Thread: Seating stem

The seating stem on my Hornady dies are leaving a ring around the top of the new LR ABs. Can I get one to fit the pointy Projectiles l better?

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Yep, outdoor supplies sell the a-max seating stem for the Hornady dies, not sure if it fits all makes of the die though Hornady Dies - Hunting and Outdoor Supplies

Hmm ok, but what size do I get for 270wsm? As they don't make an Amax in .277.

That's a bugger, I'd probably go 6.5. The 7mm might let the projectile go too deep and damage the plastic tip, but the 6.5 might not go deep enough.

At the moment I have got some paper jammed in the top of the stem to see if the projectile will engage both the top and the ogive

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Or try less neck tension, it's quite tight when you get a ring around the projectile

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Ok. I get less neck tension I would need to get a bushing? die.

As im pretty sure I am unable to adjust that with the Hornady dies I have

Check the die isn't down too far and crimping the case mouth.
Make your own seater with some knead it.
Blob in the stem , lite press into a seated proj to shape it and let it dry

Hey Puku
I struggled with my .223 hornady dies like you are with vmax projectiles,,i got a vld seating stem in from hornady to suit and it was no better ,,,brought a redding seating die set to see if it was any better but was worse i ended up taking te original seating stem to work and lapping it with a projectile and some supper fine valvle grinding paste and then polishing it with some crankshaft polishing tape ,,,the whole exercise was a bit frustrating and many people i talked to said the small ring is very common and doesnt reallly worrie anything ,,,i read up heaps on it to and they said the same ,,being a fussy bugger i just wanted to sort it !!! Tui is right with the neck tension deal ,,,i didnt have the luxury of getting a set of these dies and wanted to sort what i had,,,, and doing what i did made a huge difference ,,,,,just take it in small steps
My forster ultra seaters in other callibers do the same maybe not as bad and some projectiles seem worse than others.

Originally Posted by Spanners

Check the die isn't down too far and crimping the case mouth.
Make your own seater with some knead it.
Blob in the stem , lite press into a seated proj to shape it and let it dry

Good idea,,,

Originally Posted by Spanners

Check the die isn't down too far and crimping the case mouth.
Make your own seater with some knead it.
Blob in the stem , lite press into a seated proj to shape it and let it dry

Yea that sounds alright. Might give that a go at lunch time or something.

Originally Posted by Bushrash

Hey Puku
I struggled with my .223 hornady dies like you are with vmax projectiles,,i got a vld seating stem in from hornady to suit and it was no better ,,,brought a redding seating die set to see if it was any better but was worse i ended up taking te original seating stem to work and lapping it with a projectile and some supper fine valvle grinding paste and then polishing it with some crankshaft polishing tape ,,,the whole exercise was a bit frustrating and many people i talked to said the small ring is very common and doesnt reallly worrie anything ,,,i read up heaps on it to and they said the same ,,being a fussy bugger i just wanted to sort it !!! Tui is right with the neck tension deal ,,,i didnt have the luxury of getting a set of these dies and wanted to sort what i had,,,, and doing what i did made a huge difference ,,,,,just take it in small steps
My forster ultra seaters in other callibers do the same maybe not as bad and some projectiles seem worse than others.

Yes I just wonder if the jacket on the new LR Ab's are really thin around the front which cases such a dent. With the VLDs there was just a small ring made compared to these.

I'll post up a pic soon

So after I pulled 2loads from the trial run the other day I realised that neck tension is a major problem for me. It took 30odd whacks of the bullet puller before they started to move.
And the necks are down about .268" to.271" after being pulled.
After being fired they measure .275" give or take a tad.
And after neck sizing they are tighter than the 'pulled' ones. ( battery run out on calipers before I could measure)

So now I know I have a problem, what is there that can help me??..

Neck bushing die?
Lee collet die?

It's for a 270wsm so Lee collet die is out of question unless I send away for a custom one.

Who makes a something to correct my problem?

Cheers in advance

Originally Posted by Spanners

Check the die isn't down too far and crimping the case mouth.
Make your own seater with some knead it.
Blob in the stem , lite press into a seated proj to shape it and let it dry

I took your advice and altered the original stem with some knead it.
It should work better now.
Thanks