Seating die issues

[Paul]

Howdy all,

Aftermy previous snafoo withtheh Redding seating die, where I compressed the shoulders coz the die was crimping, I reset the die as per the instructions that came with the die set. It says, if you don't want to crimp, back the die off one complete turn from where it sits on the shell holder when the ram is in the upper most position. Then adjust seating depth with the seat plug.

So after doing all this, I am finding that for my 22-250, the best I can get the seating to is 2.3725, where I need a COAL of 2.35. The seating plug will not screw down any further, even though it has some thread left (see photos). This happened last time and in my attempt to get the correct COAL, screwed the die down, and that just made it crimp and deform the shells.

So I cant get the seating down enough with this process, so what am I doing wrong, or is there something odd about these Redding dies?

Any assistance would be appreciated in this rather frustrating pursuit.

Kind regards,

Paul

IMG_3601.jpg (225.6 KiB) Viewed 2359 times

IMG_3602.jpg (204.56 KiB) Viewed 2359 times

[SCJ429]

Wind the seating stem all the way up. Stick a piece of brass in the case holder and put the arm at the top of its travel. Wind the die down until it contacts the brass and then wind it back 1/4 turn. If you have a case with the pill set at the COAL you want, put that in the case holder and wind the seating stem down until it contacts the projectile. If you do not have this, wind the stem down bit by bit and measure the COAL until you have the desired lenght.

[LawrenceA]

Am I right in saying that:-
previously you could get the seating stem down far enough but that required the die to be set so low that it crushed the shoulder?
OR you could not get the CoA even when crushing the cases?

Never loaded for a 22-250 but this is what I would do assuming you do not want a crimp.
Have you checked that the longer cartridge will not feed and or chamber? If it does then run with it.
If they do not work then:-
Check you cartridge length. A roll crimp as imparted by the seating die is dependent on case length.
Trim and deburr your cases to minimum spec.
Take one of these cases and place it in the shellholder and adjust the seating die such that it is in as far as possible without crimping.
Next back it off maybe a 1/8 of a turn.

Next do what SJC429 says above.
"If you have a case with the pill set at the COAL you want, put that in the case holder and wind the seating stem down until it contacts the projectile. If you do not have this, wind the stem down bit by bit and measure the COAL until you have the desired length."

You will need to check case length often until you can tell if they stretch quickly.

Hope this helps

[Paul]

Am I right in saying that:-
previously you could get the seating stem down far enough but that required the die to be set so low that it crushed the shoulder?
OR you could not get the CoA even when crushing the cases?

Never loaded for a 22-250 but this is what I would do assuming you do not want a crimp.
Have you checked that the longer cartridge will not feed and or chamber? If it does then run with it.
If they do not work then:-
Check you cartridge length. A roll crimp as imparted by the seating die is dependent on case length.
Trim and deburr your cases to minimum spec.
Take one of these cases and place it in the shellholder and adjust the seating die such that it is in as far as possible without crimping.
Next back it off maybe a 1/8 of a turn.

Next do what SJC429 says above.
"If you have a case with the pill set at the COAL you want, put that in the case holder and wind the seating stem down until it contacts the projectile. If you do not have this, wind the stem down bit by bit and measure the COAL until you have the desired length."

You will need to check case length often until you can tell if they stretch quickly.

Hope this helps

Thanks Lawrence,

Yes you are correct in that 'previously you could get the seating stem down far enough but that required the die to be set so low that it crushed the shoulder?'.

I was able to get correct COAL but that led to crushed shoulders see post viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14623

All the cartridges are previously fired in the same rifle, have been neck sized, trim to spec and chamfered. so no issues as far as cartridge size is concerned I'm certain.

I have followed the Redding instructions that came with the die set, it says basically the same as you and SJC have said, but to avoid crimping it says to back off 'one complete turn' from when the die hits the shell holder. Your suggesting 1/8 th and SJC 1/4. With a full turn it cant reach COAL for 22/250 of 2.35, and with no backing off it wrecks the shell. So I am not sure if I am just going to wreck more cases by trying 1/8 then 1/4??

