I was loading some once fired .270s with Sierra 90 HPs. Win brass, neck sized and trimmed back to 2.53" The bullet length is .85 so I did the math to allow for one bullet diameter in the neck, (.85 - .28) + 2.53 = 3.1". Hodgdon manual showed a 3.17 COL so I tried that length. First 8 loads wrinkled the necks right above the shoulder before I noticed it.

Re-grouped and tried 3.2 COL and it worked fine. I'm concerned that I may not have enough bullet in the neck.

Should I be OK with only .18 seated?

What happened to the 3.17 loads? Should I have full length sized? The first loads fired in these cases were 4759 reduced recoil loads with 115 gr sierras so I didn't think that I would need to FLR.

I appreciate any input.

It sounds like you are talking about .020" difference . Just 4 shits and giggles try abundant inside and ouside champhering of the necks. Next verify that your crimping die isn't set too far down.????? I'd like to help but I feel there is something missing in your info.Roger

Kelbro like Bartsche said, I would bet that your seating die is screwed to far down in the press and the top of the die is hitting the case mouth. Back the die out half a turn and screw the seating plug down until you get the right OAL.

That was it! I adjusted the die to touch an empty case. Backed it off one turn. Then adjusted the plug a little at a time until I got to the desired COL of 3.17. No damage. It's obvious (now) that the die was crushing the case. It worked earlier but I was using longer bullets. Thanks!

Yeah, why die makers insist on putting the obsolete crimping shoulder in seating dies is beyond me. You should NEVER seat and crimp in the same operation. And if you're going to do it properly in two operations, you should have two dies rather than messing up the setting on the seating die you just used (and may have spent a lot of time tediously doing so.)

Hear that die makers? Get the crimp out!

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Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Yeah, why die makers insist on putting the obsolete crimping shoulder in seating dies is beyond me. You should NEVER seat and crimp in the same operation." "Hear that die makers? Get the crimp out!

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Really? You're putting me on, right??roger