LE Wilson Overrated?

[txsailor]

I recently got a LE Wilson seating die alone with the K&M Precision arbor press, all direct from LE Wilson's website.

My results this weekend have been disappointing.

Worked up 4 different loads all in Winchester brass full length sized in just a standard Lee full length sizing die, all trimmed to within a thousandth of 2.005". Using three different bullets - Hornady Match 168gr, Sierra Tipped MatchKing 168gr, and Barnes TSX 168gr.

The issue I'm having is that the bullet seating depths just aren't consistent. I was hoping for a reliable +/- 0.001" each time, but I'm getting something on the order of -0.002 to +0.005. I'm setting the first round to OAL 2.800" and then using a Hornady bullet comparator after that. I used the VLD seating stem for the first three batches yesterday. Today I tried using the standard seating stem which seemed less consistent.

With my Lee bullet seater in my Lee Breechlock Challenger press I can reliably get +/- 0.002 at the absolute worst, though I do sometimes have to thread it in a bit as the case gets full. Though I'm not really hearing any crunch until the last load which is 45.5gr Varget with the Hornady and Sierra bullets.

Maybe I shouldn't be so particular about the seating depth, but after weighing out the charges to +/- 0.02gr I'd like to be as consistent as possible with the other things I can control.

 

[Tokay444]

Are your bullet’s base to ogive as consistent as your desired seating depth tolerance? Are you annealing? Are you lubing the inside of the necks in any way? Do you have the force pack on the press? How consistent is the seating pressure if you do?

 

[M77]

I think that has something to do with your Neck tension rather then the seating die. Are you annealing? inconsistent neck tension is possible.

 

[txsailor]

Are your bullet’s base to ogive as consistent as your desired seating depth tolerance? Are you annealing? Are you lubing the inside of the necks in any way? Do you have the force pack on the press? How consistent is the seating pressure if you do?

I haven't checked the base/ogive. Are bullets really that inconsistent in this case?

I do anneal, though for this batch I decided to not anneal after the last firing.

I haven't specifically lubed the inside of the necks and no force pack, though I can tell the seating forces aren't super consistent.

How much would seating force really impact seating depth when the bullet seater bottoms on the die body? I recognize that neck tension is another variable to track, I just haven't gotten to that step yet.

 

[txsailor]

I think that has something to do with your Neck tension rather then the seating die. Are you annealing? inconsistent neck tension is possible.

Thanks for the reply. Is the LE Wilson just more susceptible to variation in neck tension? It's not obvious to me why that would impact the LE Wilson and not the standard turret press.

 

[M77]

I haven't checked the base/ogive. Are bullets really that inconsistent in this case?

I do anneal, though for this batch I decided to not anneal after the last firing.

I haven't specifically lubed the inside of the necks and no force pack, though I can tell the seating forces aren't super consistent.

How much would seating force really impact seating depth when the bullet seater bottoms on the die body? I recognize that neck tension is another variable to track, I just haven't gotten to that step yet.

Sorry I assumed you were measuring with the Hornady comparator, Yes 100% bullets will vary heaps especially open tipped designs HPBT . you will find Ogive variances from lot to lot of the same pill . I wouldn't stress too much with that kind of variation you are getting. The LE wilson should be as good as any higher end die out there , personally I'm a Forster Ultra Seater guy but I've used the usual Redding , Hornady etc

 

[918v]

Thanks for the reply. Is the LE Wilson just more susceptible to variation in neck tension? It's not obvious to me why that would impact the LE Wilson and not the standard turret press.

No they aren’t. But you’re blaming the results on the wrong thing. Just because your last batch of bullets showed better seating consistency doesn’t mean the current one will.

 

[OREGUN]

Base to ogive is required. Even top end bullets will vary some if measured to the tip. Hornady/Sierra could easily have .005 variance if measuring to the tip. Seating pressure consistency also makes a difference. I don’t know how, but it does. I anneal and mandrel up from sizing just slightly. That takes care of it without neck lubing, for me. Once you get used to using it, get control of seating pressure and measure an accurate point on the bullet, you’ll be there. My Wilson seater/arbor press reliably holds +\- .0005” (if it’s set to seat at 1.187, I get either 1.187 or 1.1875)

 

[txsailor]

Base to ogive is required. Even top end bullets will vary some if measured to the tip. Hornady/Sierra could easily have .005 variance if measuring to the tip. Seating pressure consistency also makes a difference. I don’t know how, but it does. I anneal and mandrel up from sizing just slightly. That takes care of it without neck lubing, for me. Once you get used to using it, get control of seating pressure and measure an accurate point on the bullet, you’ll be there. My Wilson seater/arbor press reliably holds +\- .0005” (if it’s set to seat at 1.187, I get either 1.187 or 1.1875)

Thanks for the info. Sounds like I need to measure and sort some bullets!

 

[txsailor]

So just did some measuring.

Thousandth's differnce
Count

Hornady Match
-1/0/1/2/3/4
5/16/16/5/4/1

Sierra Tipped MatchKing
-1/0/1
13/50/6

Hornady ELD Match
0
50

I stopped measuring the Hornady ELD Match at 50 because the most difference I saw was about a pointers width from 0 on my calipers. Can't wait to try loading those!

I've got another unopened newer box of Hornady Match. Will do some measuring on those sometime.

 

[Tokay444]

I haven't checked the base/ogive. Are bullets really that inconsistent in this case?

I do anneal, though for this batch I decided to not anneal after the last firing.

I haven't specifically lubed the inside of the necks and no force pack, though I can tell the seating forces aren't super consistent.

How much would seating force really impact seating depth when the bullet seater bottoms on the die body? I recognize that neck tension is another variable to track, I just haven't gotten to that step yet.

Then this has nothing to do with the die at all. This is inconsistency in your process causing inconsistency in your ammo.

 

[Rhed]

Yes. Take measurements to ogive. If I seat with a chamber die, I seat halfway way spin 180 +/- then seat the rest. That helps not only seating consistency but also concentricity. This method also works with standard seating dies too.

 

[Gil P.]

I'm unfamiliar with the Hornady tool.

Are you measuring base to ogive? Or are you measuring from the bullet tip?

 

[Bigfatcock]

You have to sort the bullets by base to ogive. When loading for precision, every little step counts.

 

[Thud]

You'll need to start to understand the process before blaming your tools.

 

[txsailor]

You'll need to start to understand the process before blaming your tools.

Thanks,.

 

[txsailor]

The measuring part 2.

New box of Hornady Match 168gr BTHP. Grouped by 0.001" increments.