SmallCaliberCentral

I've been reloading for a few months now with some good success but this one problem seems to creep back and I'd like to get rid of it.

It mostly occurs with flat (non-boattail) bullets where a wee bit of the bullet gets shaved when I seat it. I use a chamfer tool and have tried the the low drag model from RCBS also, this helps reduce the shaving but it still exists. Off the top of my head I can remember my .204 numbers but on my .224 cals the interior diameter of the case measures out to be around .220-221 before chamfering. I would think that chamfering would be enough to stop the problem but I see that it isn't.

I'm using just the base RCBS dies and am unsure on some of the terminology I have been reading on "belling" the case head, which to me seems that you open the mouth of the case a bit more, say .226-8 and have it taper down tighter in the neck to allow for better seating. Is this correct? And if it is, what adjustments would I have to make with my dies to achieve this? I've a few tried different configurations on the sizer die but nothing seemed to work too well and I figured it might be better to ask here than monkey around too much and waste brass.

Any help you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated.

I had the same thing happen for years until I got ahold of a Holland 14* VLD chamfer tool. It's a carbide spiral/helical cutter that works from .17 to .45 caliber, and since I started using it a few years ago, no copper jacket shaving at all...zilch, zero, nada. It costs about $28, and is the best single investment I ever made to my precison handloading tool chest.

http://www.hollandguns.com/index.html

By the way, you do NOT want to "bell" the mouth of rifle cases just to solve this issue, you'll overwork the brass in the neck of the case and have split necks soon thereafter, varying neck tension, and 'shotgun' groups.

No slam against RCBS, but I've had much better, more accurate handloads since I upgraded all my dies intended for my precison rifles over to Redding.

Thanks Rick, I'll pick up one of those tools, it's been aggravating to spend a lot of time on case prep and whatnot to have the final step produce the shaving.

i also have this problem with reloading 204 ammo! i fixed this by using a steel wool spinner info found at http://varmintal.com/arelo.htm i used a 3/4 inch bolt driver filled with fine steel wool in a cordless drill to smooth out the chamfering and to round and smooth the case mouth this makes seating the bullets much easier and cures the bullet shaving ploblem!