Thread: seating die is pulling out bullets

"My shell holder is stamped no5, presumably its a lee holder unless its been mixed up with a different brand?"

Can't be a Lee 5. It's too big.
Another brand I guess.

I always lube inside neck.

Sometimes new brass is work hardened. I now anneal every case before I size it. Even once fired.

Although 0.002" isn't a lot, should be enough. My 223 is 0.002" , never a problem. 30.06 I think is 0.003".

Perhaps Hornady 5. But just guessing

My mistake.
Bullets 0.311
Neck expander is 0.310.

Not enough.
Wet and dry the neck expander.
Needs between 0.002 and 0.003"

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

"My shell holder is stamped no5, presumably its a lee holder unless its been mixed up with a different brand?"

Can't be a Lee 5. It's too big.
Another brand I guess.

I always lube inside neck.

Sometimes new brass is work hardened. I now anneal every case before I size it. Even once fired.

Although 0.002" isn't a lot, should be enough. My 223 is 0.002" , never a problem. 30.06 I think is 0.003".

That confirms my suspicions, likely the last owner mixed them up with a different set.
Its very possible that the shell holder is not helping the situation.
There is probably a good reason some of this stuff at gun shows is cheap, but ive saved a ton of money vs buying new gear.
I think in the end I ran a bit of lube in the inside neck with a ear bud. The guy in the store told me to use the kube sparingly, but I found more lube made it much less effort when working the press.
I do intend to anneal every time going forward.
If I have time today, I will have another go on the press with plenty of lube insIde and out, annealed vs no annealing and check the measurements.

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

Perhaps Hornady 5. But just guessing

It should be possible to work out what its from going by that chart you shared, I just need to compare sizes.

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

My mistake.
Bullets 0.311
Neck expander is 0.310.

Not enough.
Wet and dry the neck expander.
Needs between 0.002 and 0.003"

Ok so it should measure 0.310? If if reading this correctly, my caliper is showing 0.3105, thats only 0.0005 more. Is that enough difference to be concerned about?
My bullets measure .311 even after being run through the tumbler, so thats good to know.
Im hoping annealing will address this, otherwise im not sure what else it can be.

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

My mistake.
Bullets 0.311
Neck expander is 0.310.

Not enough.
Wet and dry the neck expander.
Needs between 0.002 and 0.003"

Not correct - the case neck springs back after the expander is withdrawn - you don't end up with a .310 neck when using a .310 expander.

Originally Posted by Crusty

Not correct - the case neck springs back after the expander is withdrawn - you don't end up with a .310 neck when using a .310 expander.

I did wonder about spring back.
What do you suggest?

a projectile for 303british..normall runs at .312 I thought....the x39 etc are .310-.311 and thirty calibre is .308...... so your two-three thou behind eight ball to begin with. I SUGGEST BEFORE you dive any further down rabbit hole that you get some new ,unused projectiles made within last fourty years lol projectiles and load up a few and see....just see..if all these "issues" dont just magically disappear..... I loaded up a few 44 magnum rounds using up last few random projectiles I had on hand..some were made for 44/40 ....they will be fine I thought....nope,had to crimp heavily of would rotate in case...so those few thou DO make a difference.
my 7.62x39mm dies come with two expander balls...one for .308 and another for .311.....I can load the .311 projectiles if used the .308 expander but wouldnt try it the other way around..which is pretty much what your doing...
311-308= 3 313-311=2

Greetings.
I went out to the shed and checked some shell holders. Lee does list a No 5 for the ,303 but they are as loose as like in the photo. RCBS list a No 7 which is a good fit and is what I use. Other manufacturers have different numbers. Replacing the shell holder with one that fits would be a good start. The crimp on your once fired cases could be giving you trouble as well and you may have to trim them short to get rid of it. Last get some decent projectiles. Some milsurp projectiles are good but many are crap.
GPM.
PS I think that the shell holder may be holding the case crooked and may be most of your problem.

