Thread: Dented projectiles

Help, please !

Newly seated bullets have a visible dent right around, I suppose from the seating stem.
They shot about 2" at 100m so just acceptable at that range.
A clu might be that just before this we had case shoulders being crushed while seating the bullets. This seemed to be due to an incorrect setting of a crimping bushing and my mate fixed it with help of you tub and the manufacturer's video.

Just ask any other questions that might help find a cause or solution.

Are you using the correct seating die? Iv seen it mildly when loading dummy rounds to look at over all length and just using any old seater example using 6.5 creed seater to seat a 7mm projo always comes out with a ring I think you usually get it with long pointy projectiles with out vld or eld seating stems but that’s obviously not long nor pointy maybe try swapping out the seating stem or run the brass over and expander . Is force required to seat ? Is it “popping” when lowering the press back down? When I have seated dummy rounds with the wrong die iv noticed it seats smooth but you feel it pop back out of the seating steam

I usually end up with a slight mark around the tip of the projectile on the long pointy eld-x bullets.

Crushed shoulders and marks on the projectile makes me wonder if the neck has been sized too small, so it's taking a lot of force to get the projectile into the case. Or as you suggest, the case is being crimped before the bullet is seated. With Lyman dies that do a roll crimp I seat the bullet, then crimp as a separate step.

Polish and smooth the inside of the seating stem in the die. They can have sharp edges, burs and ridges in them which mar the projectile.

Long shot, but you might have a build up of lube in your sizing die which can dent the shoulders.

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I'd say mainly a profile mismatch of the seating stem and said bullet. Excessive sizing/ no lube wouldn't help either.

The trick I've heard about is to chuck up a bullet in a drill and coat it with valve grinding paste and work the stem. Should end up with a better profile or at least soften the main offending contact points.

Originally Posted by 6x47

I'd say mainly a profile mismatch of the seating stem and said bullet. Excessive sizing/ no lube wouldn't help either.

The trick I've heard about is to chuck up a bullet in a drill and coat it with valve grinding paste and work the stem. Should end up with a better profile or at least soften the main offending contact points.

I tried this and wrecked my seating stem, I must have gone to far because mine now fits so we'll it holds onto the bullet after it has been seated

It sound alike the op has the die wound in too far and the round is bottoming out. I have made this mistake as well, using someone else's does in my press without adjusting them to suit my press (face palm).

What are the dies being used? Also check your shell holder doesn't have a build up of gunk.

Seating stem marks but not dents occasionally turn up when I switch projectiles and forget to alter the die eg eldms versus targex.not a biggie IMO. I'd be more concerned about the wasted powder on the bench.

Bagheera, Id start by deburring the inside of the case mouth - try to get a VLD deburring tool as it leaves a longer taper that helps the bullets enter much easier into the necks.

Secondly Id lube the necks with graphite powder.

Seating stem - like stated above - please ensure that your using a seating stem matched to the type of bullet your sesting.

Correct setup of the seating die, if the die is not set up correctly the case does not get the correct support and it too will cause the shoulders to buckle.

it might be crimping and seating at the same time, pushing the projectile down after the case is crimped. To avoid the above you can wind the seating stem into the die so there is no crimping. If you want to crimp, take the seating stem back out from the die and run your uncrimped loads through it for crimping at the end.

Sounds like the neck tension may be too tight if it was crushing the case shoulder while trying to seat the projectile.
Would also explain the mark on the top of the projectile if too much force was needed to seat the projectile.

Maybe something to consider.
I was getting this when doing,even slightly compressed loads (TMKs) in my 223
Drop tube solved the problem. I could get the seater altered to suit (Forster) but may change to a different projectile later.

Originally Posted by ChrisW

Sounds like the neck tension may be too tight if it was crushing the case shoulder while trying to seat the projectile.
Would also explain the mark on the top of the projectile if too much force was needed to seat the projectile.

Yep that's what i think too, you can get a clean bronze brush or even a nylon one and scrub the inside of the neck . This will help by taking the carbon off the inside.
My 270 die when seating the 145 gr ELD X leaves a ring just under the tip, doesn't seem to upset the accuracy though.

Check case lenght, trim and chamfer if nessasary.
Clean inside necks with a nylon brush.
Insert case into press and take case fully up.
Wind die down till it contacts case then wind up half a turn and lock off.
Seat projectiles and live happily ever after.

Thanks guys for so many helpful replies in just a couple of days.

It sounds as if a dismantling and checkout of both sizing and seating dies is in order.

We’ll try a few of those ideas and let you know how we get on.