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Wadcutter question


galt11

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Sorry if this is the wrong location for this question, I had too many good choices. :-) I am trying to set up one of my dillons for 38 wadcutters for the first time. The issue I seem to be having is lead being shaved as the bullet is seated. I tried adjusting the belling to the point where the case is belled a great deal and the WC easily slides down a good amount just by placing it on the case. Is this just the normal way lead WCs work, or am I overlooking something. Thanks

Adam

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all wadcutters I have loaded for .38 were bevel base, so only a slight case bell was required in order to seat the bullet without any shaving. a bit more bell may be helpful in getting the bullet started if you are using hollowbase wadcutters (i.e. no bevel to assist in setting the projectile into the case mouth). my $.02.

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Bell the cases till they quit shaving. HBWCs require more bell than others.

Tom,

I am not sure if this picture will show it the best but should there be more bell than this? The one on the right is a fired un-resized case. The one on the left is after belling.

100_1387.jpg

Adam

Edited by galt11
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I load a bunch of 38 HBWC's. Remington bulk. They're oversize at the base because of the swaging process that forms them. When I started loading them with my usual settings they shaved lead. Adjusting fhe flare/bell was the fix. Just increase the flare/bell until the shaving stops.

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My HBWCs can shave on my Lee turret. The seating die, screwed into the turret, actually gets pushed up off the frame a bit during seating. Since the turret's not sitting totally flat, the case and the seating die aren't perfectly aligned, and lead &/or lube can get shaved off the side of the bullet during seating. It seems more of a problem with the longer HBWCs. My solution has been to seat a bit, rotate the case, seat more, rotate, fully seat**.

Tom

**shaving aside, I do this anyway, especially when loading target ammo, since seating a bullet with uneven force can't be good for accuracy

Edited by GrandBoule
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Start with just enough belling to let the skirt enter the case and work up gradually. Your photo looks close but may be a bit much. Keep in mind that excessive belling can also cause shaving/swaging of the bullet. If you feel a bump of resistance as the case mouth enters the die, it's too much. If you are using Dillon dies, you may also want to try different seating plugs. Sometimes the roundnose seater squares and stabilizes the bullet better than the wadcutter seater. Make certain you hold the bullet in place until it enters the die. With new cases, you can also get galling between the bullet and case that pushes lead forward. Chamfering and tumbling help.

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