seating my first bullets, need advice!!

[shagg]

I'm finally seating my first bullets. 45acp, 230 gr. cast 3.7 gr. bullseye. I check overall length of every one i seat and they vary a bit. book says 1.275 and i range from 1.271 to 1.279, is this a problem?? I've checked and rechecked to make sure all is tight. i am loading all the same brand of case also. any advice is greatly appreciated!! i loaded 25 rounds but don't want to do more until i have more input on this issue.

thanx!
Ron

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Check to make sure you don't have any lube (or something else) in the seating die . . . they should all be the same . . .

[JIMinPHX]

They should all be the same, but a few thousandths isn't likely to create any major issues. Accuracy & velocity stability may be slightly affected, but not bad enough to worry about with a sub .010" variation & a powder charge that dainty. In fact, you may not have enough powder to cycle the action on a 1911 there. 4.2 grains of Bullseye is the least I can get away with in my .45acp pistol.

Your seating plug may not match the profile of your boolit very well. When I try to seat SWC type boolits with a round nose plug, I often get some variation. Same goes when I use a flat nose plug with a round nose boolit.

[Echo]

Let Professor Gun tell you, but I see no problems. As above, check to see if there is some lube gunk in the seating die. 3.7 should function the gun, even if it is a tight gun. I use 3.6 BE and the Lyman 452460 @ 200 grs, and my guns function fine, thank you, even the accurized wad gun.

[jsizemore]

Take your barrel out of your gun and use that to set your seating die. You might find that the book won't work in your gun.

More info about your loading setup might also help, ie. dies, press, sized or unsized boolits, etc.

[JIMinPHX]

I use 3.6 BE and the Lyman 452460 @ 200 grs, and my guns function fine, thank you, even the accurized wad gun.

Are you using soft springs??

[shagg]

thanx to all! mMy gun will work fine with 3.7 as i've shot 200 rounds that my dad loaded and i'm actually using the same can of powder he used. Now when i run out and start using my new powder i may step up a bit as i've noticed that very old load data states less than modern data. This makes me think the powder may have changed.
I think i found my OAL problem, primer depth. The digital caliper i'm using lays across the primer to be centered on the round boolit. All of the primers are fully seated but some are as much as .003 protruding. i've measured a bunch of unprimed cases as well and discovered they are not perfectly consistent, ranging from .886 to .890. I did pull my barrel and check every round to be sure they slide in and out with ease. I plan to look close at the primer pockets before loading these shells again, maybe theres some gunk i missed in there.

[462]

Might be a good idea to make sure that you can fill the magazine, too.

[stubert]

Look at an .008 thick feeler gauge, that little bit you, will never notice. Measuring to hundreds is as much precision as needed.

[JIMinPHX]

I think i found my OAL problem, primer depth. The digital caliper i'm using lays across the primer to be centered on the round boolit. All of the primers are fully seated but some are as much as .003 protruding. i've measured a bunch of unprimed cases as well and discovered they are not perfectly consistent, ranging from .886 to .890.

That scares me a little. Protruding primers are bad juju. They can cause the round to go off if it gets knocked around the wrong way. Primers are supposed to be seated slightly below flush.

Don't try to mash them in deeper now that the round is assembled. That is a big time no-no.

You may need to get yourself a primer pocket uniforming tool. What kind of brass are you using & where did you get it?

[shagg]

These 25 rounds are very old nickel plated that my father gave me loaded. Of course i emptied them and reloaded them. I have a primer pocket cleaner. is there a tool to actually modify the depth?

[nicholst55]

These 25 rounds are very old nickel plated that my father gave me loaded. Of course i emptied them and reloaded them. I have a primer pocket cleaner. is there a tool to actually modify the depth?

Yes there is; they're called Primer Pocket Uniformers. Be advised that a large pistol tool is separate and distinct from a large rifle tool, as the primers (and pockets) are different heights. Small rifle and small pistol are the same size.

IMHO, you don't need a PPU for large pistol; just be certain that your primers are completely seated. If that small lot (25 cases) gives you trouble, either try a different primer or throw them into the recycle bucket.

If you decide to buy a/some PPU(s), buy the carbide ones from Sinclair - they're among the very best available. Also buy the power adapter for them, and use them in your cordless screwdriver or drill.

Primer Pocket Uniformers (http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=34720/Product/Sinclair_Primer_Pocket_Uniformers)

[shagg]

Thanx for the info! just went and checked the primers again and found only 3 that protrude. The worst offender is .003, i may just pull those boolits. Tomorro i go to see if all works well!

[Mattog22]

Make sure your press is seating the primers deep enough. I had that problem once. Figured it out when I got to the range and started having misfires at the match. Also, your OAL seems a bit long but if it works go for it. Most guys I know shooting .45 use OAL of about 1.25-1.26.

[JIMinPHX]

A few years ago, I had a run of hand loads with a bunch of misfires in them. In my case, it turned out that I had gotten sloppy in my priming & had not seated some of the primers all the way down.

don't be afraid to seat them firmly. Deforming the cup slightly is not necessarily a bad thing. A little flattening is OK.

[mdi]

I was gonna say to check your primers, but above posts beat me to it! I had that problem a few months ago from using a Hornady hand primer. I'm pretty good a feeling the primer seating (haven't had a problem before this with a Lee hand held). but I got some vatiations in depth. I went back and reseated all the cases I had primed with the Hornady unit (of course not the loaded ones) in my single stage press with a ram prime unit. Seating "depth" probs. went away.

[Mattog22]

My Hornady LNL AP had a primer seater plunger thingy that was a hair too short, sent me a new one and works amazing

[Echo]

Are you using soft springs??

Standard springs, just well-made guns. House gun is by Jim Clark, wad gun by Lew Willing/Paul Parkhurst. The wad gun doesn't tighten the slide until the last 1/4" of forward travel. My gurus told me not to use light springs...