Boollets seating cocked

[abunaitoo]

It only happens with my Lee 8x57 seating die.
Boolets are sized to .326 from .329.
I've installed a .323 expander. Original was .320.
Boolets go in cocked, not straight.
Bad die????
Works OK with comdoms.
Bad press???
No problem with other calibers.
Any other things I could try???

[blackthorn]

Wrong profile seating stem? Seating stem loose? Right shell holder?

[375RUGER]

shim the die or the shell holder on the side that is "low". I had to do that when I first started loading rifle, the ram and die were about .015" out of alignment.
I've also learned that bullets and boolits will have excessive runout if the size die is not square. I always leave the die loose, stroke the ram up, tighten the die, then lower the ram.
Maybe it's just the seating stem that is crooked also.
Just some thoughts, hope it helps.

[Sonnypie]

Are you shaving lead as well?
Is the case mouth lightly chamfered?
M-die used? Or a slight flare to the case mouth?
Can you set the boolit on straight (like get the gas check started) and get it to seat squarely?

Something is obviously amiss with what you are doing.
I have found with my Lee inline seating die I could reverse (turn upside-down) the seating ram and have a flat pusher for my round nosed cast boolits. (311291)
They call it a B.S. Plug. (http://leeprecision.com/xcart/B.S.PLUG-30-06-30-30.html) <click here<
I think they mean Bullet Seating Plug.
It's too small to plug up any other B.S.
I'd take the seating die apart and see what's going on in there.

BTW, all dies are made for jacketed bullets. We have to make them work with our cast boolits.
Welcome to the Red Headed Step-child side of reloading.

[wallenba]

Are you sure the boolits did not get bent? I had that problem with longer cast boolits that I lubrisized in my 4500. I had to take the ram all the way to the top to clear it. At the top of the stroke it kinda pushes outward before going straight down. After seating them I noticed a slight wobble when I rolled them.

[swheeler]

It only happens with my Lee 8x57 seating die.
Boolets are sized to .326 from .329.
I've installed a .323 expander. Original was .320.
Boolets go in cocked, not straight.
Bad die????
Works OK with comdoms.Bad press???
No problem with other calibers.
Any other things I could try???

Your seater die was made for jacketed .323" bullets, with your .326 sized bullets they are hanging up in the the die and the floating seater stem can't work correctly. Uncrew the top and dump out the seater stem then hone out the die until a .326 sized bullet will slip all the way through, no more "bent" bullets.

[williamwaco]

Also:

Bullets will try to self align themselves with the inside of the neck of the cartridge case - If they have time.

I find that in my loading practice, crooked seating is nearly always caused by "slamming" the press handle and seating the bullet too fast. My rule is that from the first resistance when the bullet touches the seating stem, it should take a full two to three seconds to complete the upstroke of the ram.

That said, I don't believe that is your problem since you don't have the problem with any other cartridge, I expect it is a die problem.


.

[Char-Gar]

swheeler is correct. The bullet seating chamber/portion of your die is too small for the larger cast bullet. This is an all to common problem for cast bullet shooters.

I made a chamber type seating die for cast bullet loads in the 8 X 57. I used the chamber of an old Mauser barrel and reamed out the bore to .326. I use .325 bullet.

[1Shirt]

Agree with SWeeler!
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[462]

+3 with swheeler.

Fat-for-caliber boolit reloaders live in a jacketed bullet world, just as we who are left-handed live in a right-handed world. The ability to improvise and adapt are key.

[MGySgt]

I had the same problem with .432 boolits for my 44 mag until I honed out the seater die. (it idin't bend them but sure did seat them funny!) If you crimp in a seperate step you will have to hone that one out too!

[felix]

Just got a 1K lot of Aguilla 45 ACPs. Yes, the 230 "balls" are loaded with obvious, off-center bullet seating. As mentioned, production speed prolly is the culprit. Brass cases, though, for the same price as the Wolf irons. ... felix

[abunaitoo]

#2 shell holder used. original Lee BS plug being used. I'll try and turn it around and see what happens.

The seating die has been honed out to allow the oversize boolet to pass through.

The boolet is a Lee 324-175 that has been honed out to .329, then resized with a lee sizer honed out to .326.

The seating stem, Lee BS plug, was lose, so I wraped some tape around it to keep it centered. Dodn't help.

I used a Lee flaring die to start the boolet into the case.

I don't think the boolets are bent because I resized them. from .329 to .326. I'll try rolling them to make sure.

I'll try 375Ruger's suggestion. If it works, it would be a bad die problem.

[MtGun44]

Look into using a Hornady seater die. They have a really nice floating sleeve inside to
exactly line up the bullet with the case neck.

HOWEVER, these are sized for bullets, not necessarily boolits. So if your boolits are well
above what they intended (and .323 should not be, I would hope) you may have problems
and have to polish out a few thousandths in the floating sleeve.

Bill

[swheeler]

#2 shell holder used. original Lee BS plug being used. I'll try and turn it around and see what happens.

The seating die has been honed out to allow the oversize boolet to pass through.

The boolet is a Lee 324-175 that has been honed out to .329, then resized with a lee sizer honed out to .326.

The seating stem, Lee BS plug, was lose, so I wraped some tape around it to keep it centered. Dodn't help.

I used a Lee flaring die to start the boolet into the case.

I don't think the boolets are bent because I resized them. from .329 to .326. I'll try rolling them to make sure.

I'll try 375Ruger's suggestion. If it works, it would be a bad die problem.

It's supposed to be loose, that's why it is a "floating" seater. If it works just fine with jacketed bullets what makes you think it is a die or shellholder problem, if it's not hanging up in the seater die must be the BS plug, get rid of the tape.

[waksupi]

Got lube up in the die?

[abunaitoo]

I started without the tape on the BS plug. I added the tape hoping it might solve the problem.

The die was cleaned of all leftover lube.

I'm thinking the die is very slightly off center.

[MikeS]

Another thing to try is getting a Lyman M die. Unlike the Lee which just bells the end of the case, the M die actually expands the neck to .001 under the size of the boolit (you need to make sure and get the proper expander for the boolit you're using), as well as putting a small bell on the end if you want to. Using M dies I rarely put much of a bell on the ends, but I'm able to actually put the boolit into the case neck enough that it's in there straight, and also stays in the neck on it's own. The only rifle cartridges I load are the 30-30 and the 7.62x39, both with Lee dies, and I've never had any problem with cocked boolits. BTW, I use the same M die for both cartridges, so if you load for a few different cartridges, you can use one die if they're all the same caliber (30 cal as mine are), and if they're different calibers you can buy just the expander you need directly from Lyman (it's not listed in their catalog, or website, but call them, they have them).

[dbldblu]

Too much neck tension will cause crooked ammo in my experience. If I were using a .326 bullet, I would want a .324 or .325 M die.

[abunaitoo]

I'll make a .324 sizer and try it.