Redding Seating Die issues?

[Longtine88]

Agree with mike. You have so much neck tension when you seat the bullet, the bullet itself is pushing the brass down. You need to open up your necks quite a bit

 

[SteveBurton]

What Mikecr said.
Looks like your neck diameter is too small (see neck bulge inward at bullet base in your pic)/ wrong bushing in sizer? Expander mandrels should solve your problem. I use 21st Century. Graphite powder for expander lube. 0.282 and 0.281. Be sure to get the correct type/ size.

What Rhett said. You can see the neck bulging under the location where the boattail starts on the bullet. Have you double checked the bushing you are using? Excessive seating pressure will push the neck into the shoulder. I started using expanding mandrels a year ago and have had much better consistency versus bushings alone.

 

[Dean2]

What Rhett said. You can see the neck bulging under the location where the boattail starts on the bullet. Have you double checked the bushing you are using? Excessive seating pressure will push the neck into the shoulder. I started using expanding mandrels a year ago and have had much better consistency versus bushings alone.

I looked at that too. Like you say it can be too tight a neck, which is why I suggested measuring the inside diameter after sizing and double checking the bullet diameter, but it could also be the neck collapsing like the shoulder has from the crimp ring pushing down on the neck bullet junction. It would have to be a REALLY tight neck to collapse the shoulders the way it is.

 

[spladi]

I will say, on the 7mm rem mag, I think I found the problem, when I inspected the casings closer, I noticed a mark on them where they were crushing. I put them all in a pile and picked ones out that looked new. They had some sort of bulging mark on them, they were pulled brass from American Reloading. Didn't have a problem with the good brass.
The others? High potential of me doing something wrong, but wasn't sure, especially since my friend came up and took a look. I appreciate all of your answers and will be looking more into them today.
Another possibility in my mind was maybe it was the shellholder? I forgot my shellholders for these casings when I left for the shop, but there was others that fit the casings there pretty snug so I just used those. If they weren't the correct ones, could this have caused an issue?

It takes everyone a while to fully grasp all the ins and outs of reloading. You will find basic detail on the subject in a reloading manual and then there are other informative sources that go into great depth on the subject, which ends up making a person a pro. To start with good measuring tools and the know how to use them is a must, otherwise there will be problems.

 

[Heather]

I looked at that too. Like you say it can be too tight a neck, which is why I suggested measuring the inside diameter after sizing and double checking the bullet diameter, but it could also be the neck collapsing like the shoulder has from the crimp ring pushing down on the neck bullet junction. It would have to be a REALLY tight neck to collapse the shoulders the way it is.

The neck on the 7mm-08 brass I have is .3110-.3115, saami spec is .315.
I'm thinking it's the crimp ring. I double checked all my bullet diameters after I had the first one collapse.

 

[SteveBurton]

I have a lot of Redding competition seating dies and none of them have caused an issue like this. I just double checked 2 of them and I don't see how the mouth of the neck could contact the top of the sleeve to cause this issue unless the neck was exceptionally long. The shoulder of the case should contact the sleeve long before the mouth would. I doubt that is the issue. To verify if the die is causing this issue, run a case without a bullet up into the seating die. If it crushes it the same way, then there is an issue with the adjustment of the die. If it does not, then I would look at neck tension.

 

[Heather]

I have a lot of Redding competition seating dies and none of them have caused an issue like this. I just double checked 2 of them and I don't see how the mouth of the neck could contact the top of the sleeve to cause this issue unless the neck was exceptionally long. The shoulder of the case should contact the sleeve long before the mouth would. I doubt that is the issue. To verify if the die is causing this issue, run a case without a bullet up into the seating die. If it crushes it the same way, then there is an issue with the adjustment of the die. If it does not, then I would look at neck tension.

Will do. Only other thing I noticed is it's making a mark on the tips of my bullets which I havent had happen before, not a serious mark but its still there

 

[SteveBurton]

Will do. Only other thing I noticed is it's making a mark on the tips of my bullets which I havent had happen before, not a serious mark but its still there

That is caused by the seating stem. You need to use either a standard or VLD stem depending on the bullet you are using.

 

[Mike D Texas]

Will do. Only other thing I noticed is it's making a mark on the tips of my bullets which I havent had happen before, not a serious mark but its still there

The neck on the 7mm-08 brass I have is .3110-.3115, saami spec is .315.
I'm thinking it's the crimp ring. I double checked all my bullet diameters after I had the first one collapse.

Will do. Only other thing I noticed is it's making a mark on the tips of my bullets which I havent had happen before, not a serious mark but its still there

A couple of comments.

