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Old November 27, 2012, 11:48 PM   #1
grubbylabs
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Interesting problem with Rifle bullets.

I just got a new set of RCBS dies for my 223 and I noticed that when seating the bullet the die is shaving off half the soft point. Very cleanly! Am I doing something wrong?


I raised an empty case and then screwed the die body in until i felt resistance. Then I put a soft point in and set the seating stem in pretty much the same way. lowered the seating stem a little at a time. The first few bullets did not have any problems. But the last few did.

Any ideas?
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Last edited by grubbylabs; November 28, 2012 at 12:22 PM.
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Old November 28, 2012, 08:13 AM   #2
steve4102
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I raised an empty case and then screwed the die body in until i felt resistance.
At this point the die body should be backed out of the press one full turn and locked down with the lock nut. Unless you plan to crimp.

Not sure what you mean by "shaved off half the soft point"? Gotta picture?
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Old November 28, 2012, 08:20 AM   #3
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Sounds like not all your cases are the same length and your crimping by accident the longer cases and its causing it to shave part of the jacket of the bullet.

Back the die out a 1/4 turn and lock it down. Readjust your seating stem. Then you should be good to go. Make sure all your rifle brass is trimmed to the exact same length. Hope this helps.
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Old November 28, 2012, 08:42 AM   #4
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It is not crimping. The portion of the lead tip that is not jacketed is getting shaved. The case seems to be just fine. It is cutting 1/2 the tip off, from the very point down to the jacket.

I will back the die out a 1/4 turn just to be sure, but I don't think it is crimping.
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Old November 28, 2012, 10:30 AM   #5
Gbro
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Quote:
The portion of the lead tip that is not jacketed is getting shaved.
Are you finding the missing points?
Breaking off would be more understandable as what would shave them in a seating die?
You aren't putting them in upside down???
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Old November 28, 2012, 11:14 AM   #6
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pointy end goes up? Yes I am finding the tips.
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Old November 28, 2012, 11:28 AM   #7
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Maybe check the inside of the die for sharp burrs. What brand of bullets are you using? It mostly sounds like you either have your die adjusted wrong or there is something wrong with the die it self. Check the inside with a flashlight if you can. You may be able to return that set to rcbs for another set.
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Old November 28, 2012, 11:54 AM   #8
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Are you saying you are actually finding the tips that were cut off? I was going to suggest that the tip was just being flattened by the seater plug since it is soft lead and looked like the top was cut off.
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Old November 28, 2012, 12:09 PM   #9
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Sounds like the soft points are going up into a sharp edged hole at the bottom of the tapered recess in the seating ram that presses on the ogive. It swages the tip partly up into the hole, and that pulls it off. I would expect the lead to be stuck in the seater then, though.

Pictures would help. If I'm right about the mechanism, boring the hole in the bottom of the ram out wider than the soft tips would do the job. Simply sharpening a dowel rod and using it to spin some Flitz or other polish in there might help, too. Meanwhile, take your finger and put a little bit of case sizing lube on the soft points before seating, and see if the problem stops and if so, are there marks on the points where the hole is?
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Old November 28, 2012, 12:20 PM   #10
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I tried to get a picture but these stupid new auto focus cameras want to focus on every thing but what you are taking a picture of
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Old November 28, 2012, 01:52 PM   #11
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Typical RCBS customer service, they are sending me a new seating stem. Nice people I tell you.
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Old November 28, 2012, 02:33 PM   #12
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Quote:
At this point the die body should be backed out of the press one full turn and locked down with the lock nut. Unless you plan to crimp.
One full turn is unnecessary. That backs the die off by 0.071".

If you trim your brass to 0.010" under max length, and let it grow all the way to max length, even backing the die off by 1/4 turn is more than enough (0.018").

1 turn = 0.0714"
1/2 turn = 0.0357"
1/4 turn = 0.0178"


Grubby, is your seater plug one of the newer aluminum ones or is it steel?

RCBS has been shipping some .223 Rem dies with aluminum seater plugs. The extra thickness required around the edge of the tool causes quite a few bullets to catch the lip (if they aren't centered in/on the case mouth).
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Old November 28, 2012, 02:39 PM   #13
grubbylabs
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I am not sure what the material is, I just got them yesterday and did not have a lot of time to look at them. When I talked to the guy at RCBS he said it sounded like the stem was having a problem. They are going to send me a polished one to see if that helps.


I just can't say enough about customer service in the reloading industry, it seems that they remember more so than any other industry generally speaking, what good service means as well pride in workmanship and your job means.
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Old November 28, 2012, 06:49 PM   #14
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Quote:
One full turn is unnecessary. That backs the die off by 0.071".
Maybe, but it is what RCBS recommends in their instructions. Best to follow direction when first starting out, especially when one is having issues like this. Yes?

First page under "Seating Without Crimping".

http://www.rcbs.com/downloads/instru...structions.pdf
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Old November 28, 2012, 10:51 PM   #15
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Sometimes, if I'm not careful, a bullet tip will catch the edge of the die on the way in. It shaves part of the lead tip off. Could be as RCBS says, it's catching on the edge of the ram.
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Old November 29, 2012, 12:32 AM   #16
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Maybe, but it is what RCBS recommends in their instructions. Best to follow direction when first starting out, especially when one is having issues like this. Yes?
Generally, yes. But this isn't a crimp issue.

Getting as close to the crimp ring as possible, without actually crimping, provides the best body and neck alignment for the case during seating. The better the alignment, the lower the chances for seating problems.
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