.451 230gr bullet seating issue

[Tachyon]

I'm getting a fair amount of these out of my Dillon X650, loading a 230gr roundnose onto .45ACP brass. At station 4, when seating the bullet, up to 25% or more (they seem to come in batches) smash the bullet over the case, resulting in a non-functional round.

Suggestions on what I should do to fix this problem?

I mentioned this to someone, who said I should try separating the seating stage from the crimping stage. But I'd already backed off the seating die on station 4 and bought a crimp die on station 5, and had the tolerances down. Is there a better die for station 4, or should I just back it off more?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Edited May 5, 2013 by Tachyon

[The_Vigilante]

It appears you need to adjust the expansion die to provide more bell to the case.

[Youngeyes]

Send pictues of the case after it goes through the powder die but before the seating die. What brand of bullet are you using?

[dirty whiteboy]

It appears you need to adjust the expansion die to provide more bell to the case.

agree

[Tachyon]

Send pictues of the case after it goes through the powder die but before the seating die. What brand of bullet are you using?

I'm using Berry's Preferred Plated bullets, 230gr, .452 roundnose, that I pick up at the local Sportsman's Warehouse.

Thanks!

Edited May 5, 2013 by Tachyon

[Jaxshooter]

A Redding Competition Seating Die will help. You need to bell the case mouth more.

[Youngeyes]

You are using a plated bullet and a .452 diameter. Not sure if makes much of a difference, but I use .451. From the picture it would seem that you need much more bell. Plated bullets aren't very forgiving with bad bell or bad crimp. Make sure that when you put the bullet on the case, it sits with out wobbling after the flair. That should fix your problem. The picture here is one of my belled cases.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Youngeyes

[Steve RA]

I'd also say it needs more bell.

[Tachyon]

Hmmm, I wonder if the problem is that I'm using RCBS dies.

It looks like the RCBS die in station 1 only decaps the primer, but doesn't appear to actually size it.

I don't see where this die can bell the mouth of the cartridge:

When I measured the brass cartridge with a pair of calipers, internal diameter varied from .452" to .448". Obviously a problem.

I used this guy, which doesn't de-prime but can size the cartridge so wide that the bullet will just drop all the way in.

It also looks like this die can deform the external size away from a straight wall:

(This is an otherwise empty cartridge. You can see where the second die deformed the straight walls.)

Do I need a combination of these two dies, i.e. a Dillon-specific sizing/decapping die?

Jaxshooter, does the Redding size/decap also? Thanks for the replacement suggestion!

Edited May 6, 2013 by Tachyon

[Steve RA]

The problem isn't with the size die, it's with the adjustment of the powder measure.

[The_Vigilante]

Try lowering the powder die little by little until you get the necessary bell. The sizing die has nothing to do with the bell. What are you using in Station 2?

[Tachyon]

Ah, thanks! I was just coming to that conclusion after reading page 11 in the manual.

(That's what I get for not reloading for 6 months, and then starting back up.)

Edited May 6, 2013 by Tachyon

[Youngeyes]

You need to get a good set of dies and set them up properly. That said you'll turn out loads that you'd cry for. You need a sizing/decapping die. You need a powder drop and belling die. You need a seating die and a crimping die. The last is not mandatory but highly reccomended.

[Tachyon]

Thanks all for the help and recommendations!

After adjusting the powder die to add more bell to the cartridge, I made a test batch of 63 good rounds, none of which shaved off plating or failed to fit in the case gauge. Looks like I'm good to go!

[CoachLongShot]

I'm getting a fair amount of these out of my Dillon X650, loading a 230gr roundnose onto .45ACP brass. At station 4, when seating the bullet, up to 25% or more (they seem to come in batches) smash the bullet over the case, resulting in a non-functional round.

Suggestions on what I should do to fix this problem?

I mentioned this to someone, who said I should try separating the seating stage from the crimping stage. But I'd already backed off the seating die on station 4 and bought a crimp die on station 5, and had the tolerances down. Is there a better die for station 4, or should I just back it off more?

Thanks for any suggestions.

I did the same to my 9mm's when I switched from full metal jacket to the Berry's. Bell the case a little more and you won't have the problem. I did this with my regular old Lee dies, and ran several thousand rounds without any problems. I agree with the other guys, just a little more belling and you're good to go. Finally switched over to the Dillon dies because of some problems I had with crimping, but that's a different story.

Coach.

[ProGunGuy]

this kind of situation can happen if one is using mixed brass. let say one happens to grab a case to set the flare. the case just happens to be a long case. when one sets it and it looks correct, shorter case will end up with less flare.

when setting the flare, i measure a few cases and use the shortest on and set it with that case

[Jan R.]

Lee under sizing die, Redding Competition seating die and definitely more cow bell!!

Jan

[BroKV]