So i tried reloading for my .416 rigby and ran into an issue. The first 2 worked with no issues. Then I ran in to trouble and now 4 out of 7 have had this problem. When it gets to certain point in the seating process instead of continuing to seat the bullet it starts to press the case neck into the case itself instead of continuing to just seat the bullet (this is not a compressed load either). I measured the inside dementions of the case mouth and the outter diameter of the bullet (400 grain nosler partition) the problem doesn't appear to be that. I then ran an empty case into the seater die to check and see if it was catching on the side of the die possibly it fed with no issues. I am at a loss as to why this is happening and was hoping some one could help me out. I have reloaded many times with many different calibres and have not had any major issues. I'm at a loss
reloading issue with .416 rigby when seating the bullet
- Thread starter .264 Win Mag
- Start date
The things that come to mind are: (1) make sure you've run the expander ball through the case neck; (2) chamfer the inside of the case neck and (3) run the seater die so it touches the shoulder, then back it out half a turn. The last step would be to ensure that the case neck is supported with no risk of pressure on the shoulder. Maybe the expander ball is a bit undersized.
Put an empty case in the press and run it up all the way, now screw your seater die down until you feel it contact the case mouth now back it out 1/2 turn. The Rigby can be a bit of a b!tch because of the very sharp shoulder, if you have set your seater die correctly and are still having problems with shoulder collapse, put a little case lube on the bullet body and it will take care of the problem. I have loaded Rigby and have had the same issue, it was soft brass and too much neck tension and a little lube to the bullet solved it for me. I then just took a rag and wiped off what accumulated around the case mouth. I just lightly rolled mine on my case lube pad and then seated them and wiped them.
Mauser98, the first 2 would not have seated properly if this was the case, and 4 out of 7 tells me the same, if the die is to low it should collapse every case, assuming they are trimmed equal.
Oh and by the way .264, just go ahead and fire the collapsed ones and they will pop right back out again and you won't lose your very pricey brass. They should be quite tight in the chamber but that's OK as this headspaces them correctly and you won't stretch the hell out of them. If they won't chamber at all, then pull the bullets, run them back through the sizer until they chamber (without the decapper/expander rod in the sizer die), throw in 20-25 grns of bullseye or unique and a case full of corn meal or cream of wheat and a wad of cotton or Kleenex and touch em off and voila you have your brass good as new again. You can also load them up with a full powder charge and use a 405 win bullet to blow them back out, I hate losing expensive brass so have played with many ways to recoup damaged brass.
Mauser98, the first 2 would not have seated properly if this was the case, and 4 out of 7 tells me the same, if the die is to low it should collapse every case, assuming they are trimmed equal.
Oh and by the way .264, just go ahead and fire the collapsed ones and they will pop right back out again and you won't lose your very pricey brass. They should be quite tight in the chamber but that's OK as this headspaces them correctly and you won't stretch the hell out of them. If they won't chamber at all, then pull the bullets, run them back through the sizer until they chamber (without the decapper/expander rod in the sizer die), throw in 20-25 grns of bullseye or unique and a case full of corn meal or cream of wheat and a wad of cotton or Kleenex and touch em off and voila you have your brass good as new again. You can also load them up with a full powder charge and use a 405 win bullet to blow them back out, I hate losing expensive brass so have played with many ways to recoup damaged brass.
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The key here is if they were all the same length. I had the exact same thing happen with my .375 Ruger. I would get random case bulge because 1. My cases weren't all exactly the same length and 2. My dies were set almost properly.
I wouldnt try firing those cases with the collapsed neck/shoulder. Usually trying to chamber something like that in a bolt gun results in a stuck live round in the chamber and a torn off rim on the stuck case.
If you do try to chamber them stop at the first sign of bolt resistance and eject the round. Trying to force the bolt closed is a surefire stuck case.
If you do try to chamber them stop at the first sign of bolt resistance and eject the round. Trying to force the bolt closed is a surefire stuck case.
