Newbie who needs some help.

wixx

wixx

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Hello all, I just started reloading a few weeks ago. I am loading for a brand new savage 110 in 224 valkyrie. I have a rcbs partner press, hornady custom grade dies( 2 die set). So far i have only reloaded 15 rounds of once fired emerican eagle.

Last night i decided to do 50 rounds (brand new starline brass) to do a powder charge test. I took measurements of the new cases for my log book, ran my brass through my sizing die to open the necks up and get them all round again, chamfered the case mouth and primed. I weighed out all my powder and wanted to check ogive on my bullets( 75 gr eldm)

This is where i had my first issue, i was trying to measure ogive in my chamber and i measured 20 times and got 20 different results with my hornady coal tool and 224 valkyrie modified case. Now im new so i was probably doing it wrong, but i decided to measure ogive when COAL was 2.260. Gave me a starting point and i figured i could try different seating depths after i found a charge that looked promising.

My main issue was after i set my seating die i was getting different results from bullet to bullet. Also i was getting a ring pressed into the tip of my bullet. Most rounds came out 1.708 ogive, but some were off as far as 1.716.

I am very confused and apologize for wasting everyones time but i cant seam to find the answers im looking for.
 
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The ring is likely from the seating plug in the seating die. What I suspect is that you may not have not set your seating die properly (it is screwed in too much) and you are over crimping. Your seating die both crimps and seats. In this instance, what may be happening is that the case is fully crimped into the crimping groove before the bullet is fully seated. A picture would tell us more.
 
There were no crushed shoulders that i noticed. But ill double check tonight. I set my die by twisting it till i felt contact with the shoulder then backed it of 3/4 of a turn.
 
It can be very subtle. The left is a correct loaded round, middle a piece of sized brass, and right one that was crimped before full seating. Notice the ever so slight change in shoulder angle of the right round versus the other two cases.

khrRtkK.jpg


Here is one I completely pooched when I forgot to back the die out a half turn

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Do yourself a really big favour:

leeprecision dot com/modern-reloading-2nd-ed.html
www dot sierrabullets dot com/product/sierra-6th-edition-rifle-handgun-reloading-manual/
www dot hornady dot com/reloading/handbook

and several other manuals as well.
 
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I cannot really tell if you are crimping, but the damage to the bullet nose appears to be a problem with the bullet seating die, and the end doesn't match your bullet profile. Plus, there is some reason for the extra force; are you neck expanding or are you trying to push a bullet into the neck after sizing without expanding it?
 
I set up my die not to crimp. But maybe i need to bavk it out again i ran my brass through my fl sizing die. I was under the impression this expands the necks but maybe im wrong and need to invest in another neck expanding die??
 
You need to do some measuring in order to track down the problem.
Measure your case necks inside diameter before resizing.
Measure your case necks inside diameter after resizing.
What are the sizes?
Measure your bullets.
What are the sizes?
If, for example, your case neck ends up at 0.222" and your bullets are at 0.224" (which they should be), the you have a 0.002" interference fit. This will hold the bullets nice and tight, but will result in the seating die leaving a mark. From the pics and your description I would say that too much neck tension is the culprit

The expander plug in off the shelf dies is made to a certain standard size to suit any and all applications. If it does not suit what you want to do, you can take it out and use some 400 grit wet and dry paper to reduce its size (polish it by spinning it in a drill chuck) to one that better suits you. Or get a machinist to do it for you.

You will of course need some decent measuring tools, micrometer, digital vernier calipers, and not the s*** they sell in Crappy Tire or Princess Auto.
 
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The best thing you could possibly do is to get a friend, relative, co-worker, anyone who is a somewhat experienced reloader and have him give you some instruction.
 
When you ran the brass through the sizer die, was the decapper rod in it. The rod has the expander button to expand the neck to a uniform ID.

The neck appears to be very undersized. This is causing a lot of pressure on the bullet to seat it.
 
You should brush inside neck clean and lube it before sizing. Bullets shouldn't need that much force to seat them. What diameter is the xpander button on your sizing die?

EDit: I didn't notice the links to your pictures before. I wonder if something is wrong besides neck tension. I wonder if you have the right seating stem and if it's the correct caliber. You should contact the manufacturer with these pictures and ask them. A seating die shouldn't pinch bullets like that.

Hornady Customer service 1 (800) 338-3220. Ask for an email address so you can send pictures.
 

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Hey all sorry for the lack of reaponse. I am going to measure some necks on my new and once fired brass as well as bullet diameter as well as expander plug. I have tried modifying my seating stem very mildly to better fit the bullets im using. And i will see if that works as well. From what i have read is that hornady projectiles have soft jackets and i dont think i used enough lube on the case necks. Ill post my finding tonights.
 
So I found a few things. My new brass even after sizing it has a small neck. After firing once it was 1 thou of neck tension. Also i tried modifying my seating stem. I still have a ring on my bullets but it is faint and not an impression on the bullet. I am going to touch up the stem with a bullet wrapped in 250 grit sand paper. Hopefully next round of reloading will be all sorted out.
 
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