Setting the die to avoid any crimping . . . .

M

Montana Pete

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I'm a little embarassed to write this, since I must seem like a dodo, but I do need the info . . . . .

I loaded up a box of 22-250 ammo, then had reason to doubt if they were okay. I mean, there was the possibility of a mistake . . . .

Trying to pull bullets, I used an RCBS collet-type bullet puller and tore two bullets completely apart without extraction. I mean, these bullets would not pull. One bullet was literally torn in half.

I have also had some pressure problems in the recent past. It occurred to me the possibility that I have been inadvertently crimping the bullets. The bullets do not have a cannelure, and definitely should not be crimped. I am not sure I am crimping, but after the incredible tenacity of these bullets to refuse pulling, I have a concern.

What do I do with my seating die -- which is just a standard, off-the-shelf seating die -- to eliminate any possibility of crimping? At present, I believe it is set so the lip of the die is about touching the ram.

Thanks in advance-- sorry to seem like such a "dim one"--
 
crimp or not to!

Take a new or resized brass ,no bullet seated,loosen your lock ring on the die and back off the die several turns,also the seating stem,run your ram up to top of stroke with the brass in the shell holder,screw the die down till you feel it contact the brass,back it off a turn or so and tighten it down.You should now feel no resistance when you run the brass up and down in the die.
 
Easy to adjust seating die.

The bullet seating die supplied with most two-die, bottle-necked rifle cartridge is fairly easy to adjust.

Just take a sized case, place in shell holder and run ram to top of stroke. Then unscrew the seating stem as far as possible. Now screw the die into the press until it contacts the case. Make sure the lock ring is not responsible for thinking that the die is contacting the case.

Now back out the die 1/2 turn and screw down the lock ring to fix the die in place. Now withdraw the case by lowering the ram. Place a charged, sized case in the shell holder with bullet in place.

Run the ram up to see if it pushes the bullet into the case and adjust the stem until the bullet is seated to the desired depth.

If your bullet seating die body is contacting the shell holder there is a very good chance that you are inadvertently crimping your bullets in place.

FWIW
 
AND, if you want a crimp you BACK OFF the seating screw and then adjust the die so that it crimps the case. Otherwise, if you try to seat/crimp in the same stroke you risk buckling the brass and shaving the jacket on the bullet.

No crimp, I back off the edge of the prepped brass about 1/4 turn. We don't need to mention that your case length must be uniform, right?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I want to thank Terry and Dave for their advice. I am pretty isolated, without any knowledgeable shooting guys in my circle, and I'm very grateful for the "trouble shooting" info I get on this forum.

The reason this issue of setting seating dies is essential--

When setting your full length resizing dies, it is normal to set them so the shell holder touches the bottom of the die.

People can then just blindly set everything that way, incl. your seating dies. BAD!

Unfortunately, if the seating die attempts to crimp a bullet that does not suit a crimp situation, it can diminish accuracy and can tend to increase pressures.

So this is good information, to back these dies off a few turns, and can help prevent less experienced people from mis-setting their equipment.

Thanks again--
 
Montana Pete said:
I'm a little embarassed to write this, since I must seem like a dodo, but I do need the info . . . . .

I loaded up a box of 22-250 ammo, then had reason to doubt if they were okay. I mean, there was the possibility of a mistake . . . .

Trying to pull bullets, I used an RCBS collet-type bullet puller and tore two bullets completely apart without extraction. I mean, these bullets would not pull. One bullet was literally torn in half.

I have also had some pressure problems in the recent past. It occurred to me the possibility that I have been inadvertently crimping the bullets. The bullets do not have a cannelure, and definitely should not be crimped. I am not sure I am crimping, but after the incredible tenacity of these bullets to refuse pulling, I have a concern.

What do I do with my seating die -- which is just a standard, off-the-shelf seating die -- to eliminate any possibility of crimping? At present, I believe it is set so the lip of the die is about touching the ram.

Thanks in advance-- sorry to seem like such a "dim one"--
Click to expand...

Pete. Buy one of these. Mine is over 20 yrs old.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=215517

I also have one of these. For non crimp bullets.
http://www.sinclairintl.com/product/8324/Bullet-Pullers

Great tools. Have never messed up a bullet or case. :)
 
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