Seating die issue

AA,

What cartridge are you reloading? When are you getting contact? When running the charged case & bullet up into the seating die?

The belled case mouth may be hitting the seat/crimp die body.

Koski

When you don't crimp, the residual mouth flare is dragging on the die body.

+1

You pretty much have to crimp straight-wall calibers, at least enough to straighten out the case mouth bell you put there to get the bullets started.

rc

AA,

I'm not sure why you're getting a catch. But as the previous guys said, you should at least straighten out the case wall for a real light crimp. This may eliminate the catch feeling.

Koski

+2

Set the die so that it "just" removes the bell.
(You can run your fingers up over the case mouth/bullet junction and judge that by feel)



(post: And if you don't get rid of that bell, you may also have trouble w/ the case entering the cylinder.)

.

This happens for .357 and .44.

Click to expand...

You should be roll crimping into the bullet cannulure on jacketed bullets, or crimp groove on lead bullets.

This is necessary for several reasons.

#1 You will get more consistent powder burn and better accuracy with Magnum loads.

#2 You will not have bullets slipping foreward out of the cases from recoil and locking up the cylinder so it won't turn.

#3 The roll crimp will make chambering cartridges far easier if you don't have the sharp case mouth catching on the edges of the chambers.

#4 Thats what you are supposed to do.

If you adjust the seating/crimp die to properly roll-crimp, the "catching in the die" problem will go away, and you will be producking much better reloads at the same time.

rc

I am seating the bullets out pretty far for a singleshot if that helps.

Click to expand...

Just because you're loading for/shooting a single shot does not mean you can skip the crimping stage of loading handgun shells. As RC said, it ensures complete powder burn by holding onto the bullet for a tiny fraction of time to let the powder burn get started.

seating the bullets out pretty far

Click to expand...

Why? Seat them to the cannelure/crimp groove and crimp them there. I can see no reason to seat long.

When I was loading for a contender in .357 and 44 magnum, I seated to the crimp groove and crimped heavily to help the slow burning powder charges get a chance to get up to pressure. These were used for IMHSA silly wet shoots.

Agreed.

I can no reason to seat them out far and they should be "roll crimped"