Help a noob - Why am I crushing shoulders?

[MoeFaux]

**RESOLVED**

My father has been a reloader my whole life, so I've got decent baseline knowledge, but I've only just recently struck out on my own and bought my own kit.

I've got a Lee classic press and RCBS dies to load my 270 WSM.

I set a previously loaded round in my press, advanced the press up to full stop, then twisted my seating die down to make contact. That same previously loaded round measured 2.2315" on my comparitor.

I cycled a new round in the press to seat a new bullet and found it measured around 2.340". Confused, I went through the whole process again and verified I'd done it all right but got the same result. I gradually lowered the seating die (making sure the crimp adjustment was backed WAY out) until my COAL started to get close. I then realized that I'm crushing the shoulder instead of seating the ELD-X.

Brass was sized using the RCBS FL die, so there's no variance in neck tension to adjust.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

 

[wind gypsy]

Sounds like your seating die body is screwed in too far. How are you deciding how far to screw the die into the press?

Rcbs makes different seating dies, which one are you using?

 

[Graves14]

I did this early on in reloading.

I bet you setup your seating die the same way you did the sizing die with some cam over.

To set up seating die depth, run the ram up with the shell holder in it and screw the die down until you have contact. Then BACK IT OFF 1/2-full turn so there is no contact at all and lock it in place there.

No more crushed shoulders

 

[waspocrew]

This ^^^.

 

[MoeFaux]

I did this early on in reloading.

I bet you setup your seating die the same way you did the sizing die with some cam over.

To set up seating die depth, run the ram up with the shell holder in it and screw the die down until you have contact. Then BACK IT OFF 1/2-full turn so there is no contact at all and lock it in place there.

No more crushed shoulders

There's no cam over in my press.
My seating die was set up by turning it down to make contact with a previously loaded round at TDC, which had the die several turns above the point the point of contact with the shell holder.

 

[Jpsmith1]

I adjust by setting the seating die body high and the seating stem low and "bump" the bullet to the OAL I want. Then back off the stem, thread the die down and lock it and set the stem off that round

 

[MoeFaux]

Sounds like your seating die body is screwed in too far. How are you deciding how far to screw the die into the press?

Rcbs makes different seating dies, which one are you using?

I set a previously loaded round in my press, advanced the press up to full stop, then twisted my seating die down to make contact.

The die is from the RCBS FL 2 die set (P/N 31301) and is engraved with 270 Win S-M Seat 14

 

[JMundy84]

Are you screwing the entire die down to adjust length or just the seating stem?

 

[HandgunHTR]

I gradually lowered the seating die (making sure the crimp adjustment was backed WAY out) until my COAL started to get close. I then realized that I'm crushing the shoulder instead of seating the ELD-X.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Screwing the die in and out of the press is what sets the "crimp adjustment". The little threaded rod with the nut on it is the bullet seating stem.

The correct way to set the die up is as follows:

1. Put a sized piece of brass in the shellholder
2. With the lock ring loose, thread the die into the press a few turns
3. Raise the brass all the way up (full travel of the press)
4. With the die lock ring loose, slowly thread the die into the press until you feel it contact the brass
5. Back the die out one full turn from that point and tighten the lock ring
6. Lower the brass and remove it from the shellholder
7. Loosen the seating stem nut and back the seating stem out a few turns
8. Put a cartridge that has been primed, has your powder charge in it, and has a bullet set into the mouth into your shellholder
9. Raise the cartridge and seat the bullet.
10. Measure the COAL and adjust the seating stem down until you get the COAL or CBTO measurement of your desire.
11. Tighten the lock nut down.

 

[Pickettpuncher]

There's no cam over in my press.
My seating die was set up by turning it down to make contact with a previously loaded round at TDC, which had the die several turns above the point the point of contact with the shell holder.

Your die will not be anywhere close to the shell holder. As everyone else has said, it needs backed off. Cam over or TDC, whatever you wanna call it, the die should not be contacting brass nor the shell holder

 

[MoeFaux]

Got it figured out! Reading some of the comments above helped me realize I was confusing the two functions. I was thinking that the die BODY set the seating depth and the STEM adjusted crimp. Obviously, doing those backwards was pressing the lip downward instead of the bullet.

Thanks everyone for your feedback!

 

[JMundy84]

Glad you were able to figure it out