First time caster... Is this normal

[SheepDogAlpha]

Hey guys. Just cast my dirt boolits tonight! It was a ton of fun. I cast 124gr RN. I also setup my lee classic press with 9mm dies. My question is... is it normal to have a small ring of lead "cut off" around the top of the case after using the seating die? The lube sizer is sizing to .356 and hitting all lube grooves to the top. Am I seating to low? Any help would be appreciated. And not all boolits are doing this and I have adjusted the lube sizer as low as it will allow the boolit to go in the sizing die.

[savingprivateyang]

You need to flare the neck so it doesn't shave lead. Then use a crimp die to take the flare out after you seat.

[sljacob]

welcome to the club...

try seating and crimping as two separate operations

[Cherokee]

NO it is not normal nor desirable. Follow post #2 & 3 advice. Set the OAL based on what will fully chamber in your barrel (use a dummy round) and fit your magazine. Welcome to the life long fun and learning experience.

[jdgabbard]

Ditto... You need to SLIGHTLY bell the case mouth. It'll iron out when you seat/crimp.

[SheepDogAlpha]

The powder measure die is flaring out the case head to .357... but I still feel the boolit scrape inside the seating die. The Lee kit I ordered has a factory crimp die which is positioned after the seating die... Is there an adjustment to the seating die besides depth?

[SheepDogAlpha]

NO it is not normal nor desirable. Follow post #2 & 3 advice. Set the OAL based on what will fully chamber in your barrel (use a dummy round) and fit your magazine. Welcome to the life long fun and learning experience.

I have always ran winchester 9mm luger, so I was going for a seating depth close to that. The dummy rounds I seated cycled fine, but I am still getting 3/5 that give me "the ring"

[SheepDogAlpha]

got it... I needed to screw the powder through die in just a bit further to achieve a bigger flare... thanks all!

[nhrifle]

That ring is a bit of lead being shaved off the perimeter of the boolit as it is being forced into the case. There should be three dies in your set -- first is a sizing die which sizes the case, the second is the expanding die, and the third is the seat/crimp die. Like was said above, it is always best to crimp in a seperate operation after boolit seating.

Let's just go through the sequence of using your dies. First, to set up the sizing die, place the shellholder into the ram and run the ram to the top of the stroke. Thread the sizing die into the top of the press and screw it down until the bottom of the die contacts the shellholder. Tighten the lock ring, as this is your setting. Go ahead and size your cases.

Next is the expanding die, which some of us call the belling die. Put a sized case into the shellholder and run the ram to the top. Thread the expanding die down until you feel resistance. This is the expander contacting the shell mouth. Lower the ram and screw the die down 1/2 to 1 turn. Run the die to the top. You will feel some drag as the expander opens the case mouth. What you are looking to achieve with this die is a flaring of the case mouth, something resembling the bottom (open) part of a bell. Keep screwing the die down until the mouth of the case flares out and you can insert the base of the boolit a slight amount. This is the step that prevents the lead ring you are getting. Essentially you are making a funnel for the soft lead boolit to slide into the case. Once you are satisfied with the expanded cases, set the lock ring. Do not expand an extreme amount, as you are stretching and working the brass, and too much of that can make the case mouth brittle.

Set your seating die with an empty, unprimed case. Put a belled case into the shellholder and place a boolit in the case mouth. Run the ram to the top. Thread the seating stem almost all the way down. Thread the seating die down until you feel resistance. This is the seating stem contacting the boolit. Lower the ram and thread the die down a full turn. Raise the ram and the boolit will be forced into the case, but will be long. Measure wit calipers to be sure. Keep threading the die down until the boolit is seated to the correct depth. Once you are happy with that, You can now set the die to crimp if you do not have a seperate crimp die.

Unscrew the seating stem almost all the way. With the cartridge you assembled in the last step in the shellholder, run the ram to the top. Thread the die down until you feel resistance. This is the crimp ring contacting the case mouth. Lower the ram and screw the die down 1/8 turn. Raise the ram and examine the crimp. If you like it, set the die lock ring. If you want more crimp, continue to thread the die down until the crimp is acceptable. Set the die lock ring. With that cartridge in the shellholder and the ram at the top, thread the seating stem down until you feel resistance.

Your dies should now be set up to load, though you will still need to tweak the seating die a bit.

I hope this helps. Keep asking questions and keep on learning. Most of all, have fun!

[MtGun44]

TC as a separate step to really eliminate this problem. The issue is that
the boolit is still being seated as you start the crimp, so lead is displaced.

Need to seat. THEN crimp, so the boolit is stationary at crimp time.

Bill

[Mk42gunner]

SheepDogAlpha,

You might not need to use the Lee Factory Crimp die. I have never used one for handguns; from what I have read they are a solution that is searching for a problem. There should be pages and pages about them if you do a search.

Robert

[nhrifle]

Good point. The factory crimp die causes problems with undersize boolits when it sizes the case down. I use a seperate taper crimp die after the seating die to finish the process.

[44man]

Lee dies are a problem to a solution! So are Lyman dies with "M" expanders.
The FCD makes a good sinker.
If you flare the brass so a boolit starts and still shave lead, the seat die might be removing the flare as you seat.

[Cherokee]

"If you flare the brass so a boolit starts and still shave lead, the seat die might be removing the flare as you seat. " I've seen this happen and could be happening to you. Dump the FCD. Run a belled case into the seater and then measure it again to see if the die is resizing the bell.

[Friends call me Pac]

I noticed the same thing happening to me. Think I'll try seating and crimping in two steps as suggested. Thanks

[s1120]

Nhrifle, thats a great rundown of how to set up the dies. Thanks!

[1bluehorse]

Nhrifle, thats a great rundown of how to set up the dies. Thanks!

Except the seating die instructions are not correct...seating die to contact case mouth, if no crimp desired back seating die out a turn or more,( I do two) bullet seating depth is then determined by the bullet seating stem of the die..if crimping with the seating die, after the proper bullet seating depth is obtained, back seater plug out several turns, raise ram, lower die to touch case mouth, lower ram, turn die in 1/2 turn, raise case into the die, check crimp, if good, lower seating plug to touch bullet, lock die..at least thats the way my dies work..