Seating Die Shaving Lead

[garandsrus]

You will be all set with the M die. Adjust the depth until the bullet will stand up in the case by itself. The die is two steps, the second, or larger step, is bigger than the bullet which is why the bullet will stand up by itself. The bullet will only be 1/16” or less into the case, prior to seating, but that’s all you need.

Your seating die should be adjusted to remove the slight expansion.

The Lee die puts a slight taper into the case neck and the bullet won’t stand on its own. The M die expands the case neck enough to hold the bullet without creating a taper.

 

[FROGO207]

You say it happens in the same spot every time. Check the shellholder for crud keeping it from allowing the brass to center on the press. Also check the channel in the press ram. Clean them both periodically to stop problems. As stated chamfering the brass and a gentle flare will open up the brass more for that larger lead projectile.

 

[Tempus Tom]

Or a lee multi cal expanding die .cases must be expanded for lead bullets

I had the exact same issue with my .309 30-30 bullets. So I ordered the Lee universal expanding die from Midway and it fixed the issue.

What's so great is that even though I thought I only needed it for 30-30...I've found the universal neck expanding die to work better than the caliber specific dies for 357 and 44 mag. At least it does for me when I use oversized lead bullets. So it was a superb value at around $15 to know that I can expand any case mouth from .22 to .45.

I'm less than a year into reloading so please take my advice with a grain of salt.

Good luck.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I had the exact same issue with my .309 30-30 bullets. So I ordered the Lee universal expanding die from Midway and it fixed the issue.

What's so great is that even though I thought I only needed it for 30-30...I've found the universal neck expanding die to work better than the caliber specific dies for 357 and 44 mag. At least it does for me when I use oversized lead bullets. So it was a superb value at around $15 to know that I can expand any case mouth from .22 to .45.

I'm less than a year into reloading so please take my advice with a grain of salt.

Good luck.

Thanks, Tom

Yeah I alllllllll-most bought the Lee die. Everything else I have is Lee. But enough people talked up the Lyman. Lee fits my budget, but the quality just isn't there. (Although their dies have been perfectly fine until just now with this issue.

I generally avoid "one size fits all" solutions, so that was another reason to buy the Lyman. Although I see the value of having an infinitely adjustable expander. The Lyman die was only $25 I think so if I'mnot happy, I can just order the Lee and try it, too.

 

[garandsrus]

You would have the same issue with anyone’s dies. Most rifle dies are two die sets so don’t include an expander. RCBS Cowboy are 3 die sets and do include an expander. A flair needs to be applied to any caliber that you are loading with cast bullets.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Well thanks for the advice folks. The Lyman M die came in about a week ago, and today was the first chance I got to set it up and use it. Works like butter. Bullet drops right in. Nice, concentric seating. Thanks.