Reloading Confusion

[kennyc]

Some pictures would help.
What's your cartridge over all lentgh.
What size are the bullets.
Are you sure you are not seating the bullets to deep.

with the K31 you will probably need to seat the 168's deeper thn you might expect

[tarantulaman]

Thanks everyone, I hope I have covered all of the questions below.

In the picture, left = factory PPU 174gn, middle = good? reload of 168gn, right = dodgy reload 168gn,

OAL - 2.925
Powder 45gn N140
Seating die is wound down until it touched the shell-holder, and then backed off a turn


I will back out the seating die another 1 turn and try that.

[Dougan]

TMan - Your not setting up the seating die correctly; and this may or may not have a bearing on your current problem...

...to set it up, you put a one of your prepared cases (without bullet) in the press and put the press handle down so the case is at it's highest point...then screw down the seating die until you feel it touch the edge of the case neck...at this point, if you screw it down further it will apply a crimp...assuming you don't want crimp; you then back the seating die off one full turn from this point...the die is now set to seat without crimp, and you control the depth you seat the bullet with the knob at the top of the die.

I'm guessing that after you've sorted this, the bullets will still be loose - So you will still need to measure the bullet diameter, inside of the case neck and the ball expander with calipers that can measure to 1 thou of an inch...let us know how these measurements come out...ideally you'll have the inside of the case neck and expander about 2 thou less than the bullet.

I'm off to Bisley now for the weekend, so will only be able to access the forum with my phone...so apologies if future responses are 'economical'...

[Alpha1]

You are seating the bullet to deep by the looks of it you should be checking your cartridge over all lentgh with a dial calliper. As the guy in the previous post said your seating die is not set up correctly.

[WelshShooter]

Thanks everyone, I hope I have covered all of the questions below.

In the picture, left = factory PPU 174gn, middle = good? reload of 168gn, right = dodgy reload 168gn,

OAL - 2.925
Powder 45gn N140
Seating die is wound down until it touched the shell-holder, and then backed off a turn


I will back out the seating die another 1 turn and try that.

Ah, I can see your problem, seems as though your seating stem is way too deep. The seating stem is used to control the bullet seating depth, not the seating die itself. Once you have the die installed you should not change this at all. Since you have factory ammo available, the quickest way to set up your seating die would be as follows:
1. Place factory round in shell holder and set up seating die as per instructions. Tighten lock ring in place.
2. Back out the seating STEM as far as you can.
3. Lower the ram to raise the cartridge into seating die.
4. Adjust the seating STEM until you feel it contact the loaded cartridge. Lock this in place.

You will then have set up your seating die quickly to a decent overall length. Bare in mind that overall length will vary based on whatever bullet you choose. You might need to make slight adjustments to meet overall length of internal magazine.

[Alpha1]

You need to stop and get advice from a experienced re loader before you attempt to reload any more home loaded ammunition.
What you are doing is in correct.
You need to acquire if you have not all ready done so some reloading manuals and read the print off them before embarking on re loading any more live rounds and get advice from a experienced re loader.

[tarantulaman]

Thanks again everyone, some great tips

However this is still confusing as the Redding instructions only mention lowering the die until it touches the shell holder, not a case. Are Redding dies different in this regard?

Alpha1 - Don't worry, I am not intending to shoot any of these until I am confident they are safe. I have the Lee reloading manual which is pretty good. Also I have now asked a friend (experienced reloader) to also take a look at my setup.

It is proving to be a good learning exercise though and at least I do understand that I am making mistakes and that these rounds are not safe.

I am going to Bisley next weekend so will just buy some more factory rounds for then if I can't get this resolved. There is no way I would jeopardize my own safety or that of others.

Also my club now uses a chronograph and visual inspection before you are allowed to use reloads. We have to sign to state what components/powder charge we are using and the expected velocity and muzzle energy.

Thanks again

[ovenpaa]

Tarantulaman, I am not sure where you are however we will be in North Lincolnshire from next weekend onwards and you are very welcome to bring your gear over and we can go through the process together and see if we can bottom out the problems you are experiencing over a couple of cups of coffee.

[HALODIN]

tarantulaman - I misunderstood, I thought you meant you had bullets that were more difficult (more force required) to seat than others - hence I thought you were crimping. It seems the problem is at the other end of the spectrum, where you have loose case necks and the bullets seem to be falling in to the case, is that correct? i.e. is the force required to seat each bullet the same across all cases or are do some offer no/little resistance?

So far you haven't provided any measurements, is there a reason for this? Do you have a caliper?

[tarantulaman]

You are correct Halodin, some bullets have less resistance when seating, not hugely noticeable, but you can tell. In fact, there does not seem to be much resistance on any of them.

I have been away from home quite a bit so have not been able to supply measurements, but I will try and do so later. I do have a dial caliper, I liked it better than the digital ones.

Thank you ovenpaa, I might very well take you up on your kind offer.