Ben
08-26-2014, 05:12 PM
Are you tired of the noses of your cast bullets being marred and distorted by the seating stems inside your seating die ?
I was using Lee 38 Special dies today to seat some SWC bullets in 38 Spec. cases.
The seating stem, as designed by Lee, is a half hearted attempt to shape the end of the seating stem so that it will seat SWC, RN, and W/C s . In reality , it doesn't do a perfect job on any of them. Mine was a shallow concave depression in the end of the stem.
About 98% of my reloads in 38 Special and 357 Mag. use a bullet with a flat meplat on the end. I decided today to modify my seating stem.
I put the seating stem in a padded vise , used a flat file and flattened the end of the seating stem ( keeping it square ) , then I polished it.
Seats all my cast bullets now with zero distortion.
WORKS GREAT !
Ben
Here is the flat punch after it has been flattened ( remember, if for any reason you want to return to the original factory version, Lee will send you one for a couple of dollars ) :
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/001_zps49d39ad2.jpg (http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/Ben35049/media/001_zps49d39ad2.jpg.html)
Now I get loaded rounds without distorted and deformed noses.
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/003_zpsaed52c3d.jpg (http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/Ben35049/media/003_zpsaed52c3d.jpg.html)
I was using Lee 38 Special dies today to seat some SWC bullets in 38 Spec. cases.
The seating stem, as designed by Lee, is a half hearted attempt to shape the end of the seating stem so that it will seat SWC, RN, and W/C s . In reality , it doesn't do a perfect job on any of them. Mine was a shallow concave depression in the end of the stem.
About 98% of my reloads in 38 Special and 357 Mag. use a bullet with a flat meplat on the end. I decided today to modify my seating stem.
I put the seating stem in a padded vise , used a flat file and flattened the end of the seating stem ( keeping it square ) , then I polished it.
Seats all my cast bullets now with zero distortion.
WORKS GREAT !
Ben
Here is the flat punch after it has been flattened ( remember, if for any reason you want to return to the original factory version, Lee will send you one for a couple of dollars ) :
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/001_zps49d39ad2.jpg (http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/Ben35049/media/001_zps49d39ad2.jpg.html)
Now I get loaded rounds without distorted and deformed noses.
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/003_zpsaed52c3d.jpg (http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/Ben35049/media/003_zpsaed52c3d.jpg.html)