Having trouble aligning bullets in 223

31 March 2009, 02:00

Hi, I'm a little new loading bottle neck cases. The bullets that I'm loading are flat base and I'm having a hell of a time keeping them aligned when I try to seat them. I have used the chamfering tool to ease the inside of the case but The bullets won't stay in the case. I have to hold them right up until they go into the seating die. when the cases come out they look like they have a slight bulge on one side of the neck (I think the bullets are falling over before the seater can finish the job). Any suggestions.

I'm using Dillon dies in a Rockchucker. Thanks

31 March 2009, 04:16

hivelosity

remove seater plug. put a case in the shell holder and run it up in the die. screw the die down as far as it will go or unti it touches the shell holder. install the seater plug and set it at the seating depth you desire.
If the die has a roll crimp you will have to back off a 1/4 turn on the die. that should let the bullet go far enough into the die to keep it aleigned

31 March 2009, 06:36

amamnn

....and one mistake made by many folks new to seating rifle cartridges is that you need to hold on to the bullet until the very last split second or it can cant in the die and cause just what you describe. This goes for all seating dies and is especially frustrating when seating FB bullets.

31 March 2009, 18:12

Hot Core

Hey Geddy, First off, make sure your Press is "level".

Now try doing the same thing you are already doing - except - when you release the Bullet from your grasp, e-a-s-e the handle down slowly until you feel the Bullet touch the Seating Stem and STOP. Lightly "pat" the Press Handle as you would a dogs head, then ease the Bullet into position by pushing the handle on down.

One of my buddies was having a problem similar to what you described and the above fixed it for him.

Best of luck to you.

01 April 2009, 03:17

Winchester 69

Two things come to mind:

1. Use a VLD chamfer to put a long bevel on the inside of the case.

2. If you have problems after trying all that's been mentioned, Forster's seating die has an alignment sleeve to guide the bullet. Redding's mic seater also has this feature.

01 April 2009, 05:45

Geddy

Thanks for the responses. I've had much better luck holding the bullet until the last split second. Boat tail bullets are easy. These FB bullets take a lot more patience.

03 April 2009, 01:09

trentalan34

You could always get an RCBS Competition seater die which eliminates this problem by inserting the bullet in a side window.

03 April 2009, 01:20

LWD

quote:
You could always get an RCBS Competition seater die which eliminates this problem by inserting the bullet in a side window.

+1

LWD

03 April 2009, 01:38

SR4759

quote:
Originally posted by Geddy:
Hi, I'm a little new loading bottle neck cases. The bullets that I'm loading are flat base and I'm having a hell of a time keeping them aligned when I try to seat them. I have used the chamfering tool to ease the inside of the case but The bullets won't stay in the case. I have to hold them right up until they go into the seating die. when the cases come out they look like they have a slight bulge on one side of the neck (I think the bullets are falling over before the seater can finish the job). Any suggestions.

I'm using Dillon dies in a Rockchucker. Thanks

Your main difficulty is you are loading light short bullets in a .22 caliber. .17s are worse.
One way to handle this is to taper expand the necks so the bullet can be stuck in the case mouth slightly.
If you have finger room you can spin the case slightly as the ram starts to squash your finger. This helps the bullet ramp up the shoulder in the die.

03 April 2009, 08:37

YUMAN

Get a Vickerman seater die.
Lyle

03 April 2009, 10:03

btefft

quote:
Originally posted by Geddy:
Hi, I'm a little new loading bottle neck cases. The bullets that I'm loading are flat base and I'm having a hell of a time keeping them aligned when I try to seat them. I have used the chamfering tool to ease the inside of the case but The bullets won't stay in the case. I have to hold them right up until they go into the seating die. when the cases come out they look like they have a slight bulge on one side of the neck (I think the bullets are falling over before the seater can finish the job). Any suggestions.

I'm using Dillon dies in a Rockchucker. Thanks

I highly recommend Hornady's New Dimension 223 Die Set.

The seating die has this neat sleeve that projects downward out of the die. As I raise the case up into the seating die, this sleeve aligns the bullet straight up and down.

It's the neatest thing since sliced bread.

Here, take a look:
https://www.hornady.com/shop/?...ee86adb292ef34652d80

Miller Outfitters sells them for a lot cheaper than Hornady. Give Keith a call, he's a real nice guy.
http://www.milleroutfitters.com/

Hack