1. What brass are you loading?
2. Have you successfully seated any bullets yet?
3. If you have successfully seated a bullet and all seemed normal, what is the outside dimension of the neck?
4. You will get varying needs of bushings based on the brass you are using because of variance in neck thickness. For example, last night I necked down some ADG 28 Nosler brass to 26 Nosler. The sizing die I have is not a bushing die and "should" fall within SAAMI spec of a 26 Nosler. However it just didn't even look right so I measured it. The outside diameter of the neck was around .280" which in my experience with 6.5mm cartridges is wayyyyy too small. I started necking back up with mandrels until achieved a comfortable seating tension and remeasured the neck with a loaded round. The outside diameter was .298" which to me indicates a very thick neck. (.298" - .264" = .038" or .019 of neck thickness.) this is much thicker than what I see with most brass at .012-.014". The point being you need to know the actual neck thickness of your brass and the actual diameter of your bullet to select the proper size bushing.
5. Based on the picture you posted and your second comment above, both are classic signs of excessive neck tension. The ring around the bullet can also be caused by seating into a compressed powder column.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

-Try removing the entire micrometer seater.
-Back the die without the seating stem out a few full rotations.
-Take loaded bullet (factory) and run it up into the die without the seater.
-Screw the seater down with the round up in the die and screw the seater down on top until it lightly starts to move the arm down.
-Spin the lock ring on the die to lock it down.
-Back the seater out until it no longer contacts the bullet. (The bullet should be in the die at the top of the arm movement without touching).
-With the bullet in the die at the top of travel, screw the seater down until it moves the arm slightly.
-Take an empty case and a bullet and see if it will seat it to approx the length desired( should be a little longer ). Then slowly turn it a few thousandths down and see if it allows it to do it without denting the shoulders.

 

[Heather]

A couple of comments.

1. What brass are you loading?
2. Have you successfully seated any bullets yet?
3. If you have successfully seated a bullet and all seemed normal, what is the outside dimension of the neck?
4. You will get varying needs of bushings based on the brass you are using because of variance in neck thickness. For example, last night I necked down some ADG 28 Nosler brass to 26 Nosler. The sizing die I have is not a bushing die and "should" fall within SAAMI spec of a 26 Nosler. However it just didn't even look right so I measured it. The outside diameter of the neck was around .280" which in my experience with 6.5mm cartridges is wayyyyy too small. I started necking back up with mandrels until achieved a comfortable seating tension and remeasured the neck with a loaded round. The outside diameter was .298" which to me indicates a very thick neck. (.298" - .264" = .038" or .019 of neck thickness.) this is much thicker than what I see with most brass at .012-.014". The point being you need to know the actual neck thickness of your brass and the actual diameter of your bullet to select the proper size bushing.
5. Based on the picture you posted and your second comment above, both are classic signs of excessive neck tension. The ring around the bullet can also be caused by seating into a compressed powder column.

-Try removing the entire micrometer seater.
-Back the die without the seating stem out a few full rotations.
-Take loaded bullet (factory) and run it up into the die without the seater.
-Screw the seater down with the round up in the die and screw the seater down on top until it lightly starts to move the arm down.
-Spin the lock ring on the die to lock it down.
-Back the seater out until it no longer contacts the bullet. (The bullet should be in the die at the top of the arm movement without touching).
-With the bullet in the die at the top of travel, screw the seater down until it moves the arm slightly.
-Take an empty case and a bullet and see if it will seat it to approx the length desired( should be a little longer ). Then slowly turn it a few thousandths down and see if it allows it to do it without denting the shoulders.

Thanks so much both of you these are super helpful (not that the rest weren't) I greatly appreciate these and will try out Shane's suggestion. Mike your comment makes a lot of sense as 1) alpha brass is super thick and 2) the other brass was pulled so neck tension is more than likely the case. I did successfully seat about 200 bullets, outside dimension of the neck is still small @3.112 (7mm-08 is the one I have in front of me) I'd have to measure the 7mm rem mag

 

[Jeremy Henderson]

I forgot my shellholders for these casings when I left for the shop, but there was others that fit the casings there pretty snug

Yes this could definitely be a problem. Some shell holders are thicker than others. I think a Hornady number 22 will fit a 280Ackley in it but it was thicker than a RCBS number 2 that is called for and tighter around the rim . So if your die was set for example the RCBS number 2 and you used a thicker shell holder I can see crushing the neck.

 

[Heather]

Yes this could definitely be a problem. Some shell holders are thicker than others. I think a Hornady number 22 will fit a 280Ackley in it but it was thicker than a RCBS number 2 that is called for and tighter around the rim . So if your die was set for example the RCBS number 2 and you used a thicker shell holder I can see crushing the neck.

Lesson learned

 

[Dean2]

So Op, what was the upshot? Did you figure out what that actual problem was?