I've been reloading for 10 years now and it seems that my .40 loads always give me the most rejects out of all the calibers I currently load and have loaded in the past.
The equipment - I'm running a Dillon 1050, 1st stage is case pickup, 2nd stage is a Dillon Carbide sizing die, 3rd stage is a shortened Dillon Carbide sizing die (I just ordered an EGW undersize to replace this one), 4th is prime, 5th is powder drop/bell, 6th is empty, 7th is Dillon Seating Die, 8th is Lee Factory Crimp Die.
OAL is 1.197, crimp is .421, bullets are STAR jacketed open lead base. (I know STAR is out of business but I still have a few thousand ...)
Between 8 and 11 of every hundred will not case drop. The biggest problem I'm fighting is a bullet concentricity issue. When I drop the case in the Wilson gage it will drop down until the bullet reaches the throat step. The side of the bullet then rubs the throat step hard. Some can be pushed in with light thumb pressure, others refuse to go at all. They all drop in the case gage backwards, so it's not a bulged brass issue. If I pull the barrel from my gun, the rounds will drop in the chamber without issue.
I cleaned all my dies to ensure this wasn't a crud buildup problem (didn't think so because it's always been this way). Checked the seating operation and found that I was getting a half moon mark in the top of the bullet. I removed the seating widget from the die and found it had a little burr around the axial hole. I polished the inside of the seating stem and then checked the fit of the truncated cone bullet. Seemed that I wasn't getting much help from the tapered sides in aligning the bullet. I indicated the seating stem in my Bridgeport, used an endmill to move the seating face .040 deeper to allow the tapered walls to straighten the bullet more before contacting the flat forcing portion of the stem. This seems to have improved things slightly but not completely. I now have a faint ring or almost complete ring on the top of each bullet after seating.
Is the Wilson case gage too rigid in the throat area? Should I be using a different gauge? Is there something else I should check in my setup?
Thanks in advance.
Ryan