Here is the situation. I am loading for my 375 Ultra Mag. Using H1000 as my powder the bottom load is at 103% load density per Nosler specs. I have sized my new brass to square up the case mouth (standard expander ball @ 0.373). I am attempting to use 260gr Nosler Accubond bullets. Seating depth is set to use the crimping groove. I am not crimping and seating at the same time.

PROBLEM: The darn bullet keeps sticking in the seating die and not in the case mouth.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

John

To quote El Guapo's (played by Alofonso Arou) famous line in "The Three Amigos": "That's a goood treek!"

Let's start with the make of the seating die and go from there.

Thanks for the quick reply Stonecreek.
They are RCBS "standard" dies.

Only two things I can think of that will cause that ... 1) something sticky in the seating plug (like grease or bullet lube). Do you use this die set to seat cast bullets?

or

2) The internal shape of the seating plug is causing some form of additional friction with the bullet ... e.g.: the ogive difference is enough to cause a band of high friction between the plug and the bullet ... or the edge of the seating plug is biting into the bullet.

I'd check the shape of the seater, clean it, and probably polish it out some.

When you figure out the problem I'd surely be interested in what is actually causing the problem.

Wrap a small piece piece of 000 or 0000 steel wool around a bullet and polish the seater cup. You just want to break the sharp edge on the cup. I`ve had a couple dies do this and a bit of steel wool with the seating stem spun in my cordless drill stopped it quickly.
I`ve aso has the plastic tipped bullets bottom out in the die and seat to various depths. I drilled the cup a millimeter or so deeper to fix that with a small drill bit.

Thanks for the info.
I tried chucking the seating plug up in a lathe and, with the 260gr Nosler and some zinc oxide, tried to buff it up a bit. Evidently, I did not take enough off to make any difference. Back to the lathe for me.

I will be sure to post any possible solutions that come of this.

Thanks again,
John

Double check your bullet diameter and the expander diameter.

Verify you did not get thin walled brass.

If you have a lathe, chuck the seater punch in the headstock and a bullet in the tail stock.
Apply a little bit of JB or other lapping compound to the bullet and polish off the sharp edge that is getting a bite on your bullets.

I keep an aerosol can of spray silicone in my reloading shop--use it on the press rams quite a bit.

Nosler bullets seem to stick in my seating dies as well. Doesn't matter the brand of die--RCBS, Hornady, Dillon, Lee, or Redding.

I've buffed them out with emory cloth, lapping compounds, four-aught steel wool, etc. At the end of the day, a q-tip soaked with the spray silicone and swabbed liberally inside the seater die has always done the trick.

if the bullets are pulling back out of the cases you don't have enough neck tension to retain them.
you might wanna mike the inside of those cases to make sure they are small enoug to hold the bullet.
if you have fired these cases a few times they would need annealing or you need new cases.

I know it would make another step in your routine, but you may get by with lubing the bullet or maybe every 2 or 3 bullets. I would only lube them in the area of contact, not on the bearing surface.

I have a Forester seater for a 300 SAUM that does this with certain bullets.

Good Luck

Reloader

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
Double check your bullet diameter and the expander diameter.

Verify you did not get thin walled brass.

I'd start here.

UPDATE:
Thanks for all the suggestions in regard to this problem. Turned out the solution was to chuck up the seater plug in a DeWalt drill and use some light sandpaper to buff the interior of the cup. Works like a charm now.

Thanks again to everybody.
John