seating bullet

[ron755]

I just started reloading a couple weeks ago. I have a Hornady single stage press, and am using Lee dies. I get my seating depth set, and after a few strokes, I have to reset it. Is it my dies or am I doing something wrong? Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance Ron

 

[Chuckdog]

​Sounds like something's not snugged up. The Lee uses an O ring for friction on the seater insert. Make sure it's there.

Some bullets aren't uniform either. If it's a small amount, .002" or .003" I would check for bullet variations.

Rifle tips can vary .005" or more. Remember most bullets aren't being seated by its tip, so o.a.l. may vary a bit with any of them.

 

[b.a.customkydex]

I just started reloading a couple weeks ago. I have a Hornady single stage press, and am using Lee dies. I get my seating depth set, and after a few strokes, I have to reset it. Is it my dies or am I doing something wrong? Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance Ron

It's probably the bullet. If you are measuring from top of bullet to base of brass you can get all kinda funky measurements. If you are measuring from the ogive of the bullet to the base of the brass then that should be consistent.

Basic thing to do is sort ask bullets by length, find the longest one and set your press to give you the coal that you want with the longest bullet. Then everything else will be shorter that that and you know that it will fit in the magazine if you loaded the longest one to fit in the mag.

That is for rifle loads, if loading pistol....Just live with a little variance as long as it chambers and doesn't cause bullet set back.

 

[jsmith15]

Did you trim all the brass to the same length? if so, check bullet length of 10 and see what your difference is in length of them

 

[Dos S]

I am responding for rifle cartridges, You didn't say which.If you are seating bullets that have a canulure and your brass is not trimmed all to the same length then it will show. If you have every thing tight and one comes up short you may have weak holding tension in the case mouth. Letting the bullet slip a little deeper than it should. Measuring from the ogive doesn't give you the overall length as the manual shows.
I would double check the depth of the resizing die when in use, ( full length& neck sizing dies, )making sure it is in far enough so the mouth get's a good squeeze against the mandril. hope this helps. ds

 

[ga6693]

I just started reloading a couple weeks ago. I have a Hornady single stage press, and am using Lee dies. I get my seating depth set, and after a few strokes, I have to reset it. Is it my dies or am I doing something wrong? Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance Ron

Most likely it is something you are doing wrong. The equipment you are using rarely has factory defects and will produce quality reloads if you set it up properly. It will be most helpful and you will be more apt to get the answer you are looking for if you will provide additional info on what you are reloading. Rifle or pistol? Lead or jacketed bullets? New brass or mixed range brass? Glad to have you in the reloading fraternity.

 

[wildmantaz]

Need to check the length of your brass, if not trimmed to same lenght this could be part of your problem. Different brands of brass will strech more or less.

 

[b.a.customkydex]

How does varying length of brass effect the overall length of a cartridge? It doesn't.

The way a bullet seater works is that it will keep an object ( the bullet) from being more than X length from the base of the ram. It doesn't care if the brass is 2.875 or if its 2.90. Pull the stem out of the seater die, it's concave, it's going to hit the bullet at the same point (not the tip). The length of bullet from the spot whet the seater die hits it to the tip of the bullet can vary. But the spot on the stem to the base of the ram isn't going to change with different length brass.

 

[Springfield 1911]

The point about bullets being different lengths is more than likely the problem. Also how you operate the press and how much flare you put in the mouth of the case can allow the bullet to go a little farther down than what a tighter mouth would stop from moving. This is how brass that is different heights can affect bullet seating if the brass is flared at differing degrees. This is why it is important to have brass with the same headstamp and the same amount of times fired. It is not nessesary to trim pistol cases but if you have a habit of mixing them it does help promote consistancy when reloading the cases. Remember to be consistant in operation of the press, don't use a fast motion on one and slower motion on another. A fast motion will sometimes seat the bullet deeper if you have a weak case or inconsistant flare among cases. The key is consistancy!