SmallCaliberCentral

Reloading Help?

ok, I'm loading up some 204 Ruger loads for the first time. I picked up some dog town 34 gr HPFB Bullets. I have prep'ed 100 New Winchester cases. I have lee collet sized the brass and chamfered it.

I have had trouble with a few trying to seat the bullets, Is it i just need to be more carefull when trying to seat the Bullets.

Iam interested in hearing about your experiance's when reloading the 204 Cartridge.
Any suggestions appreciated, I had heard they are a little more difficult because of their small size.

I may just need to put a little more chamfer on the Case mouths??

I'm looking forward to Re-loading and shooting the 204 Ruger.

Thanks, for sharing you Experiances & Technique's

Yes, you'll probably need to put just a bit more chamfer on the case mouth. A lot of mouse bullets are flat based and are a little less forgiving when seating them, hence the reason I use a Forster Benchrest Seater Die. It holds the bullet straight and you don't get your fingers pinched trying to do it.
You are going to love shooting the 204. It's my second favorite caliber.

Two things, maybe three, for sure. Make sure your case mouths are trimmed even, then be sure a chamfer the mouth, in and out. The third thing go slow and careful with your fingers while running/holding the bullet as you seat it. Bill K

Are you using a Lee seating die?

I had problems with a Lee seating die and the 34gr hollow point bullets. The hollow point would catch the edge of the Lee seating stem and cause the bullet to seat crooked. I even noticed that the hole in the seating stem was drilled off-center. Havn't used that Lee seater since.

JLC -

Pull the seating stem and smooth the interior of it with some 600 grit carbide paper. Make a nice radius so the bullet won't catch on it.

I had a small problem with mine. the recess wasn't deep enough for the bullet point. So, I just drilled it deeper.

One thing I can add is that I use a VLD case mouth chamfer on all my cases regardless of what bullets I am using. All my bullets start into the case mouth easily and smoothly.

Missed the part about the hole being off-center. No biggie. You can enlarge it a bit or order a new part. The critical thing is leaving enough bearing surface for even contact with the bullet.

I just got my 204 and haven't ordered the dies yet. What do you guys think of the Hornady seater die with the sliding alignment sleeve?

The 204 flat base bullets can be a bear. I to use Lee bullet seater and I doubt others are a big improvement. I use a lee bullet chuck for a drill and camfer the case mouth a bit more than usual. I then start the bullet straight as possible with my fingers before seating in the die. This seems to work very well. I was very frustrated, the first time I tried seating flat based 204 bullets. I know a guy who loads .17 and .14 Cal bullets. He must have the patience of a Saint!

I highly recommend the Redding Seater dies. I have the competition version and while it's expensive, it sure is sweet---holds the bullet in perfect alignment during the seating process.

I am using the Lee Bullet Seating Die.
Yes it does appear to be the Seating stem that is Catching on the edge of the HP Bullet tip and cocking it to one side.
I'm concidering drilling a slight bevel on the bottom of the Stem and seeing how it does.?

I will probally get a VLD chamfer and try that next. If i can get the Flat base bullets to sit fairly straight up & down that will correct the problem. The bullets are cocking a little on the presses up stroke and catching the outer Edge of the Bullet seating stem, If Lee was to change the bullet seating stem it could correct the issue. I suspect the Poly tip bullets will not have the same problem.

I will be giving all of the above information concideration.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiances.

Get yourself the VLD Chamfer tool, most shooting suppliers have them, and eliminate the frustration! Also, I use an RCBS competition bullet seating die. Just drop the bullet into the loading port and the die does the rest for you.

VLD chamfer! You'll be very glad you did! Not perfect, but waaay better than standard chamfer.. and its a very cheap solution.

Here is a very good VLD Chamfer tool offered by one of our members here.
http://www.customreloadingtools.com/crt_010.htm

Well worth the price and very high quality.
I'm repeating myself, but Forster Benchrest Seater dies make seating small flat base bullets a breeze.

i take a q tip with rcbs lube to the in side of the neck. helps make slide better. i use to get scrapings from the neck of the bottom of the bullet. two causes here. 1 not enough chamfering . 2 no lube .

the rcbs lube is like a gel and messy. but does a good job.