I'm using a RCBS Rockchucker with the standard RCBS dies. I have noticed that when seating the bullets, the bullets sometimes seat very easily and sometimes they seat with some difficulty. Sometimes the necks even scrape the jacket material off the bullets during the seating process. I chamfer the inside of the necks and de-burr the outside. I'm assuming that this is effecting the accuracy of the rounds. What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance.

Ronincop,

I'll ask a question for your question. .. :~/

Are you resizing your cases prior to seating the bullet?

And are you using the same procedure for each and every case?

Are you trying to load new cases or fireformed cases?

It would be my first guess that you may have a procedure issue. It's been my experience that a equipment issue has a repeatability.

Good Luck,

TGW

Hi. Do you chamfer the inside every time you resize? Other than that...?

ronincop: You could be seating some of the bullets at a cocked angle- hence the resistance and jacket material scraping off.

Couple ideas-- take an old bore brush and chuck it into your drill and run inside each case neck. Nice and clean that way. When the brush wears out, just wrap some 0000 steel wool on the brush. THEN- put a light chamfer on each neck inside. Check your seating stem to make sure it holds the bullet w/o slop too. An improperly fitted seating stem will raise heck with getting those bullets straight.

And- your brass could use annealing. Some size down and some to varying degrees.

[This message has been edited by aladin (edited 12-18-2001).]

Good question;for one thing I polish the cases with a brass metal polish inside and outside of the cases;{neck} use as possible the same angle with "chamfer";it is a question about neck tension; you will need some more info from the guys...

Thanks to everyone for the replies. To clarify my procedures: I am using the same procedure on all my brass which are all the same manufacturer. With new brass, I re-size all before I trim to SAAMI specs. After trimming, I chamfer and de-burr the brass before polishing them in the tumbler. For fired brass, I clean them in the tumbler before re-sizing. I don't trim until after 3-4 reloading cycles. If I do trim, I polish the brass a second time (I like to see shiny brass on my loads) before seating the bullets. When seating the bullets, I'll seat the bullet, turn the case 1/3 of a turn, and re-seat it to get a "straighter" seating. Despite all this, I still get the varied bullet/neck tension.

Are you loading boat-tails or flat-based bullets? Boat-tails always seem to be a little easier to seat than flat-based bullets.

How does the load shoot?

The next question I ask because I don't know the answer myself. ronincop said he trims his cases after 3-4 firings. Should he be trimming after each firing? if so how much? If not why?

ZM

My best guess is that you need to:

1) in future keep brass segregated as to # times reloaded.

2) anneal them all before you reload the next time, then start the count.

The work-hardened brass is probably what's causing your problem. I typically anneal after four or five firings.

Don

I agree with Don 100%. Keep your brass segregated by lot numbers. Do not mix new brass with fired brass and make sure they are all from the same manufacturer. Use reloading log on your cases so you know how many times each lot has been loaded. Annealing after 5 reloads will resolve the tension problem.

Also might want to mic your cases. You may have some thicker brass mix in with your cases. A quick neck turning can fix that problem.

Consistency is the key to accurate reloading. Start correctly and you will be pleased with the results.

Thanks again to everyone here. I did separate my brass in the past by brand, number of firings, & lot numbers. I was experiencing the problem with new brass, once-fired, twice-fired, etc. The majority of the bullets I use are boat-tails. I honestly thought the easy answer to this was either a problem with my procedure or the dies.

Ronicop,

What type of BT are you using?

So, the problem has been hit/miss, just a guess again, how about case alignment or case resizing, ,, Is the case sticky when re-sizing on some?

TGW

Ron, try this. Sort the loaded rounds into "easy" and "hard" piles. Then, measure the dimension of the neck of the loaded brass.

If there is a "maximum" size for easy seating, the problem may be in the neck dimension of your seater die.

Been there, done that. HTH, Dutch.

I have the same problem with once fired ;two fired so on;the brand new brass I dont,full length sizing or neck sizing the same thing,60% go in smoothly,40% harder to go in,I dont get good accuracy ,I use Weatherby brass;.30-378 Wby...

I have ejector mark with out of the box Weatherby ammo;180 grs Barnes X bullets; no hard bolt lifting;in reloading when I have ejector mark{bright spot} the bolt is hard to open; I cannot understand what is going on with the factory ammo...

TGWoody: I've been using Hornady A-Max & Sierra match HPBT for my match rounds. Also, some of the cases are "sticky" during the re-sizing. I am lubing the necks though.
Dutch: that sounds like a good idea. I think that's the next thing I'll try.

ONE SIMPLE THING WILL SOLVE THIS PROBLEM FOR EVERYONE..... Get a K&M low angle chamfering tool. You will never scratch a bullet again!
Sinclair handles them, you can order them direct, or lock stock and barrel handles them. Most normal chamfering tools chamfer at too sharp of an angle AND can actually leave a very tiny ridge just below the case mouth. (more noticeable with more brittle brass). This tool is under $20 and I WILL NOT LOAD A ROUND WITHOUT USING IT! Use of this will also keep coatings such as the xlc from "peeling" off as you seat them.

Thanks Don Krakenberger;I think you are right on the "target"...

That sounds like great advise, I think that I'm going to look into that also.

By the way: Dutch your a GREAT mentor!

TGW