Help with ring from seater dye

[theEMP]

Hey guys needing a little help. I've been reloading for a few years now but am now having a bit of trouble. When I seat my bullets I'm getting a ring around them from the seater. It used to just be a faint mark but after annealing my brass it has now become very noticeable. If you run your finger nail down it you will feel a catch. I've tried switching out the seaters with no change. I tried different bullets but it is still there. I am kind of at a loss at what is going on. I'm wondering if I need to polish the seater but if that was the case I would think it would have left when I switched them. Any ideas or advise would be great. I'm just hoping I didn't ruin my brass while attempting to anneal it. The pictures show the ring I'm looking at. The brass is nossler bullet is 180 grain accubonds. Thanks

 

[bigedp51]

theEMP

I have been reloading for over 47 years and have never seen the imprint from the seater as your photos.

1. Most die manufactures if you send them three bullets , they will make a custom seater plug that will not mark the bullet.

2. Your bullets show signs of excessive seating force, which means excessive neck tension "OR" excessive drag inside the neck or both.

I have seen shooters recommend brushing the inside of the neck with a bore brush after annealing. But I have a feeling the annealing process is causing your problem.

 

[dok7mm]

Sized case neck dia. vs bullet dia. ??? Sonic case cleaning ??? Powder fill level ??? Proper chamfering ??? Annealing method ??? Neck sizing method and neck tension ??? More info please.

 

[theEMP]

Sized case neck dia. vs bullet dia. ??? Sonic case cleaning ??? Powder fill level ??? Proper chamfering ??? Annealing method ??? Neck sizing method and neck tension ??? More info please.

The bullet is .308. The neck outside dia. is 0.334 once the bullet is seated it is 0.336 so about 2 thou of neck tension which I would think was good. Unless I am measuring that wrong. The cases where cleaned in a tumbler before annealing but not after. They all look to be chamfered correctly. Powder is 64.5 grains of H4350 in a 300 wsm. It is not a compressed load. It dose seem to take a fair bit of force to seat the bullet. What is the correct way to check neck tension?

 

[dok7mm]

Seems as nothing stands out as a cause for your problem. I would use a nylon bore brush to clean inside case necks and then apply a dry lube like mica or Imperial dry lube to lightly coat inside of necks and see if bullets seat easier. I always power brush necks prior to annealing and use Imperial dry lube to seat bullets the first time after annealing. That appears to take more pressure than .002 tension should ever cause. Using a VLD type chamfer usually enhances seating ease and consistency. I would also make sure all die surfaces are clean and rust free, but I assume you did this when changing seater plug. Hope this helps.

 

[theEMP]

I'll try brushing the necks tonight and will see what happens. Thanks to everyone for your insights.

 

[Bart B]

Have you properly chamfered the case mouths so they don't have a sharp edge that scrapes bullet jacket off as the bullets seat?

That alone can require more force than normal needed to seat bullets. The copper jacket sometimes gets grooved by the seater plug when there's too much resistance of the case mouth to the bullet being seated.

I assume the correct seater plug is being used.

 

[theEMP]

Yes they are camfered correctly and do not shave any brass off. I cleaned the case necks.again tonight and resized just for kicks. They are in the tumbler now getting cleaned up. I did reload some federal brass that has not been annealed yet and everything looked great with them. I'm thinking the case necks where dirty and causing my problems. The will know for sure when I get a chance to load them up.

 

[Gene]

Remove the seater cup and place it on top of one of those marked bullets. Press down lightly. Does the bottom of the cup contact that mark on the bullet?

If so, the cup is slightly too small. If so, that is your problem. Call the die manufacturer and get a new one for free.

PS - Use a little less force on the ram when seating bullets.