38/55 seating issue

[Superduty]

I am having a issue with deforming bullets while seating. I am using lee 255 gr cast bullets sized to .378 dia. I am using a .377 dia long case expander and pre compressing 55 gr swiss 1 1/2 with a card wad to a depth of .005 below base of bullet. Im using a lee seating die (375win) that's bulging some of the bullets enough that they wont chamber in my rolling block rifle. Has anyone found a seating die that fits the lee bullet . I have tried a lot of other seating dies and haven't found one to fit.

[country gent]

First off check your inside dimension of the case mouth as spring back may be increasing neck tension some. WHat cases are you using? Have they een annealed? How many loadings? Is it "bulging" the case body or nose of the bullet? 55 grns of powder compressed to bullet depth is alot of compression and could be swelling the body. If the nose is distorted you can lap your seater stem to match the bullets nose with a few bullets and valve grinding compind then lapping compiund to finish. Using 4-5 bullets gives a near perfect fit on the nose. You can also use JB weld for a tempory fix. Paint a round with black magic marker chamber and see where its tight at. will be shiny spots with marker rubbed off where its tight. Im betting your swelling the case body with the amount of compression your using.

[Superduty]

Its the bullet that's distorting. Case are not swelling have checked that. I did the marker on bullet and the bullet is what is hitting for sure I will probably have to make a nose punch that fits better.

[Superduty]

Wow I mis typed im using 45 gr. of swiss 1 1/2 powder I have never seen a case that would hold 55. Its no wonder you thought I was bulging the case.

[John Boy]

I have tried a lot of other seating dies and haven't found one to fit.

It sounds like you are apply too much pressure to the bullet nose when you are seating it - which is not to be done.
If the seating plug is distorting the nose, modify the plug: fill the cavity with hot glue - spit on the bullet nose & twist it in the glue - cut the excess glue from the plug. Works for me every time - perfect noses

BTW - your issue should have been posted in Reloading Equipment

[country gent]

45 grns sounds much better LOL. If you can aquire a second seater stem I would lap it to match the bullets profile. Also consider trying this technique. Only size fired cases enough to allow hand seating the bullet onto the compressed powder wad. HAnd seat the soft lead bullet in place. With decapping stem removed size just enough to lightly secure bullet in place. You can then just bump with seater die to insure consistent depth/oal. Crimp if you feel neccesary.

[Superduty]

Thank you for some ideas I filled my nose punch with arglass and have a greased bullet pressed in it will try that tomorrow.
As soon as I get my lathe motor back from the electric repair shop I will make a punch to fit better was hoping someone made a seater that worked with the lee bullet.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I use a full 50gns Swiss in my 'fast twist' 38/55 with a 375gn boolit in long Starline brass. This case holds a full 4.0gns more powder than Winchester or any other brand.

[Dan Cash]

You don't say if you are loading fire formed brass or new brass. If you are working up new brass, it tends to be way small and may provide enough resistance to swell your bullet. If your brass is fire formed, I would suggest not fully sizing the case and make double sure you are not bottoming the bullet on the wad. I doubt your nose punch has anything to do with your problem.

I just reread your first post and see that you are using a Lee seating die for .375 Winchester. Are you sure the die is not trying to crimp the case before the bullet is seated? .375 cases are shorter than .38-55. Loose the Lee stuff and get a Redding or Lyman set of dies for this cartridge. You will be far ahead.

[bigted]

i also am in the camp of ... no way the case is providing that tight a fit that is deforming the boolit from friction.

double check your seating depth with everything compressed. make sure that there is nough room for as much boolit as you desire to fit in the case and not bottom out on your load stack ... column. always go back to the basics when confronted with any problem.

not being a SA ... just reminding is all as i am guilty of much the same sorta complexity at times. this may not be the problem ... but i would double check it anyway to ensure that there be nough room for your boolit on top of your load column.

nother thing that can and will cause this kinda perplexity is as was mentioned above ... crimping as you attempt to seat the boolit. i always seat first and then crimp later.

i doubt very seriously that your seating cup is deforming your boolits all by itself.

[Nobade]

It's a rolling block. Don't crimp at all, and you may not even need to resize the cases. If the new bullets are too loose, just run the cases in to the sizing die only enough so you can hand seat the bullets and not have them fall out. You don't need a seating die, and with a chamfer on the case mouth don't need an expander die. I load like this in my black powder single shot ammo and find I get the best accuracy as well as pretty much unlimited case life.

-Nobade

[MT Chambers]

Maybe someday someone will get the bright idea to make a seating die that uses top punches from Lyman and RCBS bullet sizers, to seat those bullets, it's not rocket science.

[Don McDowell]

Get a proper seating die as Dan Cash suggested and your troubles will likely go away.
That 375 die is designed to seat jacketed bullets of 375 diameter the die is likely squeezing the case just enough to deform the bullet, even the ones you get seated and chamber will either shoot like **** or lead the bore up.
RCBS legacy dies work very well.

[OuchHot!]

I don't know how much you are trying to compress the powder but in the days where I compressed more than .2 inch I found using a powder compression die useful to do the grunt work and only lightly leaning on the boolit for the last 30thou or so.

[Superduty]

Today I got a .379 expander my .377 was only expanding the brass to .376 the new one is expanding at .378 I now can hand seat my bullets I put a light taper crimp and ammo now fits rifle shot 5 shot group at 50 yds all touching im a happy camper now.

[country gent]

You also now Know you have .001 spring back in your brass necks, something good to make note of. You might consider annealing the cases to see if it makes a diffrence in spring back of case of case mouth. Im glad you got it figured out and all is well now.

[Nobade]

Today I got a .379 expander my .377 was only expanding the brass to .376 the new one is expanding at .378 I now can hand seat my bullets I put a light taper crimp and ammo now fits rifle shot 5 shot group at 50 yds all touching im a happy camper now.

That's the way!
Glad you got it to work.

-Nobade