How can I minimize bullet runout?

[boomtube]

"...to set the bullet in the neck to get a straight start on seating and the RCBS seaters solve this."

Not in my limited experience with the RCBS Comp. seaters (two). While those dies, copies of the old and failed Vickerman seaters, are really easy to use we didn't find them to make ammo any straighter than conventional seaters. Two is not a scientific sampling but, from the few mentions I see of them on the web, it appears the experiences of others are much the same as mine. Of course that is not to say they wouldn't make some which will do an excellant job, that's just a fact of having the manufactoring tolerances of the parts adding up right. But that's also true of any given brand of conventional seater, some do great when the indivual part's tolerances stack up right.

The Redding/Forster Comp type seaters also have tolerances and variations but they always seem to do quite well while others often do not. Plus, RCBS stuff tends to be horribly over priced and that hurts them somewhat. IMHO.

 

[Fiftydriver]

If your sized neck run outs are good, less then 1 thou, and your getting bullet run out, there are a couple things to look at, first you need an inline seater die no questions.

Also, uneven necks can also do this. to that end, uneven inside case mouth chamfering can also do this. Remember that if the bullet can, it will follow the neck and also the chamber on that neck. If the case mouth is uneven or the chamfer uneven, you will get increased neck run outs especially with conventional seating dies.

If your looking to get consistant bullet run outs, you NEED an inline bullet seater, its that simple.

Alot of die makers make them, some are better then others. I beleive the ones with the full length sliding sleeve are best. I prefer Forster Ultra BR and Redding Comp.

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[Niles Coyote]

Great info Guys!!!

Also remember that gages measure on the out side of the bullet or neck, not the true center of the bullet or neck so if you have not accounted for this all ready your .006 runout reading is actually .003

 

[KQguy]

What about the actaull bullet itself,I wonder how true they normally run?

 

[Gene]

Bullet runout

I respect Darrell Holland's advice. Before purchasing a Forster C0-axial press, I checked around and found this bit of advice from a shooter:

Review:
The Forster Co-Ax press basically does what it claims to do. It operates as smooth as silk. It is the only single stage press I know that has a primer catcher bottle and tube -- allowing the press to stay extremely clean. It is the darling of precision rifle shooters. Its loose fit allows each case to find its own way, loading accurate ammo. There are several things, however, you need to know before you buy this press. First, you may be lead to believe that the case jaws are universal. If you look closely, however, you will see that they are machined on both ends -- allowing more calibers to be loaded. The set supplied with the press is supposed to load about 90% of all popular rounds. There is an optional set for the other 10%. This means, though, you will be switching the jaws (at least end to end) if you choose to load different calibers. The jaws are not difficult to switch. But, there are two small, strong springs which fit in two small grooves under their top (holding) plate. These are extremely deceptive. They are slightly compressed when switching jaws. So slight you will not think they will fly away. You are wrong. The first three times I changed jaws, I lost a spring two out of the three times. I found myself on my hands and knees for over an hour to find them. If you don't have a spare, you are out of luck -- the press will not work without them. You will probably want to keep a couple of spares on hand. You will definitely need them sooner or later. And, if you use a piece of clear plastic wrap to put over your hands when changing jaws, the springs may be "caught," saving hours of looking time. The jaws themselves worked pretty well on most large cases I tried. But when I tried 38 Special, the jaws were a loose fit to say the least. One out of three shells banged on the bottom of the dies and refused to enter until I guided them by hand. To be fair, however, I discovered if I set these shells against the left or right jaw before pulling the handle (instead of the middle) they worked every time. Midway also sells a plate to use standard shellholders with the Co-Ax. I think it is an excellent buy. If you expect to use new reloading dies with the Co-Ax, you are probably out of luck. The lock rings on most new dies will not work well on this machine. The Co-Ax was designed in 1966, when lock rings were thicker and round. If you happen to have a set or two of the older RCBS dies (pre 1995), the rings from those will work perfectly with the Co-Ax. If you threw them away or never had them to begin with, you will probably want to buy some from Midway. The primer seater is just that, it seats only. There is no primer feeder with the press. Each primer must be picked up individually and put in the priming cup before seating. The primer block is universal and consists of three metal fingers which are each held down with a hex screw. Each screw is loosened and a case centered on the bolck. Each finger is then slid to the case rim and tightened down. This allows a custom fit for each caliber. It works quite well. For those of you who own an older Co-Ax, a primer upgrade is available. Forster has just announced a new shorter handle for the Co-Ax. It can be used instead of the longer handle supplied with the press. It works well on smaller rifle and pistol cases when full leverage is not needed -- allowing faster operation.

Hummm. . . .now I am not so sure I want one at $250.

 

[LRHWAL]

Not to highjack the thread, which has been great by the way, whilst on the subject of inline seaters, any comments on the Wilsons?

Thanks.

 

[overbore]

Neck roundness

in my experience is best reached by using and K&M expander first so that all the id's are at the same correct roundness and any out of round "lumps" are on the outside; then, I use the K&M turner / 'donught' remover. Overbore

 

[HOGGHEAD]

Runout

Great read guy's. I really enjoyed this one.

I do one thing a little differently. IMO the expander ball is the root of all evil. I take the expander ball out of the dies, and do not use them. I deprime with the RCBS Depriming die. I then take the Sinclair expander mandrel to expand the neck. It works great for me. It adds a copule extra steps, but I like it. What do you guy's think of that?? Tom.

 

[overbore]

Tom

notice I specified K&M; not that I have any fiscal interest but the two tools, expander and neck turner, MUST be from the same maker. Overbore

 

[Cruizin]

All this is very good info but another thing to watch for too is your chamfer that you make and the trim you have done on your case is also worth thinking about. If your neck is not trimed perpendicular to the axis of the case the bullet will grab the high side first and be slightly skewed.