My 223 bullet seater keeps shaving off soft points on one side,, obviously the bullet isn't hitting the stem straight and is catching on the edge. how can I fix this?? It works fine with hp's and ballistic tips. Any suggestions??
Take the seating stem out of the die so you can inspect it up close in good light will tell the cause. There may be a burr of metal from the reamer or drill from its manufacture causing the problem. Or some odd object has been on a bullet and got caught in the seating stem cavity. Hope the problem can be removed with a sharp instrument and be back running.
Do you have a way to check the runout on the seating stem? They can sometimes become slightly bent and it's not always easy to see without a gauge. You might also try putting the seating stem in the die and, after snugging it down, back it off about 1/8 turn to allow it to float just a little. Not much, just a teeny tiny bit.
I would start all over. Check your sized case for runout and. Look to see if the base of the case head is flat and square before you even run it thru a sizing die. A bad case going into a seater will always give back bad ammo.
gary