SmallCaliberCentral

Another suggestion you might want to try. When you first start to feel the bullet making contact with the seating assembly, then back off and turn the cartridge 90* do this a couple of times while seating the bullet. This will help to align the bullet in the die.

TP, no need to go to the trouble of using some tubing. Don't let the idea of chamfering the case mouth scare you either as it is required. Obviously the RCBS is not doing its job and yes you should use a VLD tool. If you don't want to spend alot just pick up a cheap Lyman VLD tool for around $9 and your set. Also, make sure your seater die is adjusted properly, not the stem but the die body. Usually, you raise the ram and then screw the die in until it contacts the shellholder then add 1/4 turn. If your die is not setup correctly it may be trying to seat the bullets before the case is being supported by the die.

the prepped brass went out in the mail today, you should see it in your mail box on Wednesday or Thursday. Let us know how it works out for you.

Brad

Predator1 wrote:TP, no need to go to the trouble of using some tubing. Don't let the idea of chamfering the case mouth scare you either as it is required. Obviously the RCBS is not doing its job and yes you should use a VLD tool. If you don't want to spend alot just pick up a cheap Lyman VLD tool for around $9 and your set. Also, make sure your seater die is adjusted properly, not the stem but the die body. Usually, you raise the ram and then screw the die in until it contacts the shellholder then add 1/4 turn. If your die is not setup correctly it may be trying to seat the bullets before the case is being supported by the die.

This might be a way of insuring the sizer die is pushing the shoulder back enough, but is not the proper way of adjusting a seater die.
The seater should be screwed in the press with a case in the holder and ram raised until contact is felt then backed off a turn if no crimp is desired, or locked and the seating stem adjusted for proper bullet depth then the body re adjusted to add the crimp and the seater stem adjustment tweeked to return it to the proper seating position.
The OP needs to use a VDL chamfer tool as suggested and take it slow when seating. I "bump" the cartridge lightly a time or two up inside the die to get the bullet square then seat about 1/4 of the way and turn the cartridge 180 degrees and finish the seating. All dies have a small area jsut before the bullet seater cup of very close to bore diameter that is meant to "guide" the bullet straight into the case. Some like Forster, Redding and RCBS match seaters have a spring loaded tube that follows the cartridge up into the die assuring it keeps the bullet in line. I very much prefer these type of seater if the budget allows.

Right on Ol' Joe... Bill K

Well said.......

According to Lee dies instructions, which is what I use, you add a 1/4 turn after contact is felt. There is no crimp on "most 204 die sets." Only dies that use a crimp would adjust as Ol Joe advised. By adding a 1/4 turn after contact you are taking up any slack in the press and thus acheiving a "precise " seating depth. You are also making sure the case is being completely supported before the bullet is being seated.

I use this method when using Redding and forester seating dies.

Predator1 wrote:According to Lee dies instructions, which is what I use, you add a 1/4 turn after contact is felt.

That's exactly how I set up my Lee bullet seater. Looks like the VLD tool will solve my issues loading the FB bullets. Thanks.

If you haven't already, please see this thread:
http://www.204ruger.com/forum/viewtopic ... ter#p71722

Try the VLD tool, but if your still having problems, try chamfering the hole in the bullet seating stem.

I too had problems with hollow point bullets in the Lee seater. It was the seater stem causing the issue.

TP, if you are using the Lee seater than yes you may need to shamfer the seating stem. I did on mine as posted in the link that jlc204 posted. I just used a countersink tool and spun it by hand. Didn't take much and now it works great. You should be good to go if you do this and get a VLD tool.

This is all good info. The cases that got crushed were likely the ones I was letting them "ride up" the inside of the seater without being in the neck straight. My brother-in-law has a VLD tool so I'll see how that works in the future before I modify the underside of my bullet seater. The Noslers and SBK loaded without any problems because their boat tail allowed them to sit upright in the case neck - the VLD tool should resolve the flat base issue. Hopefully I'll be headed to the range tomorrow morning to see how the CRT bullets shoot (plus some others that I have loaded as well).

Did the brass show up in the mail? If not it should be there thursday.

Yes they did Brad, I had (2) CRT bullets left over and they did sit in the recess of the neck very well. I'm hoping to get to the range this morning before it rains - the only day of no wind for awhile!

Any chamfer tool on the market, including the RCBS, will do the job easily and efficiently if you use it properly. There's really no need to buy a "special" piece of tooling to prepare case necks for any type of bullet unless you just have extra money in your pocket that's looking for someone else's pocket to land in.

-BCB

I think Brad's pocket is worthy of landing my cash in. In return we all get plenty of useful advice, and his tools really are a cut above. I'm not gonna buy 2 of everything to make the comparison, but I do have 2 flash hole deburrers, and the CRT is definitely the better.