Hi All.....I have expanded and flared a straight wall pistol case, adjusting the die until the bullet just barley set into the casing when pushed with a little force. The flare is so slight it's virtually undetectable to the eye. Is this enough flare to properly seat the bullet's with? I was trying for the least amount of flare to get the job done, but, I don't know if I went over board or not.....Thanks
Bob

Well, if all your brass is trimmed to exactly the same length, you might be OK. If not, flare a bit more. Better to do it right than have a case crumple because it was a hair too short to get a proper flare.
Paul B.

Thanks paul... The cases are all trimmed, but I'm going to take your advice and open then up a little more. I heard somewhere that the least amount of flare would add to case longevity, I guess thats what was on my mind.
Bob

Bob, what you heard is correct. ONLY flare/bell enough to allow the heel of your bullets to enter cleanly so no damage is done to the bullet.

With most bullet seaters, the case length is critical to getting a consistant flare, long cases get too much and short ones not enough. Both Lyman and Redding make excellant "two-diameter" expanders plugs with a short section of the plug being just over bullet diameter and then a third section with a flare that may not be needed at all.

I use the oiginals, the Lyman "M", and don't flare at all, just use the second step that insures easy entry with minimum working of the case mouth even with some significant variation in case lengths.

Try one of those non-critical expanders, you will like it.

quote:

I use the oiginals, the Lyman "M", and don't flare at all, just use the second step that insures easy entry with minimum working of the case mouth even with some significant variation in case lengths

I second Lyman M dies.
Definatly worth the $$ they are great for straight walled case flaring.

Jim&Joe...Thanks for the helpful info. If I start loading a lot of 10 mm/40 SW I'll probably get the Lyman M die and alleviate a lot of hassle. It's only 14.99 in Midway's catalog.
Thanks again, to all, Bob