SmallCaliberCentral

Hello, I"m new to the forum and just bought a H&R in 204. I got my dies and started working up some loads and had no issues until I started loading flat based bullets the HP bullets would either smash the HP or bend the neck of the case, not on all of them but enough to to get me fustrated. do you have any suggestions. I"m useing Lee dies on a single stage press< allmy reloading dies are Lee and have never had any issues. Thank you BTW I love this forum lots of good information hear

I am a newer reloader, about two years now, and this has been a great site. Based on the info you have given, my first thought would be maybe the case mouth needs a better inside chamfer. The experienced guys will jump in soon but that would be a place to start . HTH
Bob

First thing to try would be a VLD neck chamfer tool. When I first started reloading for my 204, I was experiencing the same problem with crushing the brass. At the time I was using Win brass. I switched to RP brass and have never looked back. Also, make sure to lube the necks on your brass before running it thru your dies. When I first learned reloading from a good friend, we were both loading straight wall pistol brass, and I did not learn the value of lubing the necks, no need, until I started reloading bottle neck rifle cases. In fact I was made aware of this thru some great advice and help from members on this site, some 6 or now almost 7 years ago.

thanks you guys i will check my chamfer and lube case necks I will try it out and let you know how it works out. I'm using Hornady brass this is the first time I have used any Hornady brass. Thanks again

VAshooter wrote: I'm using Hornady brass this is the first time I have used any Hornady brass.

Never used Hornady brass myself. but lots of bad news on this site, from members that have experience with Hornady brass. Unfortunately, not much available at this time as far as most reloading components go. Best of luck!

Trim to length and chamfer well on the inside!

Lots of miss-information (haters) of Hornady Brass here. Hornady brass is as good or better than any other brass. Much better than Winchester. The reason so many people hate it is because it has the ability to crush the shoulder during the seating of the bullet (flat based). Since the Hornady brass has the thickest neck in the business it needs work to load correctly with flat based bullets. I have Remington, Hornady, Nosler, Norma, and Winchester brass. In my custom 204's the brass needs to be turned or reamed to fit. This is especially true of the Hornady brass. The RCBS competition seater dies with the "window" are the answer to your crushed necks and shoulders with trying to seat flat based Bullets. Dip the base of the bullet in Graphite use the RCBS Comp windows seater and I never lose Hornady brass ever. It's good stuff.

Ok mate, you probably found out your issue already but if you haven't here is the likely cause... I had the exact same issue with mine and it was actually the cheap lee collet dies i was using. Inside the dies there is a cylinder (seating plug) that can move all around to help center the projectile when you seat it. Now my projectiles would go up and the tip would get stuck on the flat base of the plug and not slip down into the center. This was causing damaged tips and for the projectiles to be pushed in and stretching the neck of the case making it unable to chamber.

So the easy fix, i got a drill out and drilled into the plug into a larger diameter hole at the base to just contour the projectile into the plug without getting stuck. Worked a treat, my seating depth is more consistent than ever and tips come out untouched every time. Hope this helps.

Any I have the same dies, same deisgn for my 308 and no issues with them ever. It's simply poor design for the 204 as the projectile is soo short and sharp that it easily falls against the wall of the die and gets jammed as you reach the plug. Either way, im 100% sure this will fix ur issue.

Did the chamfer and it worked like a charm Thanks for your help

I have found that a good set of dies like Hornady makes a big difference. The seating die has like a cylinder in it to help line up and straighten the bullet while seating it. I have found that before doing a full seat, I'll do a light tap first which fully straightens the bullet, then will fully seat with no problem. Of course to as has been said a good chamfering is a must.