SmallCaliberCentral

Is it just me, or has anyone else had a problem when seating 32 grain Sierra Blitz Kings, I am getting a donut ring on the bullet just above the ogive. This is also creating a problem with consistent seating depth. Has anyone experienced this, and if so, what did you do to fix it?
Thanks

That's from your seating stem. It probably has a sharp edge on the inside. A little polishing with fine wool or emery cloth will fix that problem.

I'll try it. Thanks for the help.
Noc

Could you post a pic of what you are talking about? I'm new to reloading and a picture would help me to understand what you are talking about. Thanks.......

I posted these two pictures so you could see the larger seating stem in the pistol seating die as compared to the rifle seating die. The seating stem on the pistol die is easier to see. The seating stem is hollow and therefore contacts the bullet down from the tip a little ways. If the inside diameter of the seating stem has a sharp edge it will score the bullet around where it makes contact. This would explain the rings just above the ogive of nocturnalnasty's bullets.

The seating stem is partially covering the tip of the pistol bullet because it is hollow and pushes on the bullet down a ways from the tip. This is also why you can seat two bullets and have a different measurement from base to tip. The seating stem doesn't push on the tip so the distance can vary if one bullet's very tip is flattened or otherwise a different profile from the other. This is also why you should use a comparator whan taking seating measurements. They are much more consistent.

nn, I had that problem with a forster seater and 40 grain noslers. It worked fine on the bk's and v-maxes. All I did was judiciously twist a vld chamfer tool in the mouth of the seating stem. Here's a pic of a round with the ring and one after cleaning it up. Also pictured is a std chamfer tool and a vld tool. You can see how much closer the vld is to the actual bullet profile.....


edit: the bullets with the ring were just as accurate as the purty ones......Shoot 'em up. Don

Thanks guys. I will get a VLD chamfer tool and do the same. That is exactly what is happening on my bullets. I'm pretty new to reloading. Started in January of this year and only loaded 2,200 rounds so far. So when I see something of this nature, I don't have experience enough to know the cure. I really appreciate the knowledge that you fellas share on this site. You have no idea how helpful it is to a newbee like me.
Noc

There is nothing about that picture that makes me think good things about
Forester dies. Even junior high school metal shop 101 would teach one to knock off the burrs and finish the edges...apparently at Forester the machinist missed burr day.

skb2706 wrote:There is nothing about that picture that makes me think good things about
Forester dies. Even junior high school metal shop 101 would teach one to knock off the burrs and finish the edges...apparently at Forester the machinist missed burr day.

Well then you are really not going think good things about Redding, beause my 20BR competition seater does the same thing and it cost 2X as much! I think it has as much to do with the type of bullets and how thight the neck is as the dies.

Yep, no burrs about it. The forster dies are well machined AND polished. The problem comes from a seating stem cup that don't fit the bullet. Once it fits, the ring goes away...... These dies throw real concentric rounds. Don

The pictures I posted are of Redding's Competition Seating Dies with Micrometer tops. These are the best dies at controlling run-out that I've seen. Forster comes in a close second. These sliding sleve seating dies can hold run-out to less than .001 in most cases.

Run-out is the cause of most of my flyer problems. Well maybe I'd better say that it used to be a problem. Since I stopped using the RCBS Gold Medal Match Seating Die and started using the Redding Competition my flyer problem was solved. Roll one of your loaded rounds across the kitchen table. Watch the very tip of the bullet. If it wobbles, that's run-out. It is an accuracy killer. My RCBS die, with the nice little loading port in the side of the die body couldn't seat a bullet straight. I tried everything to get the die to work. I tried tapping the die everytime I dropped a bullet in the loading window in an effort to get it to set straight in the die. I tried everything. I finally gave up and bought a Redding Competition Seating Die and the problem went away. I could tell right from my first impression that this die was held to extreeme tollerences when machined. My RCBS die sits on a shelf collecting dust. Reducing the number of flyers is the first step to getting the accuracy this cartridge is capable of. Try it, you'll like it.

Don't get me wrong. For a time my whole reloading bench was RCBS green. I love my Rockchucker. But, I now use a K&M arbor press and Wilson in-line seating dies to seat my bullets and my run out is held to .0005 in most cases. The Rockchucker just wasn't meant for this kind of accuracy. If I wasn't going to buy an arbor press I would go with a Forster Coax press. Even though I don't own one, everything I read about this press is positive and its construction is geared towards extreme accuracy.

Pretty obvious to me that the inside edge of the bullet seating stem has a sharp edge. It is cutting the bullet. (Burr in machinists world)

OK, update. I took a small cone shaped burr bit and put more of a taper on the seating stem where it contacts the bullet. Problem solved. I really don't think its a quality control issue. Because the die didn't mark the Hornady 32 grain v-max bullets at all. The Sierras are just shaped a bit different from the ogive forward. But now, since I made the modification, no more marks. Thanks to all of you for all of your help.

You mean the 'burr bit' took the 'burr off'. Imagine that.......