Best die to seat a cast rifle boolit/

[jimmyUT]

So I have some 223 cast boolits to test out and wondering what dies most use to flare/seat the bullet. For jacketed, I just use my Dillons, but I am thinking the cast bullet will deform if there is no flare like on my pistol brass.

Thanks in advance for the advice

[DeanWinchester]

Ideally a Lyman Mdie is best for flaring. The Lee flaring die will work fair enough but it doesn't size the inside of the neck. Some sizing dies will size the neck down a little too far for cast boolits in my opinion. I don't like as much neck tension with a cast boolit.

A far a seating die? Whatever fits the nose without deforming it. My Lee dies have never failed me.

[ShooterAZ]

The lee universal case flaring tool works well. My rcbs seating dies work fine for me as well.

[462]

Lyman's M-die will "expand" the case neck (tension) and mouth (parallel seating alignment).

If all you want to do is "flare" the case mouth, Lee's die, or some members use something as simple as needle-nose pliers or a tapered punch. None of these methods address neck tension and parallelism.

Any brand seating die will work, though I've found some to be less boolit friendly (cast boolit diameter versus jacketed bullet diameter). Whatever brand you use, pull a boolit and measure it.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

The "M" die is the tool to use. A usually unspoken/unknown plus for the die is that it will allow you to feel the case neck tension in use. If you have cases that feel tight, loose, or middling in using the die, and your boolits are correctly sized, you better believe your shots will scatter.

Uniformity in seating is what is sought. The M die allows you to run the die in twice to correctly open up a too tight neck, sort out the loose necks for use with other or larger boolits, and make the middling case neck tightness the rule. It is also quite possible to us a a tighter neck sizing die for extra tightness with a slightly smaller "M" die.

BvT

[Von Gruff]

As far as seating goes I have my Wilson straight line dies except for my 303 British and I have modified the Lee seating die to give the same floating stem straight line seating that is far superior to the usual lee seating procedure. I will start a new thread soon in the reloading section.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?229656-Lee-Die-modifications-and-other-load-tricks

[Whitespider]

Without breakin' the bank...
Expand with the Lyman M-die and seat with a Hornady New Dimension seating die.
Can you do better?? Yup, ya' can... but it will cost ya'.

[Biggs300]

Redding dies with Lee universal case flaring die (if needed).

[Baron von Trollwhack]

The initial inquiry was about flaring the case neck to seat 22 cast boolits. Unless the case neck is expanded a bit, flaring is a wasted effort as the bullet is likely to deform on starting into the case even with a slight neck flare.

Most know that the jacketed expander does not expand the case neck to allow seating of a cast bullet without deformation, but rather makes a generally tight fit for the smaller jacketed bullet. There are TWO aspects of cast bullet DAMAGE in seating. The first is entry of the cast bullet into the neck not flared, the second is the neck diameter issue.

The universal expander flaring tool by Lee is great but has LIMITED usefulness relating to the question asked, and certainly does NOTHING for inside neck diameter. Some here do not understand that cast bullets are oversized in relationship to jacketed bullets, and that the bullets oversize has to do with seating tension and uniformity of bullet pull on firing.

BvT

[Jeff H]

The LEE universal case flaring die does just flare the mouth and does nothing to prevent an "over-REsized" case neck from REsizing your cast bullets, but I still use it for cast bullets.

The least complicated way I have found to prevent the neck from unduly squeezing my cast bullet is to not squeeze the neck unduly to begin with.

LEE collet dies can be adjusted up or down to adjust the neck tension on a bullet. By backing my collet die OUT very slightly from where it was supposed to be according to LEE's instructions, I can get just enough neck tension to hold the bullet as much as is practicable without actually squeezing it to a smaller diameter.

Flare the mouth, seat the bullet and crimp or not, as is most suitable for your load, rifle and preferences.

Once I have the collet die set, I prefer not to touch it because it takes a little fussing - size neck, seat bullet, pull bullet, measure bullet, adjust die, size neck, seat bullet, pull.... It usually isn't that bad after you've done it once and have a feel for how far to back it out.

I'm happy with it. No need for several neck size bushings, expanders, etc.

[dragon813gt]

For rifle I use RCBS neck expanders. I shoot predominately 30cal and they offer a good variety of plug sizes to meet my needs. They do not add the step that a M Die does. Some prefer a M Die because of this.

A stock M Die while better than just flaring the mouth is still made for jacketed bullets. Have custom plugs made if you want proper neck tension.

[.22-10-45]

I modify or make new xpanders for .22 Hornet & .222 Rem. 1 1/2 deg. taper instead of sharp corner to larger dia. on plug...can barely see expansion on case mouth..but g.c. or p.b. can be started past last band, or g.c. As for seating, Wilson straight-line with Sinclair micrometer top. bullets can be seated with hand pressure alone.

[jimmyUT]

Lots of good advice here guys.
Where do I find custom made plugs?

[462]

Lots of good advice here guys.
Where do I find custom made plugs?

Contact forum member Buckshot.