Thanks for your help so far, very much appreciated. Hopefully some more to come.

Kind regards,

Paul

[TassieTiger]

Can I suggest - you completely disassemble the die (it’s not hard, just go slow), have a really good look at how it works and what contacts where, then clean any and all grease from threads with an evaporative solvent and reassemble - get a unprimed bullet and check where / how it fits into the die. You’ll def hear a light bulb go ding.

[LawrenceA]

After you do what Tassie Tiger said.
Back the die out 1 full turn. Run an empty case through.
It should not crimp.
Screw the die in so that it is backed out 1/2 turn do the same.
Keep screwing the die in until it just does not crimp on an empty.
The closer you can get to full distance obviously the better.
Once you have the die screwed down as far as possible without a crimp then try seating a projectile.
Does this give you the length you want?
If not then we need to reconsider

[Blr243]

If I were a die maker , I would calculate the seater stem Long enough to Seat short bullets quite deep and then ensure that’s it a bit longer again just in case ....I can’t really see a manufacturer pumping out product without a comfortable adjustable range

[marksman]

l cannot see how you could not get the seater plug to go far enough down unless its the wrong seater plug
if you have to remove the seater lock ring and you will be able to take it down into the die as far as the threads go

l know you have the instructions but l will put them up just so there is no misunderstandings

"With the ram in its uppermost position, screw the bullet seating die into your
press until it touches the shellholder. If no crimp is desired, back the seating die one turn
away from the shellholder. Tighten the die body lock ring and adjust bullet seating depth
with the seat plug."

here is a picture showing the redding seating dies internals and the seater lock ring that you can remove to get the bullet down more



l cant imagine why you cant get the seater down any more, maybe the threads are buggered past where you are trying to get to
if you cannot get it down any more l would be thinking about taking it back and getting a set of lee deluxe collet dies with a lee factory crimp
roll crimps suck on bottle neck cases
let us know how you go with it

[Paul]

l cannot see how you could not get the seater plug to go far enough down unless its the wrong seater plug
if you have to remove the seater lock ring and you will be able to take it down into the die as far as the threads go

l know you have the instructions but l will put them up just so there is no misunderstandings



here is a picture showing the redding seating dies internals and the seater lock ring that you can remove to get the bullet down more



l cant imagine why you cant get the seater down any more, maybe the threads are buggered past where you are trying to get to
if you cannot get it down any more l would be thinking about taking it back and getting a set of lee deluxe collet dies with a lee factory crimp
roll crimps suck on bottle neck cases
let us know how you go with it

Thanks Marksman,

I did a thorough clean of the threads and a bit of tinkering. In the photos below I used the resizing/ depriming plug to check how far the seating plug was screwing down. The lock ring is at the max depth the plugs screwed down. You will see that the seating plug is not screwing down as far as the thread allows before bottoming out. I am guessing this is because the stem of the seating plug is bottoming out on the internals of the die where it would be doing the projectile seating? Doesn't seem to make sense that the seating plug would not be capable ofusing all the thread as per the diagrams/pictures you had included.

IMG_3603.jpg (300.82 KiB) Viewed 2244 times

IMG_3604.jpg (308.92 KiB) Viewed 2244 times

The conundrum continues....

Paul

[straightshooter]

Paul
You don't mention the projectile weight or style you are trying to seat for a COL of 2.35".
If it is far outside the usual weight or shape range for a 22.250 then that could be contributing to your problem.

[Blr243]

Paul , I would offer more if I could but there’s tons of people here with oodles more reloads exp than me. Please fill us in when it’s sorted. The final answer / solution helps us as much as it helps you

[Paul]

Paul
You don't mention the projectile weight or style you are trying to seat for a COL of 2.35".
If it is far outside the usual weight or shape range for a 22.250 then that could be contributing to your problem.

Thanks Straightshooer,
Loading a pretty standard 55gr Hornady V-Max. I don't think this would preset dimensions etc anything outside of any normal projectile. The COAL is as per the Hornady reloading info.

P