The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Reloading My seating die has leprosyGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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Recently while seating bullets, I experienced a piece falling out of my Hornady .308 seating/crimping die. The piece is the alignment sleeve with the seating stem in it. I couldn't figure out what made it fall out, nor what was holding it in. It just seems to be held in by friction of a small dimple, so I tucked it back up inside the die body and carried on, being sure to measure the OAL of each cartridge (which was fine). Over the last couple of reloading sessions, it's started happening more often, now about every 10th round it falls out. 1) Is this fixable or should the die be replaced? 2) Do dies wear out? 3) What is holding this alignment sleeve in place? The die is not new, but does not appear worn either. | ||
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At the base of the die, you'll notice a groove. There should be a wire in the groove with one end bent to stick through a hole in the groove far enough to hold the floating seater in the die. Sounds like your wire is missing. Should be a replacement in the die box. If all else fails, you can probably fabricate one out of a small paper clip. Jon Larsson - Hunter - Shooter - Reloader - Mostly in that order...  | |||
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There is a little wire called the retaining ring that snaps into the groove at the bottom outside of the seating die. The bent tip of the spring wire goes through a hole in the die and protrudes through the inside just enough to stop the alignment sleeve from falling out. Could be the tip is bent or is not in the hole. Your Hornady die set should have an extra retaining ring and allen wrench in the package the instructions came in. | |||
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Is there an echo in here? | |||
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This is exactly why I do not like Hornady Seating dies. Remember, forgivness is easier to get than permission. | |||
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I recently bought my first set of Hornaday dies. I was surprised by the stuff they have floating around in there. I really don't understand having "non-fixed" parts in a die. Jason "You're not hard-core, unless you live hard-core." _______________________ Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will determine how much you enjoy your hunt. Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure." Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure. -Jason Brown | |||
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As far as "why" Hornady utilizes a floating seater, it's supposed to let the bullet freely and naturally align with the case for better concentricity. Or something.  I've used several of these sets. They've never been a problem. And they disassemble VERY easily to clean. I believe that one die is supposed to work for most cartridges of that caliber as well. In the OP's case, his seater would probably work for .30-06 and at least some of the .300 Mags. Jon Larsson - Hunter - Shooter - Reloader - Mostly in that order... | |||
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I've got a quite a few sets of Hornady dies and have to say I like them. Their eliptical expander is one of the smoothest in the business. I've done a little fiddling to get the expander stem perfectly centered in some of the dies and they now make ammo with so little runnout it's hard to believe I'm not using far more expensive dies. Have to agree that the clip holding the sleeve is a bit hokey but never had a problem with it. | |||
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+1 for Hornady seating dies. The die body is the same for a lot of cartridges, but the sliding sleeve is different for some cartridges that are the same caliber. The Hornady sliding sleeve does not engage as much of the case body as Redding Comp or Forster BR series, but it still helps. Andy | |||
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You guys have nailed it exactly! The clip is missing and no replacements appear in the box. I never noticed a clip before, so I am not sure if it was ever in there when I started using them (the dies came with my used equipment, and otherwise seem to do a good job). Should be an easy fix. Thanks! | |||
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Something that would probably work better than a paperclip is a thin wire key-ring if you have one laying around. I'm thinking of the kind that makes just a little more than a full circle and that they use to put the tag with your keys when you have your vehicle serviced. Cut out a 3/4 circle of it and then bend one end so it points to what would be the center of the circle. Make it long enough to hold the seater in the die after it (the bent end) goes through the hole. The rest of it should fit in the groove and hold itself in place. If it's too large a radius to hold itself in, you should be able to reshape it to a small enough radius to work. Retrim if necessary. Or, if you call Hornady, I bet they'll send you a couple for free.  Jon Larsson - Hunter - Shooter - Reloader - Mostly in that order... | |||
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Why not call Hornady and tell them the problem. they will probably send to you a new clip. Lyle "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. I would remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." Barry M Goldwater. | |||
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I think I will contact Hornady. I've had good customer service from them before. Last fall, I had wildly variable bullet lengths on a box of .277 bullets--I noticed the cannelure was landing at different depths from the same box. When I reported the lot and details, they asked a couple of details, then they mailed me a replacement box free of charge. I thought that was pretty good customer service considering they could just have easily told me to get-stuffed. I've also heard the other reloading companies are good too, my friend had RBCS pieces replaced, free of charge and no-questions-asked. Hey, its worth an email to find out. Cheers! ..........................Adam | |||
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