Let's not forget that 303 bores can run from .310 to over 315 so I don't think a thousand here or there is going to make much difference, then there's the condition of the bore to consider. If they chamber and the bullets not left behind if you eject an unfired round I'd just go ahead and use them up and see what new projectiles do later. It's not like it's going to have an effect on accuracy.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

a projectile for 303british..normall runs at .312 I thought....the x39 etc are .310-.311 and thirty calibre is .308...... so your two-three thou behind eight ball to begin with. I SUGGEST BEFORE you dive any further down rabbit hole that you get some new ,unused projectiles made within last fourty years lol projectiles and load up a few and see....just see..if all these "issues" dont just magically disappear..... I loaded up a few 44 magnum rounds using up last few random projectiles I had on hand..some were made for 44/40 ....they will be fine I thought....nope,had to crimp heavily of would rotate in case...so those few thou DO make a difference.
my 7.62x39mm dies come with two expander balls...one for .308 and another for .311.....I can load the .311 projectiles if used the .308 expander but wouldnt try it the other way around..which is pretty much what your doing...
311-308= 3 313-311=2

As far as im aware, 303 is supposed to be .311, .312 can be found but difficult to come by. I have two unopened boxes of hornady oversized .312 boat tail 174 grain that im not in a hurry to open just yet, i dont believe they even make them anymore. However I do have a handful of sporting projectiles that I should check the measurements on.

I do have plenty of HXP projectiles i can try out. These should be fine and dont have as sharp a base.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings.
I went out to the shed and checked some shell holders. Lee does list a No 5 for the ,303 but they are as loose as like in the photo. RCBS list a No 7 which is a good fit and is what I use. Other manufacturers have different numbers. Replacing the shell holder with one that fits would be a good start. The crimp on your once fired cases could be giving you trouble as well and you may have to trim them short to get rid of it. Last get some decent projectiles. Some milsurp projectiles are good but many are crap.
GPM.
PS I think that the shell holder may be holding the case crooked and may be most of your problem.

I was wondering if the crimp may be an issue, but how does everyone else get on in general with reloading crimped brass?
I dont like this shell holder at all. Im thinking I look out for another die set entirely.


Anyway, here is an update.
I annealed a brass case today and measured a few of these previously resized cases, inside diameter measurements vary between 0.312 and 0.313 on average.
The odd one measured .309
Anyway, after annealing, lube and full resize i get 0.308 which i thought was great.

Only to find that once seating the bullet, that there was zero effort in seating the bullet
It appeared ok at first glance, but took no effort in pushing the round into the case whatsoever.

So I pulled the bullet and then measured the inside again, no it reads .312!
Bullets measure .311, have checked a few now.


Im thinking it might be good to try resizing with the depriming pin removed again now that its annealed.

Well, Lee Web site recommends #5 too. That's sh1t.

https://support.leeprecision.net/en/...holder-listing

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

Well, Lee Web site recommends #5 too. That's sh1t.

https://support.leeprecision.net/en/...holder-listing

Yeah I agree, I think that Lee have a more universal set of shell holders with lower tolerances to accept more caliber per holder?

Who has a 223? Never been happy with mine. What are you using?

Ive never had a 223, but it seems to be rather popular.

Originally Posted by Old_School

Yeah I agree, I think that Lee have a more universal set of shell holders with lower tolerances to accept more caliber per holder?

Greetings again,
It occurred to me that the loose shell holder may be causing the neck to be pulled out of line by the expander. This may cause crooked seating and binding in the seating stem when the projectile is seated. One way to get round this to check is to first deprime the cases (I use a punch and base set but Lee offers a universal depriming tool. Next size the case with the expander out of the die and last run the expander in and out of the case just enough to expand the neck if required.
All my .303 loading is with light loads so I use a Lee Loader for most of the steps. Initial depriming followed by neck sizing. If needed the expander on my FL set is run in and out of the neck just enough to expand the neck and no more. Mostly I don't bother with this.
Regards GPM.