seating depth problem with 458 socom

[sl0re10]

lately I have been having problems with seating depth not being uniform.

some too high, some too low, most come out right. Same session with no changes to the equipment.

I know it is not enough info but I'm hoping it rings a bell for someone. I haven't seen this kind of problem before on other rounds I reload. Its either all too low, all too high, or 98% just right.

Thanks

[ruggyh]

If you really want some help you need to provide the load data being used.

be safe
Ruggy

[sl0re10]

If you really want some help you need to provide the load data being used.

be safe
Ruggy

I'm having problems seating Hornady .458 300gn interlock and Remington .457 300gn bullets. Same problem. Irregular seating depth.

Been using reloader 7 42gn and norma 200 44gn. Same problem. Its pretty close to a full case so I slide the case back and forth a bit the have it settle in to make room for the bullet.

I'm doing a heavy crimp to get the powder to all burn. It wasn't without a crimp.

I think it is some kind of mechanical / physical problem with how I setup the dies. re: I'm making some kind of rookie mistake not covered in the basic setup manuals. I'm good with the other rounds I make but not this one...

[Cheep]

Maybe your seating stem doesn't match the bullet profile.

[sl0re10]

Maybe your seating stem doesn't match the bullet profile.

thanks. Sounds like a good thing to check.

[Dave626]

measure a batch of your bullet OAL. +1 on the seating stem

i load the 458 with FTX without issue at all.

[choprzrul]

Separate your bullet seating and crimping steps.

Measure OAL before and after crimping. I'm wouldn't be surprised if you are 'stretching' by squeezing the bullets with a heavy crimp.

Why do I say this? I just got done pulling down some of my 458 SOCOM loads and looked at the 300gr Sierra HP that I had loaded. The new one on the left measure 0.777". The one on the right that I pulled measures 0.787" or ten thousandths longer than factory:

45.70a.JPG

This is just bullet length itself. This doesn't account for any 'push' that might be happening when the crimp is being applied....i.e. pushing the bullet out of the case a bit.

.

[choprzrul]

QuickLoad shows a Remington 300gr seated at 2.140" and 42.0gr of RL-7 having a case fill of 92.6%, so the powder probably isn't pushing the bullets up on you, unless you are seating deeper than that.

QuickLoad is showing 90.47% of the powder is being burned by the time the projectile leaves the barrel. Are you seeing fouling/unburned powder?

.

[sl0re10]

QuickLoad shows a Remington 300gr seated at 2.140" and 42.0gr of RL-7 having a case fill of 92.6%, so the powder probably isn't pushing the bullets up on you, unless you are seating deeper than that.

QuickLoad is showing 90.47% of the powder is being burned by the time the projectile leaves the barrel. Are you seeing fouling/unburned powder?

.

First off; thanks for checking all that.

Yes; I was not burning all the powder without the heavy crimp. There was so much the bolt would get caught on it and jam after shooting a while.

I had a lee 458 die set I forgot about. I switched to it for the seating die and it is very consistent / looks good (seating at the same place 5 out 5 times). I'll have to try the rounds out to see if it has enough crimp to burn the powder.

[sl0re10]

Separate your bullet seating and crimping steps.

Measure OAL before and after crimping. I'm wouldn't be surprised if you are 'stretching' by squeezing the bullets with a heavy crimp.

Why do I say this? I just got done pulling down some of my 458 SOCOM loads and looked at the 300gr Sierra HP that I had loaded. The new one on the left measure 0.777". The one on the right that I pulled measures 0.787" or ten thousandths longer than factory:

[ATTACH]708221[/ATTACH]

This is just bullet length itself. This doesn't account for any 'push' that might be happening when the crimp is being applied....i.e. pushing the bullet out of the case a bit.

.

About 40% of the problem rounds were not seated deep enough. I ran them through the Lee die and now they are right on the cannelure like new rounds.

[M1NM]

Make sure you reach the full stroke of your press in every one. Bullet stretch when crimping shouldn't matter since the top of the bullet is still being pressed down by the seating stem. Make sure all your brass is trimmed to the same length so seat and crimp are the same on all of them. Amount of powder isn't a problem either you have enough leverage to compress any load that won't blow up your gun.