Hornady concentricity tool probblem

[Travis H]

I ordered a Hornady concentrically tool a while back, and it came in today. I was anxious to try the tool out so assembled it and started straightening some .35 Whelen, 225gr TSX Barnes bullets,ammunition that I had loaded. After about ten rounds that I straightened out, I noticed that the bullets were getting marred. What I found was the small nylon piece on the end of the jacking screw had mashed almost flat and the metal part of the jack screw was digging into the bullets. From where I am sitting this is a serious manufacturing flaw, and I suspect that I am not the only reloader who has had this problem with the tool. I really like the tool. I find that it does a good job making the rounds concentric, just have to get around this problem. I'm thinking about putting a piece of nylon between the jack screw and the bullet, just seems it is not right to have to do this. Has anyone else encountered this problem and if so what have you done to remedy the problem.

Yes I have had this problem. Mine started messing up bullets within about the first 50 or so I ran though it. Since then I have just been ripping off the flaps on used ammo boxes to stick between the screw and the bullet. takes both hands but gets the job done just fine. God bless

 

[35 Whelen]

I've got an RCBS Rockchucker press, RCBS dies (35 Whelen) and I think that I have some brass issues, its Hornady unfired brass. Everyone says that Hornady brass is junk, however no one makes 35 Whelen brass. I'm not shooting long range, most of my shooting is close, however there's a possibility for a long shot. We've been shooting at 300 yards for fun, and just trying to get the rifles to shoot as good as possible. Our hunting is done at much closer distances. I'm working on getting a case neck turning tool, just so many options. I already have a Forster original trimmer, the case neck turning attachment looks good, then there's Sinclair and K&M . And then there's lots of opinions, that I really appreciate, then there's the budget! I'm getting a rifle built right now. It's going to be $175 for hydroform dies and then there's a set of custom dies, probably Hornady

Why do you say no one makes 35 Whelen brass, Midway usa carries hornady, nosler, and norma. Nosler is all they have in stock at this time, hornady is listed as limited run, and norma as out of stock/ back order ok.

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

im with greyfox , look towards fixing the root cause

I already have a Forster original trimmer, the case neck turning attachment looks good

there are 2 types of forester pilots , shouldered pilots are meant for the hand held turners and the non shouldered pilots are for the trimmer add-on turning equipment ( uses the stop on the trimmer )

 

[Alibiiv]

Why do you say no one makes 35 Whelen brass, Midway usa carries hornady, nosler, and norma. Nosler is all they have in stock at this time, hornady is listed as limited run, and norma as out of stock/ back order ok.

Thanks for letting me know that, I usually don't buy brass until May or June for the upcoming bear season, I always hunt with new brass every season. I will keep looking for them until something comes available. I've run into situations with Federal where they will have it listed that they make it, call the company and they will say that the company is not sure when they will make a production run. I'll keep looking for the Norma brass. Thanks.

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/dept/reloading/rifle-brass/35-whelen

 

[Alibiiv]

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/dept/reloading/rifle-brass/35-whelen

Thanks for the site, I didn't know about this one.

 

[35 Whelen]

Thanks for letting me know that, I usually don't buy brass until May or June for the upcoming bear season, I always hunt with new brass every season. I will keep looking for them until something comes available. I've run into situations with Federal where they will have it listed that they make it, call the company and they will say that the company is not sure when they will make a production run. I'll keep looking for the Norma brass. Thanks.

I have fond some good deals on gun broker too.

 

[FEENIX]

I have mine for a few years now without any issues.

 

[Doug Herold]

I have used mine for a few years with no issue. While I have used the straightener on occasion, needing to use it is typically an indication that you have a problem with either the concentricity of your brass, seating plug compatibility, excessive neck tension, or much less likely, a faulty press. IMO , it's far better to correct the core issue then to use the straightener.

I have the concentricity tool, but I don't use it anymore. I found that, as I start to seat my bullet, I bump it with the press, turn the case (@ 5 times ) before the bullet is fully seated, my concentricity stays within the 0.002 tolerance. Additionally, I took the plunge and bought the Redding Competition Match Die Set. No turning the brass during the seating process. When I set the round into the concentricity tool, it doesn't move; just sits there and quivers a bit. Expensive die set, but well worth it to me in terms of overall cartridge uniformity. So easy to make all the parameters consistent.

 

[Alibiiv]

I have the concentricity tool, but I don't use it anymore. I found that, as I start to seat my bullet, I bump it with the press, turn the case (@ 5 times ) before the bullet is fully seated, my concentricity stays within the 0.002 tolerance. Additionally, I took the plunge and bought the Redding Competition Match Die Set. No turning the brass during the seating process. When I set the round into the concentricity tool, it doesn't move; just sits there and quivers a bit. Expensive die set, but well worth it to me in terms of overall cartridge uniformity. So easy to make all the parameters consistent.

Thanks for that tip Doug, that is something that I intend to try. I reload for a number of cartridges, so getting a competition set of dies for every caliber is not an option; turning a cartridge while seating a bullet is. I'm about to order a set of Hornady custom dies for a .270AI build, the reviews read that they are a quality set of dies also. I'm not too familiar with the Redding die sets, I believe that I have a three piece set of 9mm dies that I've had for a number of years.

 

[J E Custom]

Like some, I have not seen this problem. It may be your process that is doing the damage or the ammo is just so bad that it takes way more force that the tool is designed for.

If my ammo is any where near a total of .005 thousandths out, I stop the reloading and try to find out what is wrong with my process to cause the concentric issue.

You may be doing everything right but just have poor factory loads. These type of tools are for measuring and correcting slight problems so they are not very strong and the design is not robust.

Anyway, good luck

J E CUSTOM

 

[Greyfox]

Generally,I have found that turning the case to achieve low bullet run outs is a possible indication that the seating plug is mismatched to the bullet, and/or the dyes seating stem is out of alignment. I have found that placing a small rubber o-ring under the seating stem lock nut allows enough give for the seating stem to self align and achieve very low runouts without having to turn the case.

 

[Barrelnut]

^^^ Great Idea ^^^

 

[Alibiiv]

Like some, I have not seen this problem. It may be your process that is doing the damage or the ammo is just so bad that it takes way more force that the tool is designed for.

If my ammo is any where near a total of .005 thousandths out, I stop the reloading and try to find out what is wrong with my process to cause the concentric issue.

You may be doing everything right but just have poor factory loads. These type of tools are for measuring and correcting slight problems so they are not very strong and the design is not robust.

Anyway, good luck

J E CUSTOM

You are right about there being something incorrect with my process. I did gauge a couple of rounds where there was .005 thousandths total runout. That's when I noticed that the nylon on the end of the jacking screw was flattening out and damaging the bullet. I got a good idea from one of the responses about turning the bullet as you seat it. What I have noticed with this round, 35 Whelen, is that every so often we will get a flier. The barrel is a bit wispy and it heats up quite quickly, thought that it was moving due to the heat. The rifles (have two 35 Whelens) shoot good enough for the type of hunting that we do, it's just that there's not any such thing as a rifle "shooting good enough" for me. That's one of the reasons that I was checking the loaded rounds and checking for concentricity. It did prove to show that the rounds were not concentric. I did find some withing a .002 thousandths runout and they were easily corrected. It appears that I have some work to do.