Redding Competition Seating Die Question / Issue

[fnlights]

If you're leaving the anneal line on your brass, this can certainly do it. Polish off the anneal line, chamfer the case and problem most likely goes away. I dealt with this a couple years ago, and after talking with ADG and Redding, we determined it was the residue left behind on the anneal line. Now all our brass we order is Bright from ADG.
As others said, compressed power can do it too, but you stated its loose. With the sticky anneal line, the effects are basically the same.

Interesting about the residue on the anneal line, I never considered that.

I plan on loading a blank round this evening without powder just to confirm that there is no compressed powder. I also went ahead and put the original seating stem back into the die because the VLD stem that I put in seemed to almost stick to the case or something. It left a circular ring around the top of my bullet

 

[Salmonhead]

Interesting about the residue on the anneal line, I never considered that.

I plan on loading a blank round this evening without powder just to confirm that there is no compressed powder. I also went ahead and put the original seating stem back into the die because the VLD stem that I put in seemed to almost stick to the case or something. It left a circular ring around the top of my bullet

That sticking in the sleeve is most likely a result of seating too often with that residue/ too much seat pressure. The stem will flair just a tiny bit and cause it to ride along the inside of the sleeve. I've done it, a lot, until the aforementioned discovery process.
Polish your brass first, problem will go away. I'm betting your reloads that have been polished seat fine.

 

[fnlights]

That sticking in the sleeve is most likely a result of seating too often with that residue/ too much seat pressure. The stem will flair just a tiny bit and cause it to ride along the inside of the sleeve. I've done it, a lot, until the aforementioned discovery process.
Polish your brass first, problem will go away. I'm betting your reloads that have been polished seat fine.

So just run the brass through the tumbler first before reloading them?

 

[Salmonhead]

Yes. I would also chamfer them to make sure there isn't a burr on there. It doesn't hurt to run a mandrel down them if you think they are too tight, or out of round prior to chamfer. But the biggest thing is getting rid of that anneal line residue. So polish, mandrel, chamfer, load.

 

[nealm66]

How else could I adjust this in the press to prevent this? I followed the Redding instructions on installing a seating die. I screwed it down into the press until the die body made contact with the shell holder and then very slightly backed it off so there was no pressure on the die body like redding recommended

Am I reading this correctly??? You need to screw the die down to the resized case. Not the shell holder

 

[fnlights]

Am I reading this correctly??? You need to screw the die down to the resized case. Not the shell holder

 

[nealm66]

My apologies. Never used Redding. That a weird setup.

 

[fnlights]

My apologies. Never used Redding. That a weird setup.

No problem at all, trust me I have questioned myself on that haha!

 

[ChrisInKY]

How else could I adjust this in the press to prevent this? I followed the Redding instructions on installing a seating die. I screwed it down into the press until the die body made contact with the shell holder and then very slightly backed it off so there was no pressure on the die body like redding recommended

Until the die body made contact ... or the sleeve made contact?

I get great results out of my Redding dies and cam-over has been very very good to me. Lots of people will tell you, "It's only a matter of time ...", but what works for me is what I'll do (until it breaks).

 

[LRHWAL]

Sounds silly but check that the case is fitting easily into the sliding sleeve - i.e. not hanging up somewhere and that it goes the entire way in as it should to seat a bullet with the support. I've experienced situations where it was clear that the sliding sleeve moved up and then the case seated in due to a little tightness.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

The directions seem rather clear to me. No - you do not use (or need) a case to properly set up the seater die.

 

[LRHWAL]

The directions seem rather clear to me. No - you do not use (or need) a case to properly set up the seater die.

Not about set up - about checking whether your cases when you reload are hanging up and not going inside the sliding sleeve and effecting your seating depth.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Not about set up - about checking whether your cases when you reload are hanging up and not going inside the sliding sleeve and effecting your seating depth.

My post was in response to the question posed by fnlights.