Newbie with bullet seating problem

[jlc204]

First, I have learned a lot from all the great info in this forum in the past few months. It is because of this site that I decided to purchase a new Savage 12 VLP (single shot) in 204 Ruger to use as a target/ground hog rifle. I'm having a problem that hopefully someone can shed some light on...
I have new Win. brass, Benchmark powder, Rem. 7 1/2 primers, and I got Dogtown 34 gr. bullets to practice with. I have the Lee collet neck die set, and a Redding body die.
After running the new brass through the collet die to fix the dented necks, I just can't seem to get the bullet even slightly in the case mouth to get the bullet started straight to go up in the seating die. What happens is, the bullet goes into the seating die crooked and sometimes damages the mouth/neck after being seated crooked.
I have inside chamfered the case mouth w/ no luck. I believe the neck die is set up correctly as I also have one for 270 Win. and haven't had the same problem.
I used my digital calipers to measure the diam. of the mandrel and it is reading .202 to .203 which should be correct for neck tension?
How can I get these bullets started straight?
Thanks in advance.
jlc204

[Rick in Oregon]

jlc: I feel your frustration from here. Small diameter bullets are indeed difficult to seat properly, especially if you're used to the larger big game calibers. Sometimes when trying to seat dinky little bullets with standard seating dies, dexterity and technique really come into play. I've found that the absolute best remedy is to bite the bullet and use competition seating dies.

My personal preference is for Redding, as over the years I've had the best performance from them, but other makers (Forester, RCBS) also offer this type of sliding axial sleeve seater, all of them are far better than a standard seating die. The price to me is very much worth the price of admission, as accuracy is almost always immediately noticable on the target, not to mention the 'fumble factor' is totally eliminated as mentioned earlier.

That's the best I can offer....hope it helps.

[jlc204]

Thanks for your advise, Rick. If I could only get that little bugger to go in the case a little, I think the Lee seater would work ok for now. Oh well. I have a Forster seating die for my .270 and it works great. Looks like I will be buying one (or a Redding) for my 204 as well.
Thanks again.

[Rick in Oregon]

jlc: If you do decide to purchase a new seating die, make sure it's the "Competition Seating Die" that contains the micrometer seating depth adjustment and sliding sleeve. You'll never look back, I promise.

[futuretrades]

jlc: If you do decide to purchase a new seating die, make sure it's the "Competition Seating Die" that contains the micrometer seating depth adjustment and sliding sleeve. You'll never look back, I promise.

As per RIO, do yourself a favor and buy the competition seating die. I use them exclusively on 204 and 223.