I'm pretty new to reloading, so I still don't completely understand everything. I reloaded some 41mag and had a little trouble when it came to belling the case mouth. The first case I did came out at about 50 caliber halfway down the case, 45 the next quarter, and 41 the rest. It is actually kinda cool looking. The next couple were better, but they would still drop all of the way into the case. How much are you actually supposed to bell them? Does the same go for straight walled rifle cartridges like the 45-70?


One other thing that I have been wonder is if all RCBS dies come with the bullet seating plug in a little plastic baggie instead of installed like on my lees. The bag said bullet seating plug pack and had some dimensions on it. It had a spare plug with it. This made it take a lotlonger to adjust to the proper seating depth. Thanks of your help.

I'm pretty new to reloading, so I still don't completely understand everything. I reloaded some 41mag and had a little trouble when it came to belling the case mouth. The first case I did came out at about 50 caliber halfway down the case, 45 the next quarter, and 41 the rest. It is actually kinda cool looking. The next couple were better, but they would still drop all of the way into the case. How much are you actually supposed to bell them? Does the same go for straight walled rifle cartridges like the 45-70?


One other thing that I have been wonder is if all RCBS dies come with the bullet seating plug in a little plastic baggie instead of installed like on my lees. The bag said bullet seating plug pack and had some dimensions on it. It had a spare plug with it. This made it take a lotlonger to adjust to the proper seating depth. Thanks of your help.

If your expanding it that much, youve got the adjuster cranked in WAY too far. The only reason for flaring the case mouth is to help make it a little easier to seat bullets. Only the slightest amount of flair is needed and it should be hard to see. Take a bullet and try to put it into the shell....if it just slips in past the mouth with a little pressure, then your golden. If it falls right in, resize that case and try again with less flare.

I eventually got it to the point that they wouldn't fall in and loaded them, but you can still see that it is flared when you looke up close. I didn't push hard enough to see if they fall in with that much pressure, so I'll check nest time.

If you have two seating plugs, one is for roundnosed bullets and the other is for flatnosed. Be sure to use the proper seater with whatever type of bullet you're seating.

If you have two seating plugs, one is for roundnosed bullets and the other is for flatnosed. Be sure to use the proper seater with whatever type of bullet you're seating.

Uh Oh. I didn't know that. Would the flatnose be used for hollow point bullets like the Hornady .41cal 210 grain XTP bullet?

Remember, the first step in the reloading process is the sizing of the case. This is basically what gives you the bullet pull. Belling the case too much will remove this grip of the brass on the bullet. You can not compensate enough by crimping afterwards. The belling should be minimal, just so much that the seater can push the bullet into the case without shaving lead. Rest the bullet on top of the case and guide it into the seating die with your fingers.
As for the seater plugs, I think they are for diferent bullet styles, my RCBS die set for .38/.357 came with two different seater plugs, one round nose and one flat nose. Lee dies only come with one "universal" plug, roundnose IIRC.

Urban

Kdub is describing pretty well to you. I would recomend a bit more study of reloading manuals. Most have pretty good illistrations of the reloading process. I think you need to get all of this "clear in your mind" before you wreak your brass.
Cheezywan

Thanks. It seems like I should bell a little bit less next time. The finished cartridges turned out fine, so I can't be to far off. Out of the three reloading manuals that I looked at there wasn't one that showed a picture of the belled case. The instructions with the dies just said something like "adjust plug depth for the proper bell". The manuals or the instructions didn't say anything about different plugs for different style bullets or how to install them either, so I just did it so it looked like the picture.

Take the seaters and try-fit them to the bullet nose you want to seat. You will be able to visually determine which will best fit the nose.

Thanks. Tomorrow I'll check and see which one is in.

I just thought of another question. The RCBS case lube says it won't harm primers, but what about powder? I clean the lube off the outside but I can't get at the inside. I'd assume that since it's fine for primers it should be fine for powder. Thanks.

Since you have RCBS dies, I'll put in my two cents worth, I wouldn't want you to think badly of RCBS equipment. I bell the case mouth enough to allow about 1/16" of the base of the bullet to enter. This should be enough for the bullet to stand upright in the casemouth without tipping over. If not, add a little more bell but not enough for the bell to touch the walls in the seater die.
If you are using die lube (assuming you have steel dies and not carbide) use the lube sparingly. Use enough to just give each case a very thin coat and no more. If you have allowed the lube to mix with the powder charge, shoot these bullets ASAP and the next time you reload watch where you put the lube.
Yes, RCBS gives you more than one seater plug to match the type of bullet that you're using. They don't feel that one size fits all. They also give you a lifetime warranty and one of the best customer service departments in the industry. That's why they charge you the big bucks! If you run into problems with their equipment, don't hesitate to call them. They will do their best to help you. :)

To avoid over-working the brass, I only flare enough to start a jacketed bullet. For lead bullets, I flare a touch more as lead is usually .001 larger and to avoid "lead shaving" during the seating operation.

Using the proper seater plug is imperative and mentioned above - otherwise bullet noses will get deformed.

Hello Razor,

Above my bench, the boys and I have a few oddities we've created when learning to set up our dies. One case has a bell like a miniature bugle.

Thank goodness for these fellows--their expertise and their willingness to help!

Barely open the case mouth.

And why is all that lube inside? (Maybe I can learn something here too.)

There isn't much lube inside. Just a thin coat with the nylon brush like the lube kit says to do. I just rolled the brush on the lube pad and gave it a quick twist in the case.

Razorsharp, you shouldn't lube the case inside on straight-walled cases. And if you have carbide dies you don't have to lube their outsides either.
Bottle-neck cases though, need to be lubed on their outside plus a slight application of lube to their neck insides. This lube is for the expander, as it is pulled out of the neck.
That's what the book says, anyway. I have reloaded thousands of .38sp and 9 mm cases without ANY lube whatsoever. For bottle neck rifle caliber .308W I lube the outside and neck inside. See RCBS instructions about the differences between pistol (straight-walled) and rifle (bottle-neck) cases.

Urban

utk said it right about the lube. Only needs to be inside on bottlenecked cases, as the neck goes through its final step when pulling the die off the case. An axpander ball gets pulled through to get you propper neck size to hold the bullet properly. The straight walled cases, like someone already stated gets flared out only about 1/16 of an inch.

Good luck.

Steve

How I determined how much belling to set for my 44 mag was to set it to none at first, I tried to seat a cast lead bullet, if it shaves any lead set it for just a tiny bit more bell, test by seating another bullet, adjust more/test, till you get it right.
You can just barely see the belling on them and they seat fine.


Michael Grace