Bullet seating?????

[dancinzen]

Howdy, so here I am setting up my new press and I am putting my dies on according to the instructions, and I get to my seating/ crimping die... Well it gives a basic explanation of to put it at a certain place but then says, you will have to seat it based on your preference!? Well I am using the hornady lnl progressive, and I even purchased the micro just seating measurer for the die, and I am so far reloading only 223 in 55 and 75 gr hornady bullets. How do I know if it is to deep or to shallow? Thanks.

[J-cat]

I seat to mag length, so 2.25" OAL is what I use.

If you are using cannelured bullets, seat so that the case mouth is aligned with the middle of the cannelure.

75's come in several flavors, some of which cannot be loaded to mag length (Amax) so you'll have to load them longer depending on how short your freebore is.

Whatever you do, do not set the die to crimp (at this point in your reloading experience) unless you want to use cannelured bullets. If you set it to crimp regular bullets, you will collapse the shoulder and the round will stick in the chamber.

[Bug Splat]

You are a brave soul to buy a progressive as a first press. Its not wrong that you did, its just going to be harder to grasp all that is going on.

You will have to play with the seating depth of each bullet type. If you are shooting out of an AR or a mag fed firearms stick with the standard 2.25" OAL. Each bullet type will have to get seated and checked for length. Start long and work your way down till you hit 2.25". Once you find the right seating depth write it down in a log book and maybe use a fin tip sharpie to mark the die. You will have to do this with each bullet weight and type you use.

[joelogic]

Sounds like someone needs to RTFM or partner up with some who can show you. Seating depth is simple compaired to working up a load and trimming.

[dancinzen]

Well all I can say is there is no better time to start learning than now, and ireally appreciate all the help and knowledge you all share with me...

[Corbin Dallas]

You are a brave soul to buy a progressive as a first press. Its not wrong that you did, its just going to be harder to grasp all that is going on.

You will have to play with the seating depth of each bullet type. If you are shooting out of an AR or a mag fed firearms stick with the standard 2.25" OAL. Each bullet type will have to get seated and checked for length. Start long and work your way down till you hit 2.25". Once you find the right seating depth write it down in a log book and maybe use a fin tip sharpie to mark the die. You will have to do this with each bullet weight and type you use.

Why? Why do people say this? Why do people insist that a progressive press is a bad idea for a first press?

What makes this any more or less difficult over a single stage?

What's there to grasp that's different from a single stage?

That I don't have to change dies, that thousands of rounds can be made in one day? as opposed to one year?

Just curious because I feel it's a bad idea to waste money on a single stage when the operator will just outgrow it in a couple of months.

Did you buy a simon before you got your laptop? doubtful...

[joelogic]

Its the same logic of people that tell you to buy a 250 instead of a 600 as your first bike. I bought a 600 and learned to ride in the dealer's lot.

A progressive can be hard to learn on if all you have is a book and you learn better by doing. Setting all the stations can be a bit of a challenge otherwise there wouldnt be a need for the dozen or so reloading clinics people are offering.

Buy the press that fits your reloading volume needs and find help or take a class.

[ar15barrels]

Howdy, so here I am setting up my new press and I am putting my dies on according to the instructions, and I get to my seating/ crimping die... Well it gives a basic explanation of to put it at a certain place but then says, you will have to seat it based on your preference!? Well I am using the hornady lnl progressive, and I even purchased the micro just seating measurer for the die, and I am so far reloading only 223 in 55 and 75 gr hornady bullets. How do I know if it is to deep or to shallow?

Are you reloading without a reloading manual?
Your reloading manual will state what seating length the data was developed at.

[Rwnielsen]

Howdy, so here I am setting up my new press and I am putting my dies on according to the instructions, and I get to my seating/ crimping die... Well it gives a basic explanation of to put it at a certain place but then says, you will have to seat it based on your preference!? Well I am using the hornady lnl progressive, and I even purchased the micro just seating measurer for the die, and I am so far reloading only 223 in 55 and 75 gr hornady bullets. How do I know if it is to deep or to shallow? Thanks.

Take your time. I use a Dillon 650 but what I do is make one bullet.....manually advancing it through each station and adjusting as needed. Size/decap......powder charge and flair.......seating depth......crimp. Then I check each stage again when I start and then inspect finished rounds every few as I go to make sure and double check the powder charge. The trouble you may run into is getting in a hurry trying to "crank 'em out" to match the advertised load rate for your machine. Take your time

[dancinzen]

Thanks again, and I will take my time for sure... I do have a reloading Manuel, it doesn't state how far to seat the bullet though, only how long the overall bullet with that bullet size should be...

[Mikeb]

Get a bullet puller and make some dummies to set the press.
take care
Mike

[ar15barrels]

Thanks again, and I will take my time for sure... I do have a reloading Manuel, it doesn't state how far to seat the bullet though, only how long the overall bullet with that bullet size should be...

How would you measure how far you are seating the bullet?

[dancinzen]

I will just set it based on the Manuel and the press recomendation...

[Stryfe76]

Thanks again, and I will take my time for sure... I do have a reloading Manuel, it doesn't state how far to seat the bullet though, only how long the overall bullet with that bullet size should be...

Seat it long then slowly adjust it down until you reach the Overall length for the round specified in the manual. This setting will be how far you need to seat the bullet.