38 Special Lee Bullet Seating die troubles

Cammy7s

Cammy7s

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I am having trouble with my L33 turret press and the bullet seating die.

I have only reloaded lead 38 special in the past and I can press the bullet on the case to make sure it goes into the die nice and straight. Now, I have just started reloading jacketed bullets with the same set-up but the bullets are not staying lined up and I am having real trouble getting consistant results seating the bullet. I'd say about 1 in 3 is going into the die and then crushing the case because the bullet goes out of alignment.

One thing I have noticed as well is that my 38 special die is only threaded into the turret press about 2 full turns(compared to my 9mm die which is threaded in probably 20 or more turns) Because the 38 spl. die is barely threaded in it makes it so the die is hidded up in the threads of the press itself and makes it hard to keep the bullet lined up for seating.

The dies are really old but that shouldn't make a difference and I am really confused why the die does not thread in very far(in order to get proper oal that is as far as it can go in!)

Any suggestions for my 38 spl jacketed reloads? Thanks!! :D

The 38 spl. is at the front of the press. Notice is has a screw on top instead of an adjusting nut like the 9mm in the rear of the press.

38spldie.jpg



You can see how far up inside the die is. The dies on the back of the press are my 9mm dies and you can see them from the bottom. The 38 spl. die is almost hidden.
38spl2.jpg
 
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I'll try this again, frickin DB errors:redface:

The die being so high means the case is not supported properly. Hence the buckling. Remove the seater stem and put a empty case in the press. Screw the die down until you feel it touch the case. This is where the die should be for seating with no crimp. When you do this is the die still only in 2 turns?
 
The bullets the same weight and shape?
"...die is hidded..." What? Bottom of the die is up in the press? It shouldn't be for either flavour of bullet.
 
What Cummins said. I'm surprised the die needs to be set so high, I use a lot of Lee dies and that's never been an issue.

I've had the same problem as you before, though, having trouble keeping the bullet balanced straight on the case mouth. I would sometimes have to keep my fingers on the bullet as I slowly raised the ram, guiding the bullet in the die. That was mostly a problem with non-boattailed .45 bullets, in my case.
 
sunray said:
The bullets the same weight and shape?
"...die is hidded..." What? Bottom of the die is up in the press? It shouldn't be for either flavour of bullet.
Click to expand...

Ha meant to read "hidden" not "hidded" my bad! But yeah, the bullet is same weight and shape just not lead but jacketed instead. My 9mm die threads in way more but for some reason my 38 spl die is barely threaded in to get the right OAL.
 
go with what Cummins said.
back the seater stem out and set the die body first.
sounds like the seater stem is in too far.
might want to inspect the inside of the die for lead as well...crud ring or lube
 
Cammy7s said:
One thing I have noticed as well is that my 38 special die is only threaded into the turret press about 2 full turns(compared to my 9mm die which is threaded in probably 20 or more turns) Because the 38 spl. die is barely threaded in it makes it so the die is hidded up in the threads of the press itself and makes it hard to keep the bullet lined up for seating.

The dies are really old but that shouldn't make a difference and I am really confused why the die does not thread in very far(in order to get proper oal that is as far as it can go in!)

Any suggestions for my 38 spl jacketed reloads? Thanks!! :D
Click to expand...

Are you sure they are .38 special dies in the first place?
 
First, thing, you may need to adjust your flairing/charging die slightly in order for the bullet to seat properly. If it is not sitting in the case mouth, youi may need to open or close up the flairslightly.
As for the seating die, what I do is
1) with the die only threaded half-way in to the press, I set the final seating depth for my bullet.
2) after you have your seating stem set for the depth you want, back off the seating stem all of the way.
3) adjust the depth that your die sits until you have reached the desired level of taper crimp( try putting the round into the cylinder of your revolver, make sure it drops in nice and easy)
4)once you have found the desired level of taper crimp, put your finished round back into the shellholder, raise the round all of the way up into the die, then adjust your seating stem until it touches the bullet.Voila!!
 
When I get home next wednesday I will try all your advice. Thanks guys.

....and yes they are 38 spl. dies as that is what is stamped into them! :D

Does anyone have a picture of their 38 spl. Lee dies that they could post so i can compare when I get home? I guess I could check the Lee website as someone has already mentioned as well! :D
 
Thanks for the tips. I just added some pics to the original post to show what is going on.

I might just get a new die set if I can't get it right.
 
I see in your photo you have a 9mm Lee sizing die then a Lee seating die, what is the third die in the photo that you refer to as your 38 die? Are you using a case mouth expander die after sizing but before seating?
 
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Have you tried following Cummins advice and removing the seating stem, raising the ram and screwing the die in until it touches the mouth of a sized (and belled, if applicable) case?
 
The bullet seating die is screwed in far enough ( I just seen it is a 9mm seating die)but the old model 38spl brass flaring die is not!!
That die with the aluminum cap is the seating die.
I would buy a new die set.
 
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