Replacing Dillon 223 seatind die. Suggestions?

[tk4]

I have a Dillon 650, but don't have a lot of rifle reloading knowledge.   I am loading a Hornady 68gr bthp bullet and the Dillon seater die is leaving a ring around the bullet jacket where the bullet is depressed.  I am learning that I need a different seating die for this type of bullet? 

Any suggestions on what I can get that will do the job at a reasonable price, and where to get it?

Thank you.

[DesertTortoise]

The difference is cosmetic, doesn't really matter.

Some dies have seating stems that you can change out to match the bullet profile, not sure about Dillon dies.

[andrewst359]

You could try polishing I side of the die using a Dremel

[OptimiStick]

One of the die makers... Lee maybe ? Will make a custom seater for you if you send in the bullet and stem and a few bucks. I've also seen postings, but never tried, using glue to make your own custom seater. This was lifted from another forum :

 

"Figured I would pass this along as some may not know this.  If your tired of your seating stem putting marks on your bullet I have a solution that's quick and easy and should be free if you own a glue gun and a glue stick.
 
1. Remove your seating stem from your die
2. Get your hot glue gun and glue stick out.
3. Plug in said gun with gluestick
4. Place seating stem upside down
5. lubricate a projectile
6. Place a dot of glue inside your seating stem
7. Quickly place your ELD or preferred bullet in the glue
8. Remove projectile from glue after about 10 seconds.
9. Place seating stem back in die.

[tk4]

I was watching a training vidoe on this that said the Dillon die isn't made for bullets with thin jackets designed for expansion because the edge while seating is too sharp.

Do you think the deformation of the jacket will not cause accuracy issues?  I've never seen a factory bullet with this seating ring.

 

 

[milanuk]

Personally, I'm a fan of the match dies with the in line sleeve to keep everything supported and aligned as closely as possible during seating.

Of those, I tend to favor the Forster Ultra BR over the Redding Competition. They both work well and do the exact same thing - but one costs considerably more.

Even with the match seater, you may get a slight ring on the bullet ogive from the seater stem. Sometimes this is more a sign of excessive neck tension than anything wrong with the seater or the bullet.

But assuming that the issue really is with the bullet, you can either send the stem in to the manufacturer with some sample bullets and they can 'hone' it to match for you... or you can do it yourself for free.

Pull the stem from the die, and then coat a sacrificial bullet with an abrasive of your choice. Valve grinding or lapping compound gets it done faster, JB Bore Paste will get the job done albeit slower. Chuck one in a hand drill, and stick the bullet in the stem under light pressure. Clean up and check contact with another bullet coated with Sharpie. Continue until you are satisfied with the contact between the stem and the bullet ogive.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[DesertTortoise]

I was watching a training vidoe on this that said the Dillon die isn't made for bullets with thin jackets designed for expansion because the edge while seating is too sharp. Do you think the deformation of the jacket will not cause accuracy issues?  I've never seen a factory bullet with this seating ring.

 

 

 

How deformed is the jacket? If it is damaging the jacket, that's one thing. Can you send a picture? 

For comparison, both of these have some marks from seating and shoot great:

 

Here is a 55 grain from an RCBS die

 

 

And a 77 ELD with a Hornady die

 

 

 

 

[tk4]

Mine are somewhere in between.   

I didn't have a glue gun, so I tried the bullet with lapping compound suggested by milanuk.  Got the mark closer to the 1st picture.  I'll have to shoot some comparison groups.  The 68gr wouldn't shoot as well as my Hornady 55gr fmjs that don't get a mark from loading.  We will see if the are closer now.

 

Thanks for all the help guys.

Edited April 18, 2020 by tk4

[RGA]

Hi TK4,

 

What all the others said but I do have 1 additional question.

 

Are you shooting a compressed load with 68's? That can also add to what you are seeing.

 

(I managed to split 2 Redding Competiton seating stems over the years loading compressed charges using 69-77 grain bullets. )

 

Kind rgds,

RGA

[tk4]

6 hours ago, RGA said:

Hi TK4,

 

What all the others said but I do have 1 additional question.

 

Are you shooting a compressed load with 68's? That can also add to what you are seeing.

 

(I managed to split 2 Redding Competiton seating stems over the years loading compressed charges using 69-77 grain bullets. )

 

Kind rgds,

 

 

I am running 23.4gr of 2230.  

Is it possible it is compressed?

 

[outerlimits]

2 minutes ago, tk4 said:

 

I am running 23.4gr of 2230.  

Is it possible it is compressed?

 

No way.  I run 24.9 of 2230 with 55 NBT’s and it’s nowhere near compressed.

[chevrofreak]

For progressive loading I much prefer the Hornady custom grade seating dies for both rifle and pistol.  For single stage, I love the RCBS Gold Medal seating die.   That bullet window is genius. 

[RGA]

Like outerlimits mentioned, that load is not compressed.

 

Found instructions on how to lap the seating stem on 6mmbr.com

 

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2020/04/tech-tip-lapping-the-inside-of-seating-stems/

 

Hope it helps.

[tk4]

Thank you all.