400bullelk said:
I have had the same problem with my 300 RUM. When I was seating the bullet, I was pulling the lever down hard, figuring that it was seating it the same way evertime. I was changing the shoulder by doing this.
Changing the shoulder in the seating die? Many rifle seating dies do not have a crimping ring. It is a crimping ring that can give you problens when seating bullets if your dies are not properly adjusted for the right crimp, or if your casings vary in length. Does your seating die have a crimping ring? If not, it will be pretty hard to change the angle of the shoulder in the seating die.
Run a brass that has been sized but not primed or loaded with powder all the way up in to the die. If it will go all the way till the shell holder hits the die with out any resistance, there is no crimping ring. If you feel some resistance just before the shell holder hits the die, then you most likely have a crimping ring. If you have a crimping ring, you need to pay special attention to getting the die adjusted properly to give the right amount of crimp. Otherwise you can have problems.
If you have a crimping ring in the die and don't want to crimp, just back the die out until the brass doesn't hit the crimp ring, then adjust your punch to seat the bullet to the proper
cartridge over all length. You will want to make these adjustments with the press at the
maximum up position. When you are seating bullets with these adjustments, there will be no resistance except for the minimal resistance of the bullet being pushed into the neck.
The only rifle cartridge I have crimped is the 30-30. These required a crimp because of the type of magazine on the mod 94 and others where the bullets are in line and the recoil on the whole stack could push your bullets deeper. If you want uniform crimps it is necessary to have your brass all the same length. Putting a crimp on a bullet without a crimping ring is a pain anyway. You have to put a little pressure on the brass and actually re-shape the bullet a bit by forcing the brass into it a little. Too much pressure and you may buckle the brass of the neck. Some bullets designed for the 30-30 had a ring for the crimp. That made life much easier.
Its a great hobby, but please read the books, and the papers that come with die sets and pay attention to detail. Be safe!