Seating Rings on Bullet's..... Why???

K

Kevin R

New member
Hello,

When I seat 50gr V-Max or Nosler BT(worse on the Nosler's) for a 223 I am getting a pronounced ring on my bullets from the seating stem. Most times it indents on the copper jacket slightly and it is slightly worse with a compressed load. But only seems to happen on the 50gr and not on the 55gr bullets?? I'm using the Hornady seating die with the proper A-Max seating stem with a RCBS Partner press, I also have the RCBS die but it seems to be worse with that die. Like I said the 55gr come out perfect??

What am I doing wrong for this to happen or is it anything to be concerned about? Will it effect accuracy or performance of the bullet on a coyote?

Thanks.

Kevin.
 
You are not doing anything wrong. The ring comes from the cone in your bullet seating die. Contact the manufacture and get the proper seating cone for the bullet you are loading. You could always just shoot them the way they are.
 
Or, U can chuck up the seating stem in a drill press and polish out the part of the cone that's leaving the ring mark.
That what's I would do.
 
A mis-matched radius or sharp edge on the bullet seating plug is usually the problem, and you can solve it as suggested above.

If the bullets are actually getting dented, you may have the seating die screwed to far into the press causing the crimping section of the die to start clamping on the case neck. This makes it harder to seat the bullet and something has to give. You can back out the seating die a turn and re-adjust the seating stem down a bit more. Also be sure you have a good chamfer on the inside case necks or the extra drag will put more pressure on the seating stem.
 
I was having the same problem, I started lubing the inside of my cases as I resize them. I have a short cleaning rod with a patch that I put just a touch of lube on and run it into the neck, it makes the resizing easier and the bullets seat smoother, eliminated that mark on the bullet for me, I don't know if it is the kosher thing to do but it works for me.
 
Originally Posted By: MerrillI was having the same problem, I started lubing the inside of my cases as I resize them. I have a short cleaning rod with a patch that I put just a touch of lube on and run it into the neck, it makes the resizing easier and the bullets seat smoother, eliminated that mark on the bullet for me, I don't know if it is the kosher thing to do but it works for me.

I think thats what I'm going to start to do. I just got some Redding dry neck lube, I'll give that a try.

I have taken a dremel tool and a small stone and smoothed and rounded the inside of the stem, but didn't seem to help??

Thanks.

Kevin.
 
I use the bullet I am loading with, put compound on it and chuck it in my drill. Touch the
seating stem a few times is all it usually takes.
 
Originally Posted By: MerrillI was having the same problem, I started lubing the inside of my cases as I resize them. I have a short cleaning rod with a patch that I put just a touch of lube on and run it into the neck, it makes the resizing easier and the bullets seat smoother, eliminated that mark on the bullet for me, I don't know if it is the kosher thing to do but it works for me.

Nope, Not Kosher. No lube is needed for seating and it is not a good idea. You have something else going on like I stated above. If your expander ball is undersize, it would be harder to seat the bullets. Your seater could also be putting pressure on the weakest part of the bullet nose. Check with the company that makes the seating die for a different seating plug. You may have to send them a few bullet samples so they can alter yours or send you the right plug.

A couple other things can cause hard seating. Very brittle work hardened brass, or very thick wall thickness on the case necks can be problematic on rare occasions.
 
Lubing the neck is not the way to go. That is like putting a band aid on a cut that needs stitches.

It is in your mandrel. It is mis-shaped for the bullet you are trying to seat. I do not know about Hornady because I use Forster dies. However when I had that problem I simply contacted Forster and they sent me a different mandrel.

Polymer tip bullets are shaped slightly different and some dies need a different mandrel. Contact Hornady. If they do not send you a new mandrel then sell the Hornady dies and buy Forster dies. Forster will send you the correct mandrel.

It is best to fix the problem the correct way. Putting a band-aid on it only prolongs your problem. Tom.
 
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