338 Seating Ring Question??

[Kevin R]

Hello,

I'm loading my 338WM with 225gr Hornady Interbonds for a elk hunt.

Upon seating I am getting that seating ring on the bullet from seating preasure, and yes I have taken the die apart and sanded and polished the seating stem (Hornady Die). 73.5gr of IMR 4831. It's a very accurate load for me, but my question and concern is.

Will that ring or impression on the bullet affect the performance of the bullet? IE, expantion or weight retension after hitting the animal?

I have attatched a pic if you can make it out, that seems to be about the wrost one.

Thanks for any imput.

Kevin.

[J E Custom]

It doesen,t hurt anything but it can be cured by getting a different bullet seater that fits the ojive
better.

This is a common problem with the different shapes of the bullet ojive.

Talk to Hornady and tell what bullet you are using and they can recomend the best one.

J E CUSTOM

[Nimrodmar10]

My thought is, if the bullet is tight enough in the case neck that the seating stem makes that kind of ring on your bullet, might your case necks be a little too tight? Are you using a bushing die to size your cases or just a regular die?

[Kevin R]

Originally Posted by Nimrodmar10

My thought is, if the bullet is tight enough in the case neck that the seating stem makes that kind of ring on your bullet, might your case necks be a little too tight? Are you using a bushing die to size your cases or just a regular die?

Just a regular seating die. They seem to seat very nice until they start to compress the powder.

[J E Custom]

Originally Posted by Kevin R

Just a regular seating die. They seem to seat very nice until they start to compress the powder.

That would make a difference !!!

I would suggest using a drop tube for your load. This will help to reduce the compression of the powder.

I like and use one that is 30 to 36" long.

J E CUSTOM

[varmintH8R]

I think you would have to score that bullet pretty severely with your seater to see a difference in on-game performance. Imagine what that bullet looks like after traveling down your rifling at 2800fps or so . . .

[Nimrodmar10]

Originally Posted by Kevin R

Just a regular seating die. They seem to seat very nice until they start to compress the powder.

I meant what type sizing die are you using. The resized neck of your brass must be very tight on the bullet when you seat it to make a ring like that. With a bushing type sizing die you can buy the correct bushing to put the correct pressure on the bullet when it's seated.