Redding Dies leaving ring around the bullet on 22-250

S

Strader61

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With new Lapua brass my New Redding Match series seating die is leaving a light ring around each jacketed 55 grain bullet around 1/4 from top. I have tried both the neck bushings I have which are .251 and .252 and even a couple shells that haven't been neck sized and still have the ring. Will this tension on the bullet change after first firing in my single shot Browning 1885 - 22-250 ? Anyone else get that small ring that they can feel around the bullet? seems like I need to polish the piece up inside that creates this ring?
 
Are you saying that this is new unfired brass? If it is, lube the inside of the necks and use an expander die on them, like you were getting them ready to turn, then clean out the lube. The neck tension on new Lapua brass has been known to be on the high side. Running an expander through them should solve the problem.
 
Strader61 said:
With new Lapua brass my New Redding Match series seating die is leaving a light ring around each jacketed 55 grain bullet around 1/4 from top. I have tried both the neck bushings I have which are .251 and .252 and even a couple shells that haven't been neck sized and still have the ring. Will this tension on the bullet change after first firing in my single shot Browning 1885 - 22-250 ? Anyone else get that small ring that they can feel around the bullet? seems like I need to polish the piece up inside that creates this ring?
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This has happened with a number of my seating dies. It should not happen with either new or fired brass. It is caused by too sharp a mouth on the seater stem. To fix it, disassemble the die, chuck the seater stem in a drill and hone the mouth of the seater with fine grit sand paper until the ring goes away when I seat a bullet.
 
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Thanks for the input

bill123 said:
This has happened with a number of my seating dies. It should not happen with either new or fired brass. It is caused by too sharp a mouth on the seater stem. To fix it, disassemble the die, chuck the seater stem in a drill and hone the mouth of the seater with fine grit sand paper until the ring goes away when I seat a bullet.
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I did see where others had same issue. I was machinist for 22 years so I have all kinds of very small abrasive wheels and buffer wheels with compounds. I did debur and surface finishing. I will take the sharp edge off and make sure it is very smooth without removing any material.
 
Its the tip. Like was said debur it. Nothing to do with brass or bullet choice. Take out the seater plug and put a bullet in it like it would be seating it and youll see
 
When I modify a seater stem that is deep enough not to allow bullet tips to touch inside, I flare the outermost part of the cavity a little so that the bullet does not contact the edge. Lacking a lathe, I chuck it in a corded drill spin it up and hold the side of the stem, near the part that I am working lightly against a wood block to steady it up so that its OD holds its position against whatever force I may be applying. I know that this will make machinists cringe, but sometimes lash ups give decent results, if you pay attention to the details and proceed with caution. Recently I redid a Lee stem for VLDs (for a field rifle not a match gun) and after that and some other work to the die, the runout of my loaded rounds was quite good, comparable to any of my better equipment.
 
If the seating die has the taper crimp, you may be starting the crimp too soon (before the bullet is fully seated) adjust your die up.
 
I very often have this happen with new brass or fired brass that is neck sized too much. New brass ,even after neck sizing and neck expanding, may do this as the resistance of the smooth inside surface of the neck against the smooth bullet' s surface is great and more seating pressure is required to get the bullet to seat. The bullet goes into the seating stem until the neck relents and allows the bullet to move. A. dry or wet lube in the neck or on the bullet reduces this resistance and bullet often seat as if the brass were fire formed. I have oversized new brass and the pressure required to seat left a visible and obvious ring just short of the bullet' s tip. It' s not the seating stem' s fault but due to increased resistance to the bullet entering the neck. I believe I read that ultrasonic cleaners have this problem. A little residue in the neck acts as a lubricant.
 
Boyd Allen said:
Are you saying that this is new unfired brass? If it is, lube the inside of the necks and use an expander die on them, like you were getting them ready to turn, then clean out the lube. The neck tension on new Lapua brass has been known to be on the high side. Running an expander through them should solve the problem.
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I did order from redding what i believe is called a expander. This small expander screwed onto my deprimer rod and is specifically for .22 caliber brass. Worked awesome and brass mouth still has the right tension on bullets. No more ring from forcing bullet into case mouth. The .22 cal expander is the type that has a moving ball on it. Im glad i figured this out before even getting replies back. Hope others see this and don't get frustraited. I think redding sent me the expander at no charge when i called and told them that the micrometer match die set should include that little life saver. Thanks for the helpful replies guys.
 
Strader61 said:
I did order from redding what i believe is called a expander. This small expander screwed onto my deprimer rod and is specifically for .22 caliber brass. Worked awesome and brass mouth still has the right tension on bullets. No more ring from forcing bullet into case mouth. The .22 cal expander is the type that has a moving ball on it. Im glad i figured this out before even getting replies back. Hope others see this and don't get frustraited. I think redding sent me the expander at no charge when i called and told them that the micrometer match die set should include that little life saver. Thanks for the helpful replies guys.
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I must respectfully disagree re Redding "including that liddle lifesaver"

They leave it out for a reason, you CANNOT, EVER get truly good resizing results while using an expander 'ball.'

Really,

Ever.



Many people are happy with the results obtained thru use of the internal expansion feature but that pertickler die does say "Match" on it........ Match loaders generally do not use expander balls, at least not those folks loading for matches where accuracy is important. (90% of all shooting matches in the world are set up such that accuracy isn't first on the list........ here on BRC many lose sight of this fact)

This is Bench Rest Central not "Blanging Ye Schteel Plates At High Speed Most Of The Time Central"

I'm not arguing, just defending Redding as they are as good as any other reloading die maker out there. And they're not "cheaping out."
 
Come on al- you know precisely sizing the neck then plowing a knurled button back thru the neck is the new craze!
 
Dusty Stevens said:
Come on al- you know precisely sizing the neck then plowing a knurled button back thru the neck is the new craze!
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Yeahh, I'm experimenting with some that have carbide FINS on, it cuts thru the carbon and rides on the inside the neck for consistent results. NO MORE bad reads from uneven carbon buildup!

My first couple even have helical. They're re-purposed rifling buttons from the 5th best barrel maker in the world...I've got one in a 14" twist and another in a 8.1-7.34 gain twist..... the gain-twist button is currently offering 12.554% better loaded-round-concentricity figures but results at 666yds have been inconclusive. (Although the groups're really good when I throw out the fliers and the called flinches! My results are nearly twice as good using Standard Deviation From An Assigned Center when defined as a mean! Some subsets show remarkable value......)

My latest one is precisely manufactured by spinning a worn out SDS bit up against the grinder and then carefully polishing with 4000 grit Lapiz Rouge to a mirror finish.

And to counteract the tendency of the new expanders to pull the N/S junction forward I've re-modified a couple sets of dies. To do this I drill out the threads for the decapping assembly and run a special linkage so's it pulls the ball through BEFORE I PULL THE CASE OUT!! The expander ball drives out the neck while the case is still fully supported by the die! (I useta' turn the decapping stem out with a pipe wrench (so it doesn't bugger up the finger-splines) each time but then one time I put it back in too deep and bent a decapping rod....ohhh buggahh!....so I made up the fine link assembly.

I do so love elegant solutions...... "When Life Gives You Lemonade...." etc etc
 
When is the book coming out Al? I know a few that won't take advice unless it's in print (your book on the above) would be PERFECT for them. ;)
 
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