Accubond LR Seating Issues

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stubblejumper

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While seating the 129gr Accbond LR in my Lapua 6.5xx55 cases, I noticed that I was getting a sharp groove in the bullet from the seating plug. I deburred the seating plug, and lapped a couple of bullets into the seating plug which has helped a lot, but the grooves still appear in about 30% of bullets, and some are quite severe. The groove isn't a sharp ring anymore, it is now a wide groove, and in some cases is quite deep.This hasn't been an issue with the regular 130gr Accubond, or with Matchkings, or with Scenars, so I am wondering if the Accubond LR is just that much softer. I am using about .002" of neck tension,and the resistance on the press handle does not feel excessive. I have ordered a VLD seating plug for my Redding match seating die , as well as a neck bushing .001" larger to reduce neck tension a bit, but I am wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same issue. Normally, I would have just used the regular 130gr or 140gr Accubond, but they are difficult to locate, and I found a good supply of the 129Accubond LR. I had no such issues with the 7mm 150gr Accobond LR.

Has anyone else experienced this issue with the 129gr Accubond VLD?
 
I did a couple dummy's and didn't notice anything, these are from earlier lots from the prebuy. Might have to load a bunch if the 130 regulars are hard to find, will report back if I do.
 
As I posted, I normally would not bother with the Accubond LR, for my carbine, but I had some on hand, and they shoot very well in the rifle. Then when I looked around for the regular 6.5 Accubonds, they are scarce, so I just bought some more of the Accubond LR. I will try the VLD seating plug, and if that doesn't do it, I will try a bit less neck tension.
 
Try chamfering your cases more or use a VLD chamfering tool if you aren't already. I haven't had this problem with LR Accubonds, but I've seen it a lot with other bullets. Somewhere along the line someone must have beaten the idea that less is more on chamfering into my head (probably a handgunner when I think back), but Nosler brass that comes prepped have regular funnels cut in it.

You can customize a seating plug with a speck of bedding compound. Thoroughly degrease the plug and reassemble with a dab of bedding compound inside and put it back in the press. Wax up a loaded or dummy cartridge and run it into the die then leave it over night with just the weight of the handle holding the bullet against the seater. When it is set (doesn't need to be 100%, better off if it isn't) take everything apart and clean it up. Drill out the center so the bullet nose doesn't bottom out.

Bullet casters do this all the time when they don't have the right nose punch for sizing. You can't get a better fit.
 
Dogleg said:
Try chamfering your cases more or use a VLD chamfering tool if you aren't already. I haven't had this problem with LR Accubonds, but I've seen it a lot with other bullets. Somewhere along the line someone must have beaten the idea that less is more on chamfering into my head (probably a handgunner when I think back), but Nosler brass that comes prepped have regular funnels cut in it.

You can customize a seating plug with a speck of bedding compound. Thoroughly degrease the plug and reassemble with a dab of bedding compound inside and put it back in the press. Wax up a loaded or dummy cartridge and run it into the die then leave it over night with just the weight of the handle holding the bullet against the seater. When it is set (doesn't need to be 100%, better off if it isn't) take everything apart and clean it up. Drill out the center so the bullet nose doesn't bottom out.

Bullet casters do this all the time when they don't have the right nose punch for sizing. You can't get a better fit.
Click to expand...

If anything, I chamfer cases more than required. As I posted, the effort required to seat the bullets does not seen at all excessive.
 
I have had the same problem with 20 cal v-max getting a ring from my redding dies. I pulled the seater out of a set of 17 dies just to try it and it fixed the ring problem and accuracy never changed. A seater from a 240 cal die might be a free easy fix for you. Worth a shot to try a couple if you have one.
 
Accubond Seating Issue Update

The VLD seating plug for my Redding Match Seating Die arrived today, and the first bullet seated showed a small surface ring, so I deburred the mouth of the plug, and used a bullet and some lapping compound to polish it up a bit. The result was that there are no more rings or grooves in the seated bullets. I left the neck tension at .002" and all is good to go. I ended up loading 100 rounds this afternoon.
 
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