Loading LRN's cruds up my seating die

[flycaster]

Hi, Folks. I've loaded a lot of thousands of .45acp and 9mm with my Lee Classic Turret. Lots of consistent, good loads. Lately I've been switching my 9mm over to full cast- specifically Missouri Bullet 125gr. lrn's. I like the bullets a lot. My problem is that, if I don't remove the bullet seating die about every 150-200 rounds, the OAL starts getting shorter. After 200 rounds my 1.065" is down to 1.057" or so. I then remove the die, and swab out the deepest (seating) end with Hoppe's 9, and the OAL returns to my original length. Most of the build-up seems to be lube, but I'm also getting some lead flakes. Normal, or not? Any suggestions, or just keep doing what I'm doing? Thanks in advance.

Chuck

[LHB1]

Chuck,
I've been loading cast lead bullets exclusively in my .357 Mags, .44 Mags, and .45 ACP since 1964. Have experienced similar results so I just clean my seater/crimper die at the beginning of every reloading session and then load 300 or so rounds. That's enough for me at one time anyway.

[QBall45]

Increase case mouth flair slightly. Just until the promlem stops. Tgis helped me when I switched from FMJ to cast.

[ar15man2009]

I tend to get a lot of build up as well. It doesnt seem to be too much of a problem though. I just take the plug out every 100 rounds or so and swab it out,then it goes back to normal. And i cant tell the difference between any of the rounds whether its a round twoards the end of the 100 or the 1st one loaded when im shooting them.

If you want to keep your oal the same you could possibly clean the plug through the die,without removing the plug. I dont know if this would work very well or not but it may be worth a try.

[QBall45]

Trying to clean thr junk from your seating die without taking it apart is a hard job. And not real effective.

[Unclenick]

Try QBall45's suggestion. By increasing the flare less lube scrapes off the sides of the bullets as they seat. Scraped-off lube tends to stick to the sides of the die, and from there subsequent bullet noses catch the stuff and transfer it up into the seater stem.

If it doesn't have one already, a common tactic is to drill a hole in the center of the seater so the lube tends to squeeze up through it rather than push the bullet deeper into the case.

[LHB1]

Quote: "Trying to clean thr junk from your seating die without taking it apart is a hard job. And not real effective. "

I don't disassemble the seating die for cleaning. I just run a cotton cloth patch dampened with bore cleaner inside the die on tip of a small screw driver, rotate it several times, and blast the die with a shot of compressed air. It is then clean and ready to go for another batch of reloads with no adjustments necessary. While I'm at it, I run a saturated cloth patch inside the sizing die also. Works well for me. YMMV.

[Farmland]

I open the flair just enough to stop the the excessive build up. It does permit longer numbers to be reloaded between die cleaning.

[Kyo]

how do I open up the flare? I thought the flare die and the powder die was the same? What am I missing?

[QBall45]

You would be correct. Flair/expanded die is same as your powder die (in the case of Lee's powder through pistol dies)

Adjust this die to give more flair by screwing the die in about a half turn at a time. Repeat til you are nolonger shaving lead/lube off the bullet. Be sure to remove thus flair after seating the bullet. (Crimp your bullet) I use Lee's factory crimp die. It crimps and post sizes the round.

[Kyo]

adjust it in or out?

[QBall45]

More flair = turn die body in

Less flair = turn die body out.

[ZeSpectre]

I made a "pick" out of a wooden dowel rod. A few "swirls" and everything is cleaned out.

[benzuncle]

Because the turret is easily removed on the LCT, I remove the turret and use a dental tool to scrape and clean out the lead. Takes about a minute and I'm good to go.

[flycaster]

Thanks for all the good suggestions. I'm going to increase the flare first, then go from there. BTW- I don't take the die apart to clean it, just remove it from the turret.

Chuck

[Farmland]

BTW I use Dillon dies for all of my progressive reloading. It lets you take the seating die apart without moving the settings. Pretty easy to clean that way.

@note if you buy Dillon dies for a single stage you will have to buy some type of powder die because there is no expander die with these. The expansion is down with a powder die that is not part of the dies set. I just thought I would add this info.

[NWPilgrim]

I did a few things to minimize this problem. I switched from the cupped seating stem to the flat stem. It seems to seat roundnose bullets just as straight and doesn't clog up as quickly.

I crimp separately from seating.

About every 100 rounds I use carb cleaner spray to blast out the inside of the die and then I use a cotton Qtip to scrub the die innards while dripping from the spray.

[BigJakeJ1s]

Trying to clean thr junk from your seating die without taking it apart is a hard job. And not real effective.

One of the main reasons I like Hornady seating dies. Just pull the spring clip from the bottom of the die, and the guide sleeve and seater plug (everything that comes in contact with the case/bullet) comes out in your hand for cleaning. Then it goes back in without touching the settings. They also have a sliding bullet alignment sleeve for better/easier bullet-case alignment, take an optional micrometer adjuster screw, and the best lock rings on the planed (cross-bolt style plus wrench flats).

Dillon seating dies also disassemble for cleaning without affecting the settigns, but they don't have the micrometer option or real lock rings, and they cost more.

Andy