I just got a 2 die set in 7mm Rem Mag. I have a Forster co ax press, & in order to keep the seating die "high enough" on the shell to avoid over crimping or crushing the shoulder, I have to have it "barely" screwed into the press (1/4 turn at most) - - this must not be real unusual, because in the instructions that came with the dies, it says not to worry as long as 2 or 3 threads are engaged. I just wonder whether the 1/4 or 1/8 th of a turn that I'm able to get will keep the die stable enough to give consistent alignment.
Any thoughts,suggestions, or advice will be appreciated.

The 1/4 to 1/8 turn you mention is not enough thread engagement.
You should find another die brand.

Are you talking about having the die only two or three turns into the Forester lock ring that replaces the Hornady lock ring?
I've never had that happen to the point it was a problem but have had dies such as Redding's Competition Seater for a .25-06 and longer rounds etc. be to tall to fit though the arch in the press handle.
It's a good press but as long as that design has been around (use to be called a Bonanza press, that's what I have) it doesn't seem to work to well on the long cases or newer longer dies. I still use the Rock Chucker and in-line dies with an arbor press more than I use the Co-Ax. Too many little annoyances like your talking about.

mountdog - the die is only 1/4 to 1/8 turn into the Hornady lock ring that came with the die (I didn't replace it) - - I'd say it would not go further into a Forster lock ring, since the top of the lock ring would be in the same location with either ring. I do have a few extra Forster rings, but I can't see what difference they would make.

My information is a few years old, but at that time Hornady (assuming the die is the same brand as the lock ring) made two 7mm seating dies: one for the UltraMag, and one for all the others. Contact Hornady. It may be that the UM die will work better with your press, if they are willing to help you out.

Actually, Forster's seating die is a better design, and I bet it will work. Might be an excuse to upgrade.

If your dies are not by Hornady, then check with the mfr to determine if you have the correct die.

I had a problem once with my Hornady seating die that sounds similar. The seating plug got jammed up above the sliding alignment sleeve, rather than sliding down into it. This kept the sliding sleeve (that does the crimping too) from sliding up as far as normal, and seating depths were all screwed up too.

Make sure the seating plug falls down inside the sleeve.

All Hornady 7mm rifle seating dies are the same part number, except for the RUM, which is different. There's also the odd chance that Hornady used the wrong die body for your seater (all the seating die bodies are the same except for maybe three different lengths, the sliding sleeves are caliber specific.)

Agree that Forster BR or UBR seating dies are better, but this Hornady die should not be working the way it is...

Andy

Thanks for the responses - it sounds like a call to Hornady may be the way to go. I'll disassemble the die first to be sure that I didn't do something strange to the seating plug when I initially cleaned the die, but I,m pretty sure it is in there OK & I have gotten consistent seating depths on the 3-4 rounds I loaded as a test.

If the seating stem were stuck in the top of the die, you'd be able to screw the die in further, not less, although crimping would not be disabled.

A quick response from Hornady - I E-mailed their customer support tech section last night, and they are sending me a longer die body today.
Thanks for your thoughts & suggestions.

quote:

Originally posted by eliscomin:
A quick response from Hornady - I E-mailed their customer support tech section last night, and they are sending me a longer die body today.
Thanks for your thoughts & suggestions.

Hornady may make some decent bullets but I ruined a lot of 30-06 shells and cost me the biggest Buck I ever seen due to sizing them to short going by there directions. The Hornady die in question went straight into the trash.

I use Redding and a few RCBS dies since.

"...cost me the biggest Buck I ever seen due to sizing them to short going by there directions. The Hornady die in question went straight into the trash."

Just a comment to all. When we load hunting ammo it pays to run EVERY round through the action to insure that it feeds and chambers. I've heard of a lot of ammon being too long to chamber but never heard of any being sized too short. ??

Anyway, no amount of following directions can insure we have done it correctly, the only instuction that counts is making sure it works as intended and that's the old "will it chamber?" test!

Thanks to all for the comments & suggestions - - I E-mailed Hornady customer service, described the problem, & I had a new, longer die body (no questions asked, no charge) within 2 days that seems to work just fine