30/30 RCBS seating die.

[crazy mark]

I finally got tired today of this seating die that seems to be made for a SP bullet instead of a FN bullet. I took an extra seater stem I had and turned it down to .300 and the made it a FN. Now no more funny rings on my FN nose bullets. Why RCBS made them this way I will never know. Mark

[DrDucati]

Old thread, but I am using Lee 30-30 die set and I am having the same issue. Probably the bullet will fly the same, but it's an ugly ring. Anyone know of a seating die that's better for FN?

[blikseme300]

I have run into this a number of times and my solution has been to machine a replacement with a flat end. There has been mention on this forum on doing a reversable modification to the seater stem by using JB weld, smearing a release agent on a bullet, making sure everything is square and push the bullet in to form a cup that conforms to the CB.

[gunshot98]

What about taking an end mill the size of the flat nose and milling the seater i have?

[blikseme300]

What about taking an end mill the size of the flat nose and milling the seater i have?

What kind of machine will you use to do this? In a lathe it might work but I have never tried it.

Seating is often done as an afterthought in that accurate concentric seating is important for consistent groups in rifles. The Vickerman seaters are arguably the best for concentric seating but I have only used one once as a loaner.

Being a frugal person I prefer the Hornady seaters but even these need tweaking for working better IMHO. The generous tolerances for the sleeve and often not enough size for cast lead me to some lathe time. I hone the seater body then machine a replacement sleeve that fits better and smoother in the body with a suitable bore for the size of CB's the rifle needs. A new seating stem that suits the CB nose profile completes the work.

Seating is done in 2 stages. Initial seating to about 1/2 way and then releasing pressure to turn the case by 90* before completing the seating. Crimp to remove the belling left by the M-die type expander is done using the collet-style Lee FCD. For me doing these things decreased the irritating flyers by a large margin.

[DrDucati]

It came to my attention that for $8, LEE will sell you a custom seating stem for their seating die. So I'm trying that route.