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Seating Die 9mm Minor


SlvrDragon50

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I've elected to go with a separate crimp die since I am able to achieve much longer OALs compared to using the Hornady Taper Crimp Seating Die. I've been using the Hornady die as a seater only, but my OALs do vary quite a bit. I was wondering if I would be better off getting a dedicated seating die like the Redding Pro or something similar or if it's not really needed? I realize in USPSA you don't really need huge levels of precision, but my OALs are varying +/-0.005" (which again, I acknowledge could be bullet variation).

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Standard dies are fine, but you have to have all stations full,  using the same head stamp brass and bullet diamater, to be accurate. I get about +/- .003" on my Dillon 550 and Square Deal. For typical USPSA distance, it matters nothing.

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I would. My 650 gives me .008”-.010” variation in OAL which would drive the “it has to look good on PAPER!” guys a bit nuts.

 

The ammo coming out of my gun has a Standard Deviation of 5 to 6, and shoots 2” groups through my plastic Walther at 25yd from a rest. If I couldn’t achieve the performance I desired, I’d worry about OAL consistency. I’m really happy with my loads, so I don’t.

 

I have a Redding 9mm micrometer seating die in a box on the shelf. It resulted in perhaps a thousandth or two less than the Dillon with some bullet profiles, but really didn’t like the 150gr Bayou SWCs I used to shoot, so it got pulled and I haven’t put it back into service.

Edited by MemphisMechanic
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On 10/18/2017 at 5:01 PM, MemphisMechanic said:

I would. My 650 gives me .008”-.010” variation in OAL which would drive the “it has to look good on PAPER!” guys a bit nuts.

 

The ammo coming out of my gun has a Standard Deviation of 5 to 6, and shoots 2” groups through my plastic Walther at 25yd from a rest. If I couldn’t achieve the performance I desired, I’d worry about OAL consistency. I’m really happy with my loads, so I don’t.

 

I have a Redding 9mm micrometer seating die in a box on the shelf. It resulted in perhaps a thousandth or two less than the Dillon with some bullet profiles, but really didn’t like the 150gr Bayou SWCs I used to shoot, so it got pulled and I haven’t put it back into service.

Thanks. I did read about your Redding experience which made me hesitate a bit. I read that the micrometer seating die didn't play too well with lead bullets as well.

 

The past few months I've been experimenting with bullets, and I've finally settled down on a bullet so I can do more in depth testing with performance of said bullet.

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Seating depth tolerance is pretty dependent on the bullet and seating stem combination (assuming your sizing die is set up correctly). The majority of the bullets I have loaded with Dillon 9mm and .40 dies did not work well until I reamed the stem deeper (seating against the bullet nose vs. taper/ogive). After reaming the stem I get very consistent OAL, .003 or less. I don't see any difference in OAL consistency between the Dillon dies with reamed stems and Redding micrometer seating dies. What the Redding micro dies bring to the table is the ability to switch back and forth between different bullets (minor and major in .40 or light and heavy in 9mm ) without resetting the die. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

You really only need the Redding micrometer seat die if you change bullets a lot.  It also needs to be set up correctly,  “knowledge to you” has a you tube video that’s really good.  I used to get oal variances as much as .003 + or - sometimes even greater.  I tried separating by headstamp and now most are spot on or + or - .001.  I separate while watching  tv so i don’t mind doing it.  Most don’t want to take the time but it worked for me.  Another benefit of separating is you get to check each case and cull out what’s not wanted.  My press even runs a lot smoother.

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The seating die only contacts the bullet and case head. There is no way any die can minimize COL with just those two points of contact.

I find that using jacketed or swaged lead bullets minimizes COL variation since they are so consistent in dimensions and weight.

I find that keeping a case in the sizing die helps to minimize shell plate flex.

I find that for almost all reloading purposes, all most all COL variation is the bullet and where you measure it. Rotate the round by 45° and you'll almost always get a slightly different COL.

Finally, why not just load 10 rounds as normal and then load 10 rounds by first seating a bit short of your COL target and then adjusting the seating stem until you just get your COL so you have 10 rounds that have been adjusted for COL as well as you can and then shoot them and see how velocity varies between the two groups and decide if sweating COL is worth it and let us know.

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On 10/28/2017 at 11:50 PM, 4n2t0 said:

Chasing thousandths of an inch? Good luck...

 

Exactly this. Particularly in handguns.

 

Test it for group size. Worry about how accurate your ammo is - once you’re making PF that’s all that matters.

 

OAL, you will probably find, isn’t actually much of a factor. People on the internet (or OCD ones who own a set of calipers) just like to worry about things.

 

Test it for accuracy. That’s what tells you if changes are needed.

 

Edited by MemphisMechanic
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Got it. I've been so incredibly busy with schoolwork the past month and haven't gone shooting at all. I know my trigger discipline isn't the best when shooting at higher speed which is more likely to throw off the shots than the ammo itself.

 

I actually set up my bench again (I previously didn't have the die depth set up correctly, dies were stopping on the shell plate), and my OAL consistency improved quite a bit now so I think I am satisfied with my numbers. Will have to see how it translates into usage, hopefully next week.

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Now you can kill two birds with one trip to the range.  You can shoot groups that will bring back your tigger finger close to where it was and check you ammo for accuracy and maybe chrono a few rounds and that would be a trifecta.... 

Edited by a matt
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