215gr heads |
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douglass
Senior Member Joined: October 21 2008 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 83 |
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Posted: June 01 2010 at 1:59am |
Hi all,
several problems today when trying to reload 215gr heads.
many heads stuck inside the Lee seating die, even though I slightly lubricated inside of the die, i then used the RCBS die which fared a little better.
The heads were still loose once seated, you can turn them by hand in the case. I tried crimping them which i dont really like doing as i believe it shortens the case life??
the head was round nose was this part of the main problem of the bullets getting stuch on the seating part inside
should different 303 dies be used.
any pointers please
regards
douglas
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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I'd guess the bullet seating stem inside the die has the wrong internal profile & is grabbing the heavy (round nosed?) bullets. Is the bullet seating depth correct? do the bullets (in particular any exposed soft lead at the nose show marks of having been snagged by the seating die?)
Also I'd check that the resizing die expander ball is set correctly & is in fact actually re sizing the case necks to the right diameter. |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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douglass
Senior Member Joined: October 21 2008 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 83 |
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Hi there,
have tried sierra 174gr no problems, must be bullet size for roundnose too small, which is a pity, i will have to slug the bore as it might ned a larger bullet, a friend tried cerrosafe but what a job getting it out, we had to melt it with a hot rod which took ages.
regards
douglass
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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Can you mic (or caliper) the bullet in question?
Something definitely sounds "off". How about I.D. on a resized, but unloaded (no bullet seated) case? I'd hate to think there wasn't a fix beyond swapping out bullets! |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Smokey
Senior Member Joined: May 11 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 806 |
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Try setting the part of the die that accepts the bullet tip a little deeper, and back the die out a little.
BTW, did you mike the bullets?
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EnfieldBob
Newbie Joined: November 18 2010 Location: CA Status: Offline Points: 2 |
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I've experienced the same thing as far as the bullets being loose in the case after seating , I have an older set of RCBS dies , not even dated , not marked F.L. either...Here's a tip I learned.... Substitute the .311 expander ball for a .308 cal one... I know the expander balls are slightly smaller than what I just posted , but it makes it easier to understand what I'm talking about. When you resize the case , you will feel that the .308 expander will barely touch the inside neck , it will provide a better friction fit for your bullets... And I have not noticed any problems from doing this , and I feel a whole lot better with a secure bullet seated in the case. Regarding the bullet sticking in the seating die , what my brother did was to take out the seater plug , and drill it out slightly with a chamfering tool , changing the shape a little in the plug...This cured the sticking bullet problem. All the best Bob
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Gun Nut 4
Groupie Joined: December 07 2015 Location: Kingston Status: Offline Points: 65 |
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The original ammunition for the .303 British had a 215 gr full metal jacket bullet. I suspect the sporting soft points may have a slightly broader profile, owing to the fact theirs cores are insert from top to bottom, where as in the full metal jackets the core is insert bottom to top. I load a tapered LYMAN 205 gr. cast bullet ( Mold, 314299), with both LEE and RCBS dies and have had no problem, but then again the cast bullet profile is a bit different. I do have some 215 gr sporting bullets, but haven't attempted to load them, preferring to shoot cast instead. Bob's idea about reshaping the seating plug sound like a solution, a lot of seating plugs seem to be designed with tapered bullet tips in mind. I'll have to keep in mind should I switch to jacketed bullets.
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Gun Nut 4
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