lee "precision" seating die

[murf]

i loaded up some 9mm rounds today using my lee die set (three die). grabbed fifty previously sized and belled cases, primed them, filled them with powder, then started to seat the .0358" diameter moly coated lead bullets (bear creek bullets).

the first bullet seated rough, so i checked it out. the moly was scraped off the side of the bullet and the calipers showed only a .356" diameter for the bullet. not good so i took the seating stem out of the die and tried to push a bullet through the die. no go! the i.d. of the die body is too small for this .358" diameter bullet.

finished the session with a rcbs seating die. bullets stay @ .358 " and shoot great.

i've had this problem before with a 44mag seating die and .432" diameter bullets. forgot that lee dies have this "precision" seating feature and won't seat "oversized" bullets properly.

fyi,

murf

 

[Load Master]

Am I missing something? The Lee seating die has a tapper for the purpose of crimping the case. Why would you expect the bullet to pass through the die?

As far as the bullet being shaved, maybe you don't have enough bell on the case before seating, or, the seating die is setting too low in the press, causing the crimp part of the die to come into contact too soon.

 

[murf]

the taper portion of the die crimps the case, not the bullet. the o.d. of the case is .026" larger than the bullet diameter, so the i.d. of the die doesn't even come close to bullet diameter. except in a lee "precision" die that keeps the bullet centered by keeping the upper portion of the die's diameter small to keep the bullet aligned with the case. too small in my case.

murf

 

[Load Master]

the taper portion of the die crimps the case, not the bullet. the o.d. of the case is .026" larger than the bullet diameter, so the i.d. of the die doesn't even come close to bullet diameter. except in a lee "precision" die that keeps the bullet centered by keeping the upper portion of the die's diameter small to keep the bullet aligned with the case. too small in my case.

murf

I guess what is confusing to me, it seems that you could raise the bullet seating die in the press to allow more case clearance and readjust the seating stem to achieve the desired COL. The Lee instructions talk about this if one is using their separate crimping die.

 

[kingmt]

Well it's close on mine. With mine set to taper my case in the same step as seating I have .002" clearance. If your brass is thinner then mine you might lose that .002".

You can always seat your bullets & go back & put the taper on the case in another step.

 

[kingmt]

Also this is checking with a square shoulder & that is not usual for a 9mm to have its larger diameter at the tip.

 

[kingmt]

Also look at your expanding die. Likely it's made for .356" bullets. That is probably why your shaving cases. You may have to ether make a custom expander or have them make you one.

 

[243winxb]

.358" diameter (.0358" )

Normal is .355" for jacketed.

The 9mm seat die was not made for that large a bullet diameter, as i am sure you know.


i had to open the inside diameter of an RCBS 45 acp seat die. It was removing the bell to soon and shaving lead from a cast lswc .452"bullet.

 

[thomas15]

I have found your problem. Your not shooting at that target for another month as it's dated March 3, 2017. Lets see what happens next month.

 

[Pat Riot]

What 243Winxb said.

9mm = .354"
9mm bullets should be .355" lead or jacketed
.356" max lead

.358 is for a .38 or .357

 

[murf]

just looking ahead i guess, thomas15.

kingmt, i'm not shaving cases, i'm shaving bullets. a .358" diameter bullet will not fit up into the lee seating die unless you force it up and it will reduce the diameter of said bullet. same thing happens with .432" bullets in a lee 44mag seating die.

243winxb, i'm not normal, and, apparently, neither is rcbs. i load .357", or .358" bullets in my .3570" barrel groove diameter glock 19. the .358" diameter bullets seat fine in the rcbs seating die.

recommended lead bullet diameter for the 9mm luger, per major julian hatcher, is .359".

i'm just letting you guys know that the lee seating die will size down larger than "standard" bullets.

murf

 

[kingmt]

just looking ahead i guess, thomas15.

kingmt, i'm not shaving cases, i'm shaving bullets. a .358" diameter bullet will not fit up into the lee seating die unless you force it up and it will reduce the diameter of said bullet. same thing happens with .432" bullets in a lee 44mag seating die.

243winxb, i'm not normal, and, apparently, neither is rcbs. i load .357", or .358" bullets in my .3570" barrel groove diameter glock 19. the .358" diameter bullets seat fine in the rcbs seating die.

recommended lead bullet diameter for the 9mm luger, per major julian hatcher, is .359".

i'm just letting you guys know that the lee seating die will size down larger than "standard" bullets.

murf

That comment was said wrong. I meant shaving the bullet with your case. However since you started the bullet won't even go into the die I'd think the die itself would seat the bullet before it entered. Mine doesn't have this problem.

What 243Winxb said.

9mm = .354"
9mm bullets should be .355" lead or jacketed
.356" max lead

.358 is for a .38 or .357

I used to buy Hornady jacketed HP bullets & 158gn "38" bullets
Were .3555" while 115gn "9mm" were .3565". I haven't bought any more in over 15 years tho.

 

[murf]

kingmt,

yes, the die body will seat an oversized bullet. my 44mag seating die seated those .432" diameter bullets with the die body. the seating stem never touched the bullet. .430" diameter bullets are no problem with that die. my lee 9mm seating die just scrapes the moly coating off the bullet. the seating stem will still seat the bullet, but i kinda need that coating to stay on the bullet.

murf