redding comp seater problem

pjss

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Minuteman
Dec 29, 2009
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new zealand
used the seating die for the first time today and found a ring on the projectile deep enough to pick with your fingernail,tried steelwool on the inside stem that comes in contact with the projectile but didnt seem to help. neck size bushing is .2 under a loaded round,any ideas whats wrong or should it be replaced?
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: n-zeder</div><div class="ubbcode-body">used the seating die for the first time today and found a ring on the projectile deep enough to pick with your fingernail,tried steelwool on the inside stem that comes in contact with the projectile but didnt seem to help. neck size bushing is .2 under a loaded round,any ideas whats wrong or should it be replaced? </div></div>
Your size bushing should be .002 under the neck diameter of a loaded round not .2
It sounds like you have excessive neck tension and the pressure required to seat the bullet is just too great.
I think you may have a neck size bushing that is too small a diameter .
Re measure the loaded round and subtract only .001 from the diameter.
If the neck is say .250 for example a 223 then the bushing size is .250 - .001 which is .249 .
It should not take a lot of force on the press handle to seata bullet if it does then the neck tension is too high or something else is wrong .
Minus .001 is light to average neck tension .
Minus .002 is medium
Minus .003 is higher
Depending on what purpose the ammo is for.
Make sure you have a good even internal and external chamfer on the case necks and try some new brass to see if that works better as the case necks may be very hard or something .
Also you can polish up the case neck inside with an old bore brush wrapped in steel wool and chucked in an electric screw driver on high speed. This may help some also.
Other than that you should inspect the dies seater stem and make sure it is not burred or damaged.
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

thanks for that info, sorry my mistake the bushing is .002 under a loaded round.they have been loaded 13 times but i'm going to start anealing,so hard brass might have something to do with it,i'll try new brass as well
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

You might want to check and make sure the die isn't putting a crimp on the case mouth. That can increase the seating pressure greatly. Read the adjustment instructions. You probably MAY need to back the die up 1/4 to 1/2 a turn. Or maybe more if this is the problem.
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

Are you turning the top knob of the seating die and not the die itself to adjust the seating depth. That might be a stupid question, but a local member that I thought knew what he was doing did the same thing to what you are describing.
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

Victor N TN said:
You might want to check and make sure the die isn't putting a crimp on the case mouth.
after sizing with forster bushing bump die back 2 thou it wont fit in the forster case trimmer properly,could be hardend brass?will try backing off die but then shoulder wont be bumped.
yes i'm adjusting seater from the seater knob on top.
thanks for the input.
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

I was referring to the bullet seating die. If you push the round into the seater die far enough it will cause a crimp on the case mouth. That roll crimp is made into the die. It has nothing to do with the length of the round or seating length of the bullet.I did not mean anything in adjustment to the sizing operations.
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Victor N TN</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I was referring to the bullet seating die. If you push the round into the seater die far enough it will cause a crimp on the case mouth. That roll crimp is made into the die. It has nothing to do with the length of the round or seating length of the bullet. I did not mean anything in adjustment to the sizing operations. </div></div>
It's a good point and die adjustment is usually the main culprit in a lot of cases. I tend to forget that at times. I will have to pull apart one of my Comp seaters and check the design to see if that is actually possible with that kind of die.
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

Country,

While I have several of the comp seaters, I can't say without reserve that I know that it is one way or another. I was just using regular seating dies as my reference. It's a shame I haven't taken them apart either. Shoot, one set still has the grease on it. I haven't done more than take them out of the box and look at them. But I haven't shot the 300 much lately either.
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Victor N TN</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Country,

While I have several of the comp seaters, I can't say without reserve that I know that it is one way or another. I was just using regular seating dies as my reference. It's a shame I haven't taken them apart either. Shoot, one set still has the grease on it. I haven't done more than take them out of the box and look at them. But I haven't shot the 300 much lately either. </div></div>

You are quite correct mate the neck area is a bit like the chamber of a gun in my Redding comp dies and could indeed put pressure on the end of a case mouth . It has been so long since I saw the inside of my dies I had to check before I shot my mouth off.
So if the case neck was a bit long and could contact that smaller diameter area in the die sleeve before the shoulder contacted it could do it. He did say the cases have been loaded 13 times so maybe a trim might fix the problem.
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

thanks for the above suggestions,
i have annealed,trimmed,checked die was set up right,that didnt help.what did help was changing the bushing from .002 to .001 and the dreaded ring was gone,conclusion is the redding die dosn't handle soft hollow point varmint projectiles that well [20 cal]
i am getting the shoulder lighty reamed in the seating stem,hope that'll help as i can't play with neck tensions as is.local gunshop said hornady had same problems with there seater for varmint bullets but had fixed that.
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

Then it was excessive neck tension as I suggested .
It would have been good if you had stated it was a .20 cal as that tiny bullet does not stand much force and only low neck tension anyway .
Very small bullets need precision necks inside and out.
If the necks are a bit rough and out of shape on the inside then the small bullet will suffer varying seating pressure more than larger projectiles.
This is common on brass that is necked down from larger caliber cases.
I would do a slight internal neck ream and then neck size.
This will give you a nice smooth seat.
 
Re: redding comp seater problem

cheers country only been at this a year so step learning curve for me,but enjoyable.i dont have neck reamer,but was thinking of neck turning when i get a custom riffle middle of this year,would expander die do the same job as reaming?