What kind of die do I need to insure boolit is straight?

Guys,
I am loading cast in 30/06, Lyman 314299 and I cannot get them to seat straight with a RCBS seater die. I am using a Lyman M die to expand the case before seating. What type of die do I need to insure the boolit is seated straight in the case?

Thank you, Malcolm

Boolit Master Join DateAug 2012Posts836

Most seater stems that are made for spire points should work well for these type bullets. The stems that have a very shallow concave indent are the ones that usually cause problems.

For neck expanding and before seating, carefully inspect the sizer stem on the M die. You should see a long straight shank. Near the upper end of the shank there is a very slightly enlarged ring that is about .1" long. Adjust the M die to only use that .1" long ring. I use that .1" long ring to put a short parallel bell in the mouth. Going deeper will severely and inconsistently flare the mouth. That .1" long bell should be just right for seating the bullet's GC into the mouth by hand. If done right it should start easily by hand and sit straight. Then the nose should self align into the "spire point" cavity of the seater stem to complete the seating and should result in a straight seated bullet.

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Boolit Master Join DateNov 2006Posts981

In-line bullet seaters are used to seat bullets with little or no run-out, they are made by RCBS, Redding, Meacham, and esp. Vickermann, all are 7/8-14" dies. Hand dies from Sinclair and Wilson do the same but not in your press, you need an Arbor press. I believe that most CBA Benchrest shooters use these types of dies.

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Your standard RCBS seater should work just fine IF the seater plug is designed for pointed boolits, and IF you don't screw the die down tight against its locking ring. Allow the die to "float" and you'll have better alignment.

You can also try the tap seating method; once you send the boolit up the die as straight as you can, gently bump or tap the boolit, then back off and do it again. this should help to align the case neck and boolit prior to pushing it into the neck too deep.

Robert

Following fouronesix's directions, the boolit should sit square in the case mouth and not wobble about, so that approximately half the gas check is inside the case.

If the boolit is not sitting square or wobbles, then the M-die isn't adjusted properly.

Hornady New Dimension dies have a precision alignment sleeve that
insures the bullet is seated straight. With an oversized (normal) boolit,
this floating sleeve may be a bit too tight and need to be polished out
a thousandths or two. Both rifle and pistol dies have this feature, and
in my opinion, they are the best dies out there.

You will need to use a Lee Universal Case Expanding Die to flare the case a
bit before trying to seat the boolit.

http://leeprecision.com/universal-case-expanding-die.html

Bill

If it was easy, anybody could do it.

As in post #6, One thing I have done after using the M die is to seat the boolit a 1/16'' inch, lower the case rotate it a 1/3 seat 1/16'' do this 2 or 3 times before final seating.
It helps me.
Horace

I'm seating the 311299 boolit in .30-06 using using a Bonanza Benchrest Seater that came from a show aeons ago. It has a guide sleeve that lines up the case and the boolit before the boolit ever gets inserted. The Hornady that Bill mentioned works the same way. Recess in the stem is a deep (3/8" or more) conical socket. It aligns the 311299 quite well. Wish I had one for everything I load, but so far I have only the .30-06, a .30-30, one for .243 J-warts. Always on the lookout for them at shows and on GB.

Phil

"You are not a hoarder until you have exceeded a lifetime supply"

Hornady New Dimension dies have a precision alignment sleeve that
insures the bullet is seated straight. With an oversized (normal) boolit,
this floating sleeve may be a bit too tight and need to be polished out
a thousandths or two. Both rifle and pistol dies have this feature, and
in my opinion, they are the best dies out there.

You will need to use a Lee Universal Case Expanding Die to flare the case a
bit before trying to seat the boolit.

http://leeprecision.com/universal-case-expanding-die.html

Bill

I buy nothing else but Hornady. They work almost as good as custom BR dies.

Are you using a .30 or .31 M-die?

If using 314299 and sized to .311 or larger you need to be using the .31 M die.

Also, adjust the deating die down so on the up strock the case mouth just does not hit the crimp part of the die. That will have the case supported in the die as much as possible. Epoxy filling the seating stem to fit fit the profile of the 314299 will also help. That's the best you are going to do with a standard RCBS seater. Better is to invest in the Hornady new Dimention or preferably the Bonanza/Forster Benchrest seater. Though be advised any benchrest type seater may need to be honed out for the larger diameter 314299 to fit into the seating sleave.

Larry Gibson

I buy nothing else but Hornady. They work almost as good as custom BR dies.Another vote for the Hornady seater. These are especially useful when doing those pesky .224 boolits! I went so far to purchase these seaters to fill out my other die sets.

Thanks for all the help. I will get it done correctly now. Malcolm

an alternative way to go if you can find one is the old, basic Lee reloading kit setup. It is basically a straight line seater and works well for me in 308

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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