Hey all. Hope maybe someone can assist me with this. I am loading 6.5 creedmoor for the first time. I have been reloading 338 Lapua, 300 RUM, and 308 win for a while, and have made thousands of rounds over the years....so definitely not new to reloading. Issue I am running into with the 6.5 is when i go to press the bullet in, the fitment it so loose on some that i can easily pull it back out, or the bullet just falls into the case. The cases are used once already, Hornady brass. I am using Lee Ultimate dies. The bullets I am using are Hornady 6.5mm .264" 140gr SST's. I'm thinking maybe the sizing die is to blame on this one. I just used the collet neck sizing die and not the full length one. Thoughts?
Issue with loose bullet seating
- Thread starter mwurman
- Start date
Chuck 100 yd
Hunter
Obviously something is amiss with either the collet or the pin it squeeses the case down on. Measurements should show up the problem. A call to lee should remidy the problem once you know what the problem is. These are not neck turned cases I assume. If they have been neck turned , you may need bushing type dies and Lee will be off the hook.
"Revision: i just pulled my neck sizing die apart and pul the sizing part into a case..it is loose."
Are you saying that the neck expander is loose in a resized case?
Are you saying that the neck expander is loose in a resized case?
Problem solved easily enough.
Rick Courtright
Hawkeye
mwurman said:
Hi,
I use and like the Lee Collet dies. That said, there CAN be a problem with them which can be cured by violating the Man Code and actually reading/following the instructions! I have a number of presses, with two being the ones most used: a Lee Challenger and an RCBS Rock Chucker.
According to the instructions for one of the dies--you'll want to check me on whether it's the Collet Die or the Factory Crimp Die--the Challenger's linkage does NOT cam over at the end of the stroke, while the Rock Chucker's does. So they give two adjustment procedures for whichever die it is, one for the "no cam over" style presses, and one for the "cam over" style. These differing adjustments are set both to get a proper sizing (or crimp?), and to avoid damage to the die itself. Note also that they say the Collet Die will first come to a stop, THEN you add about 25 lbs of force on the handle, which translates into a pretty firm push, to get the sizing correct. Somewhere in here may be where your problem got started--hope it's solved by now!
Add that you probably want to disassemble the die and lube the outer surfaces of the collet before it gets much use. Taking a hint from the folks at MEC, who employ a similar sizing arrangement on some of their shotshell loading machines, I use automotive anti-seize, the silver stuff for spark plugs and such.
Rick C
Chuck 100 yd
Hunter
The Lee collet dies also ,like any other die, needs to be readjusted if used in a different press or if used with a different shell holder.
