I have a Dillon Square Deal B.
I was loading for .45acp using a LSWC 185gr bullet. I noticed several bullets were seated deeper than the rest. I actually worked out to about 1 round in 4 deeper.
The bullets that are deeper are consistantly seated (?) at about 1.160". The others are fairly consistant at about 1.20" I checked the baseplate thinking it was higher on one position or had debris under it. It is flat and clean.

I checked the depth again tonight.
The deep seated bullets are not coming from a single station position on the baseplate. I removed the baseplate and checked for debris. I cleaned a little crud from the edges but nothing that looked as if it could cause this.
I then loaded a few rounds and noticed the bullet seating die was seating all of the bullets to the correct depth, but some were seated deeper after going through the crimp die.
Why would the crimp die push bullets deeper into the case?
With the die in place an allen wrench would stick when pushed up into the die from below. I pulled the crimp die and cleaned a little crud from it. The next round I loaded after installing the die again seated deep.
I am loading cast lead SWC bullets. I received the press used and have no idea what the original owner loaded.

Help!

Jim

Pepperbelly, Is your brass all wearing the same headstamp or is it mixed? I load on a Star so I can't speak about the Dillon but unless something is loose and moving around I suspect you have different length cases and a long case would give the appearance of being seated to deeply. Just a thought.

Just a thought, are you useing a round nose or SWC seating plug in your die?? There is a difference in some brands.

With cast bullets your crimp die may be hitting the leading edge of the bullet. Some cast bullets do not fully form at there leading edge. Have the bullets been size/lubed in a die, or did the bullets come out of the mold and were tumble lubed? Does the die roll crimp or taper crimp? Check your bullets with a micrometer are they all sized the same diameter? .451" or .452"

We were discussing this at the match today. This is an older model SDB, and I noticed the crimp die does not have a vent hole drilled in the top like the seating die does. Several friends are thinking maybe air pressure is pushing the bullet into the case. Dad is going to check his dies and see if his later model has a vent hole. If so we will drill mine.
After seating the bullet the shoulder of the SWC does not protrude above the case mouth.
I took the crimp die out and did not see any obstruction.

Jim

Check your seating plug & make sure it is clean. They get prett gunky when loading lead bullets. I doubt air pressure is doing anything there. Good point about the seating plug shap too. A round nose seater is going to be sporadic if the bullet enters cocked to one side.

I don't think it is the seating die. I looked at every round as it came from the seating position to the crimp position. They were all seated to the correct depth- the shoulder of the bullet almost exactly even with the case mouth. After crimping the bullets were pushed deeper in the case than before entering the crimp die.

Jim

Some Remington brass is very thin walled. This condition give the bullet a very loose fit. If your expander button is not opening up the case just a little, this might be the problem. Loose bullet fit to the case. Traped air in the crimp die and loose bullet fit, that could be a new one??

quote:

They were all seated to the correct depth- the shoulder of the bullet almost exactly even with the case mouth. After crimping the bullets were pushed deeper in the case than before entering the crimp die.

If the seating die is pushing the bullet so that the shoulder is flush with the case, can't see how the crimping die could be contacting the bullet. The trapped air theory seems most plausible, especially if case neck tension is not uniform (caused by case neck thickness variation from case to case).

Using RCBS dies in a Dillon 450 press, the seating and crimping is done in same die, but seating depth is uniform.

Had some feeding issues in my stock Kimber when seating SWC shoulders flush. Found that my pistol needed about .050" of lead shoulder exposed to keep case necks from catching as the cartridge started up feed ramp.

Regards,
hm

After the match Saturday dad went home and checked his presses. His newer SDB, 550 and 650 all have a large hole in the top of the crimp adjustment screw. Mine is closed at the top.
What is also curious is that Dillon's schematic calls it the crimp adjustment screw but we have been calling it a crimp die. When I removed it to clean it it looked like a hollow bolt. The inside top was domed. I looked ito the press body and there is a shiny steel sleeve-looking part that slides loosely up and down. It appears that the crimp adjustment screw sits on the top of this sleeve. Is the sleeve part actually the crimp die?
This die is different from the old RCBS crimp die I used on my Rockchucker years ago when I first loaded for .45acp.

Jim

quote:

Dillon's schematic calls it the crimp adjustment screw but we have been calling it a crimp die. When I removed it to clean it it looked like a hollow bolt. The inside top was domed. It appears that the crimp adjustment screw sits on the top of this sleeve. Is the sleeve part actually the crimp die?

The "hollow bolt" isn't a seating plug is it?

Not familiar w/the SDB setup, but you might give Dillon a call. I've found them to be extremely helpful in solving problems should they arise.

Regards,
hm

I will be calling Dillon in the morning.
No, the "bolt" is over the crimp station.
The seating die is on the station prior to the crimp station. The seating die does have a hole in the top- about 1/8" diameter, and it does seem to be a vent hole.
Dad's crimp adjustment screw- which is actually a 3/4" bolt head, has a hole in it big enough for his little finger to fit in. We can't figure why mine is closed.

Jim