
"JB weld method" - thanks. I'll Google it.Take a look at your seating stem. You may need to modify it to contact closer to the ogive. There's always the JB weld method for getting a better, more uniform contact area.
I’m uncomfortable with the title of this thread and the description of the problem in post 1.
Take a look at the stem. If it's shallow, chuck it up in a drill press and drill out a good bit of depth, next use some valve lapping compound and a bullet in a drill to profile the stem, that ought to solve your issue if its the stem pushing on the tip."JB weld method" - thanks. I'll Google it.
Thanks..... Haven't got the drill press to modify it so I'll check it out buying onecheck out this page from Berger
Do I need VLD Seating Stems?
When loading a Very Low Drag (VLD) bullet or a hybrid bullet, we recommend that you use a VLD seating stem to ensure load consistency.bergerbullets.com
It is the same thing happening where the stem is pushing on the end of the bullet instead of the body (typically at the ogive)
I use mostly Whidden dies and have had to get the VLD seater stem for a couple calibers.
If you look closer at your picture you can see all of the tips are flattened. If you compare them to unseated projectiles they should be more of a rounded shape.
As others have suggested inspect the inside of your seating stem, may have part of a tip or other debris stuck in it, or it just may need modified to fit.
Is it cold out there!Out of reloading the last 100 rounds I experienced this 3 times. Starting to piss me off. Any ideas? The bullet was not jammed or rammed --felt nothing peculiar as I stroked the press --no unusual resistance.
View attachment 7622173
Its not thatMaybe I'm just going to fast and potentially hitting the tip as I first insert it.... Probably need to go slower.
Maybe I'm just going to fast and sometimes potentially hitting the tip on the edge of the seating stem as I first insert it.... Probably need to go slower on inserting.. make sure it's all aligned, no tilt before stroking.
Boom. Called Hornady. It's Hornady seating die part #397111Hornady sells seating stems for their different bullets, found this out after mashing a few aluminum tips. I just made one for my dies on the lathe, but they only cost about 11 bucks if ya wanna buy em from hornady.
Oh good to know TY!... haven't begun using the a-tips yet tho....The A-Tips require the special seating cup as well.
It would seem so. If one had a worthy drill press --the one I have is a Proxxon, more a crappy hobby one. I can drill non-ferous / sterling such.It’s pretty easy to drill an existing stem for clearance as well.
.....the tip is hitting the bottom of the cavity before the sides.....
^ I noticed that too.Is it me or you have a bunch of rolled up copper shavings at the case mouth?
The cartridge on the left, just above your thumb, looks like the shoulder is collapsed a little. I've had that happen with too much lube when resizing but have also had that happen if the case mouth was not chamfered and/or the case mouth was not opened up enough to allow the bullet to enter correctly. Brass will have some spring back and I always suspected that was the issue with some several times reloaded brass. Once I started annealing, no more issue.
You're thrusting your tip into something not designed for something that length, that then bottoms out and makes your tip go and hide back in the body.
If I had the press I could figger it out... but after some hunting I think I found the last one... Hornady Stem #397111 Paid double what it should have cost.View attachment 7622386
I bought a Redding VLD stem and the little test from Berger of putting a bullet in the end of the stem and seeing if it tipped (stem too short) is both simple and illuminating.
OG course finding one was a bit of a trick in today’s environment, but it’s the right solution if you aren’t a machinist or handy w a drill press (and I’m neither)
Yes, I have had a case stuck in the die. I was able to take the die apart and use a punch to drive the case back out. I did fuck up the expander ball and deprime pin that remained in the case but that was cheap and easy to replace. It really doesn't take much lube at all to be lubed enough but you definitely need some. I've run the gamut from rolling the case over the lube pad to spraying some lube into a zip-lock bag full of cases and shaking them up to just a swipe of the finger of Imperial wax. All of those methods work but that OG rolling pad is real easy to over do it. The bag shaking is easy to miss a case or 2 but I still use that most often due to the ease and lack of mess.There must be a happy medium with lubing becuase I do recall those dents happening far more pronounced so I backed off greatly on the lube.. and then one got damn near permanenttly stuck in the die... did you ever have that happen? I thought I had ruined the die until I slammed it hard enough to release.. and about broke my hand in the process. Thank God it was my right hand. I'm left handed. lol.
I thought I had chamfered them... so here again is one of those happy medium things... maybe I go to lightly because I was thinking essentially it's scraping metal away and wouldn't that result in shortened case life?
Also the guy that taught me never annealed his brass. He said it was automatically annealed with the flash of heat form shooting. Sounded like bullshit even then... but bc he's been doing it 30 years... I figured ok. That relationship also sort of went sour when I pushed back on his extremely being adamant about MOA scopes and I went with MIL instead. It was like he'd been slapped... He basically said MIL was made for stupid country folk joining the army. I thought well.. "I'm ok with that" I'm as rednecky-hick farm boy as one can be at my roots.... and God knows I'm not the brightest bulb in the chandelier either.
Thanks for the TIPS
I been using Imperial. But I just got some lanolin for a recipe that Gavin guy from TY suggested... So maybe I'll try that next. ThxYes, I have had a case stuck in the die. I was able to take the die apart and use a punch to drive the case back out. I did fuck up the expander ball and deprime pin that remained in the case but that was cheap and easy to replace. It really doesn't take much lube at all to be lubed enough but you definitely need some. I've run the gamut from rolling the case over the lube pad to spraying some lube into a zip-lock bag full of cases and shaking them up to just a swipe of the finger of Imperial wax. All of those methods work but that OG rolling pad is real easy to over do it. The bag shaking is easy to miss a case or 2 but I still use that most often due to the ease and lack of mess.
I know you have been here long enough to have read the MANY threads about annealing so I won't address that other than to say that I anneal and am a believer.
MIL vs MOA vs IPHY vs whatever and the whole FFP vs SFP just doesn't matter to me at all. They all work. Some like to argue their particular merits under specific conditions. Each of these systems are used by very good shooters all over the world and I say study what you got and shoot what you got. Hopefully, what you got isn't made in China. If so, I would encourage you to throw it away (rather than sell to another) and buy something else.
Just don't pass incorrect info on to others.
I had to order the Redding from UK at double. Good thing it’s not too expensive of an item. Crazy, right? It’s a fucking steel tube, how many people were clamoring for a long seating stem due to COVID and idiot Joe?If I had the press I could figger it out... but after some hunting I think I found the last one... Hornady Stem #397111 Paid double what it should have cost.
I really don't consider removing lube the same as cleaning/polishing though.But then I have to clean twice to get the lube off huh...
Cool.. ty!!!Anneal
Clean
Resize
Clean primer pocket
Check case length
Trim/chamfer if needed
Lube case neck
Prime
Drop powder
Seat bullet
Check coal
I clean with walnut or corn cob media. Not sure if ss would actually work harden the brass thoughCool.. ty!!!
One question tho (and the reason my logic had it opposite) Doesnt cleaning with SS harden the case? And wouldnt ya want the case neck softer before resizing? Just asking to help me understand.
I just toss them back in a corn cob tumbler for an hour. It’s zero work and I don’t worry that wayBut then I have to clean twice to get the lube off huh...