Bullet Seater Question

[Jim R]

Help me understand what surface of a bullet makes contact with the die to determine how deep it is seated into the case mouth.

In my mind, which is quite feeble at best on the technical aspects of reloading, I would think the ogive on whatever bullet is being used, would be seated to the same depth. Of course, this can only happen if it is the ogive that is being used to push the bullet down. If this is not the case in any make of die, why couldn't it be? Would it not be a novel approach to model a die in such a way that the ogive of any type, model or design of a bullet, be seated consistently by where the ogive falls inside the die? As a result, there would be no reason to adjust the die when trying to seat to the same distance from the lands regardless of a bullet change or different lot. I understand the different tapers on bullets, but if the ogive is used as the point of contact, it wouldn't matter would it?

I'm not sure I am presenting my question in a manner that can be understood, and I may be oversimplifying the seating process. Any clarification on this will be appreciated. Jim R

 

[BountyHunter]

Jim

astute observation.

Many top 1k shooters have their seating die stem modified to fit the nose profile of the specific bullet they are using to get a more uniform depth seating.

Quality seaters such as the wilson inline are tops then forester and redding micrometer.

I try to load all my match loads with the inline seater and arbor press. my arbor has dial indicator on top to measure seating force and gives me much better feel.

BH

 

[Jim R]

I use the Redding comp dies and they were also made from the same reamer my barrel was tooled from, and also use the dial indicater, so it's not that it is a huge problem, just one those things that make me go "ummmmmm"....Thanks for the reply. Jim R

 

[CAM]

Jim
I'm no expert on this and have wondered why also.

If the seater put pressure in one donut area on the ogive it could damage the bullet at the exact place it would contact the lands. It also might not seat straight with a donut contact. To seat off the ogive for all bullets you would have to work off the ogive.

all bullet shapes and length change and most dies are of universal design to work with all bullets.

All this is just my guess take it for what its worth.
CAM

 

[Jim R]

You may not be an expert,but you just made perfect sense to me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

That actually does make sense, which would have to be one reason the die is not making a primary point of impact on the ogive of any given bullet to seat it properly. Thanks for the reply! Jim R