.357 mag/jacketed bullet. Do I need to expand the case mouth?

[PO2Hammer]

I just mounted my Redding T-7 and was setting up the dies. I have a Lyman charge/expand die followed by a Redding Competition seater then a Redding profile crimper.
I was experimenting with various amounts of case mouth belling. The bullets always seemed to tilt when placed on top on their trip up to the seater.
I tried some without expanding at all, and it seemed to work better. Bullets seemed to seat straighter.
I'm using my own once fired Win .357 cases and Hornady 158 grain XTP-fp bullets.
Since my Redding 10X powder measure doesn't work with my Lyman charge/expand die, are there any problems just seating the bullets after resizing, priming and charging?

 

[xring44]

I always bell the case mouth slightly, if I don't, the case mouth seems to shave the copper abit on the bullet, which can't be good.

 

[griz]

The overall goal is good ammo, not to follow a set procedure. So as long as the bullet doesn't buckle the edge of the case I would say you are good to go.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Thanks.
I don't see any evidence of bullet shaving. I would also think it would give better tension.
Maybe it's because the competition seater guides it in nice and straight.

 

[The Bushmaster]

It's still recommended to bell the case ever so slightly to recieve the bullet. One collapsed case out of fifty is sooo agrievating...

 

[Ranger J]

I have no trouble at all seating clad bullets if I use a deburring tool on the inside first. On cast bullets I always slightly bell the case, as cast bullets are usually slightly bigger. If yours are going in with out damaging the bullet I would keep on doing it that way.
RJ

 

[asknight]

I have no trouble at all seating clad bullets if I use a deburring tool on the inside first. On cast bullets I always slightly bell the case, as cast bullets are usually slightly bigger. If yours are going in with out damaging the bullet I would keep on doing it that way.
RJ

+1

Exactly what I do, and I've got excellent results so far using that method.

 

[snuffy]

Reloader Fred replied to a thread about 357 sig reloading to state he did not bell the cases, just chamfered them, as Ranger J has said also. I tried it and it works just fine.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=178170

I even tried it WITHOUT chamfering first on once fired nickle plated winchester cases. They went right in, no scraping of copper either. These were the Hornady H.A.P. bullets, don't know how others would work. The dies are also Hornady, they have a sliding chamber to align the bullet prior to seating. Bullet pull seems to be quite substantial, so it's working. of course you do have to expand after sizing, just back out the expander so it doesn't bell.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Bullet pull seems to be quite substantial, so it's working. of course you do have to expand after sizing, just back out the expander so it doesn't bell.

I had completely skipped the expander die, going straight from the sizer die to the seater die on some practice cases.
I did not chamfer. Bullets all seated without difficulty. I think that was due to the rounded corners on the XTP's.
I guess I will give the expander die another try.

 

[Thirties]

Hammer, I got a Hornady M-Expander die in .357/.38spl. it has a different profile, expanding the case well before applying any bell. You can still apply a bell, but the die expands the brass quite well enough before it even gets to the bell part of the die. Using this in place of my Redding expander solved all my "rocking bullet" problems, especially with HBWC.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Thanks.
I have been using the Lyman 'powder through' expander which has a good length of expander before the belling area. I suspect the expander area has too large of a diameter and there is too much slop, expanding the case well over .358". I'll measure it with my calipers, and maybe hone it down a bit.
I was hoping the Lyman powder through die would work with my Redding 10x meter, but they're not compatable. I'll be up to five stations now in my reloading procedure.

 

[ftierson]

As others have mentioned, it all depends on the heel profile...

Most of the bullets that I use have a sharp heel, which requires belling...

If I didn't need to bell them, I wouldn't...

Forrest