[98sr20ve]

I have been using Lee dies with no problems for a while. They work great. I never get things to fail the case gauge for quality control issues. So I decide to try the Hornady .380 dieset and use the Seating die on my 9mm toolhead. The 380 dieset seater is the same as the 9mm and the .38 Super. Well now I have bullets that are not going in the case straight. Thats what the inline seater is supposed to work better with so it's a little odd. I called Hornady, they said to add more bell. I am using .010 total bell. This always worked fine before. Any other ideas? I am getting 10/100 that are not perfect and about 3 of those totally fail the gauge.

[AlamoShooter]

I load 5 dif calibers with the Hornady , for over 10 years I can not think of even one that did not line up rite.
well accept for the ones that went in sideways cuzz I let them fall over before they got close to the die.

I load 38 super comp 40 cal 38 long colt 223 all with the Hornady seater.

never loaded something as short as the 380 , do you have the rite button? to keep it in the shell plate

[98sr20ve]

AlamoShooter, on Nov 10 2009, 03:34 PM, said:

I load 5 dif calibers with the Hornady , for over 10 years I can not think of even one that did not line up rite.
well accept for the ones that went in sideways cuzz I let them fall over before they got close to the die.

I load 38 super comp 40 cal 38 long colt 223 all with the Hornady seater.

never loaded something as short as the 380 , do you have the rite button? to keep it in the shell plate

Yes, I checked the buttons. I also am loading 9mm not 380 with this die.

[AlamoShooter]

could your shell plate be bent? I have a 1050 and a 650 even if I try, I cant make the bullet push to one side.
But , I haven't loaded 9mm in over 18 years

[styx]

Interesting problem. I load two rifle and two pistol calibers with Hornady seaters and have never had an issue with them. Is the guide sleeve sticky or stuck? That could cause the bullet to seat crooked. Also you might try readjusting your die. Back the die body out and run an empty case all the way in, then screw the body down until you feel the the crimp shoulder contact the case, back off 1/4 turn and lock it, then adjust your seating depth. I hope this helps as I don't have any experience loading such a short case.

[98sr20ve]

AlamoShooter, on Nov 10 2009, 06:02 PM, said:

could your shell plate be bent? I have a 1050 and a 650 even if I try, I cant make the bullet push to one side.
But , I haven't loaded 9mm in over 18 years

Nothing is bent to my knowledge. All I did is swap one die and I start having these issues.

styx, on Nov 10 2009, 07:34 PM, said:

Interesting problem. I load two rifle and two pistol calibers with Hornady seaters and have never had an issue with them. Is the guide sleeve sticky or stuck? That could cause the bullet to seat crooked. Also you might try readjusting your die. Back the die body out and run an empty case all the way in, then screw the body down until you feel the the crimp shoulder contact the case, back off 1/4 turn and lock it, then adjust your seating depth. I hope this helps as I don't have any experience loading such a short case.

Sleeve is smooth, It's adjusted like you describe, but I will check it for the second time and try again.

[98sr20ve]

I tried everything. More bell, readjust the die, cleaning. I am out of ideas. This die gives me a 10% failure rate. With my Lee seater I can slap the bullet on and it will go in straight. Not with this thing. I took it off, put my Lee back on and I am back to zero failures at the case gauge in the last 100rds.

[styx]

When you find the problem let us know, would you? I'm really curious about what's causing this.

[98sr20ve]

styx, on Nov 11 2009, 07:55 PM, said:

When you find the problem let us know, would you? I'm really curious about what's causing this.

They want me to send the die back in. I retested the die. Had a 10% failure rate. I put my Lee die back on. Back to zero failures. They said they would make me a custom seating plug and check the die out. I guess I should do it, they are paying shipping. It's just a hassel. Plus, I really want it to work like my Lee die, not just with one bullet profile. After I send it in I will let you know what they say/do.

[styx]

I've been negligent here, sorry. I never asked what bullet you're using. I looked at my pistol caliber seaters (I have three, not two like I said originally) and all of mine came with two seater plugs, a "flat" and "hollow" one. If your die has both styles, did you try the other one? If you're using light bullets and the "flat" seater plug it might cause your problem. I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, just trying to help you figure this out and satisfy my own curiosity.

[98sr20ve]

UPDATE:

I never sent the die in. Just seemed like too much trouble and I was going to be switching bullets types yet again. I ran a batch of about 40rds. Much better, but not perfect results. They all passed the case gauge. I watched the process very closely and noticed one case was just a little off as the bullet was being seated. So naturally, that bullet was a little off as well. I don't have these issues with my Lee Seating Die but I am going to try and salvage my desire to use this seating die. Dillon is being kind enough to send me several #8 pins. I can then turn it down to the exact size I want for station #3. This will prevent the case from ever being off. In the past I was using .38 Super bullets in my 9mm cases and gun. I am now back to Montana Gold 9mm bullets. Not sure if the tension on the case was just too high. This seems unlikely as people run U-Dies all the time and Dillon Powder measures exapand the inside of the neck of the case out before seating a bullet. Also, this die is listed as a .38Super die as well. Anyway, I will update this with more info as I move forward.

This post has been edited by 98sr20ve: 31 December 2009 - 10:05 AM