Bullets Sticking in Seater

[alcesgigas]

Never happened to me before: I'm loading 338 Edge with 300gr Berger OTM Tactical Hybrids with 106gr of H-US869. Testing loads yesterday beginning with 105gr (same powder) I worked up to 106gr of which I loaded, and fired three. Tonight I loaded two 105.8gr and the third bullet stuck in the Redding S-Bushing Micrometer seater. I tried other bullets and other cases one seated correctly--106gr load. I took the die apart cleaned and inspected and noted the snugness of the bullet in the seater cup. Have I been compressing these loads too much and subsequently "reamed" the seating cup? Anyone have this experience before?

 

[Gene]

Polish the cup yourself or return it to Redding. Won't take much. You can use a Dremel tool with the cone shaped cotton end and apply Jewelers rouge to it.

 

[davkrat]

Had that happen seating Nosler Etips in my .308. Think I had a bad batch of brass as I could not get consistent neck tension. About one in 3 bullets I could spin with my fingers. That is a much bigger problem but yes the seated would occasionally hold on to a bullet. I did the same thing and used a little polish on a qtip I spun in a drill to polish my RCBS die. I wassurprisedhowbad the tool marks were in that seater. Went ahead and did the rest of my dies even though I'd never had any issues.

I'd check your neck tension. Maybe that case needs to be annealed to stop it from springing back after sizing?

 

[Mikecr]

Are you measuring your cartridge base to ogive(CBTO) attribute of loaded rounds?
Big variance in seating forces coupled with a seater stem that contacts too high on bullet noses causes variance in wedging, leading to variance in seated depths.

 

[trebark]

Bullet seating dies grabbing bullets is usually a function of two things. Rough seating cone (which can be polished as suggested earlier) and back pressure from compressed loads.

 

[alcesgigas]

Thanks fellas; it was the cup that needed polishing. I took a .270 Hoppes rod swab, chucked the cup in a screw-gun, dabbed on some red rouge and removed the visible 'bump' inside. Works normally now. Finished seating loads up to 106.3 gr without any difference in the loading... Then I went on a general loading maintenance free-for-all and found a couple other things that needed attention, namely the cutter head carriage on my shell length gizmo was loosening and some shells that needed cut back I had forgotten about. In this sense all this rain may have done me a solid--as you all did. Thanks again.