Bullet seater options?

G

Greg S

CGN Regular
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Vancouver Island
I have RCBS and Lee dies, they seem to be about the same. I'm not happy with the way either seats a bullet. Are there other methods with better seating control? I don't feel comfortable with balancing a bullet on the case mouth and sliding it up into the die while it wiggles and wobbles to sort of get crambed into the case mouth.

Of particular note are the flat nosed 38 55 bullets that always seem to bulge out one side of the case. They load into the gun okay but they sure don't look professional.
I'm pretty sure I could do a better job with a pair of pliers and a hammer.
 
For some of my precision rifle reloading I use RCBS competition seating dies. They have a nice little guiding sleeve that moves within the die, a window in the side of the die to drop the bullet into, and a micrometer adjustment. I have no experience loading pistol ammunition so can't help you on that end.
 
I use Forster bench rest seating dies for my rifles which reduces bullet runout compared to regular seating dies by my observations. They are the same as the Redding seating dies, in fact Redding copied the Forster design and the bonus is the Forster dies are less expensive.
 
If I'm having any issue with bullts not seating nicely, i usually use a separate Lee case mouth expander die, slightly belling the mouth. Usually that resolves the issue.
 
hunter5425 said:
I use Forster bench rest seating dies for my rifles which reduces bullet runout compared to regular seating dies by my observations. They are the same as the Redding seating dies, in fact Redding copied the Forster design and the bonus is the Forster dies are less expensive.
Click to expand...

These have benn a God send to me adjusting depth for my rifle .. it's one of the best I've found and easy to see the markings
 
Any of the completion seating dies (redding, Forster, RCBS, etc.) should solve the problem. They are, however, quite pricey. A good compromise are the regular Hornady seating dies which do not have micrometer adjustment but do have a sliding alignment sleeve. It's a main reason I swapped out most of my RCBS, Lyman, etc. dies for Hornady's. You should be able to order these dies individually for about $30 ea. from dealers who handle Hornady reloading equipment.
 
Another vote for the Forster bench rest seating dies, and you can buy the Forster high mounted expanders and they fit the RCBS dies.

For your 38-55 try a Lyman type "M" expander die, it will put a step in the case mouth and should end your lopsided cases.
 
Sounds to me like you need an M-die - That can get you're bullet started better. Also, you could try to find a bigger expanding button, because the lump on the case would indicate that the case neck is too small for the bullet. Either way, cheaper than competition dies.
Grouch
 
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