considering .308 dies

[Carphunter]

I have a semi-auto 308 I intend to do some handloads for.

It's been a while since I've bought dies.

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me which brand/model of dies grip the bullet for seating as close to the caliber diameter of the ogive as possible.

From experience, I don't want dies that are pushing on the tip, or near the tip.... I want a fairly open seater that grips low on the ogive.

For dies, I really will need just a full-length sizer/deprimer (hell...depriming shouldn't be an issue since this brass won't be reloaded...anyway).  I then need the seater, and finally a separate crimper (not sure I'll need it...but I may want to use it if the gun has too violent an action for uncrimped loads.

BTW...I'll be making shells for an HK 770.... and possibly a pump Remington.

[qajaq59]

From experience, I don't want dies that are pushing on the tip, or near the tip.... I want a fairly open seater that grips low on the ogive.

I'll be very curious to see an answer to this part of your question, as that slight damage to the tips is becoming a real pet peeve with me.
Qajaq59

[Patriot_1776]

This is for both of you guys:

I've used RCBS dies for all of my reloading for rifles and pistols.  The rifle calibers I have reloaded so far are 22 Hornet, 223 WSSM (traded it off), .243 Winchester, 7mm RUM, .308 Winchester, 30-06, 8mm Mauser, and 300 Weatherby.  All are still reloaded using RCBS dies, and I have yet to see a damaged tip from the seater.  I've loaded plastic tipped bullets, varmint bullets, HPBT target bullets, and hunting bullets.   What brand dies did you have this experience with?  Were they older or newer dies?  Were you in any ways impatient to get the bullet seated? (Sorry, have to ask that one too.)  Was any excessive force required to seat the bullets? Pushing down too hard or too fast can damage the bullet as well as the brass.


-Patriot

[Carphunter]

I can't say I've ever damaged a tip with a seater.  

I just want to be further down with no contact with the tip since out of a box of lead tipped bullets, I'll often find inconsistent oal lengths of bullet (not loaded cartridge) because some tips are pointier or duller than the rest.

also, I think the bullet length fom bullet base to caliber diameter point of the ogive seems to be fairly consistent... so if I can stay closer to that point with the seater, I think i have less descrepancy in OAL of loaded cartridge.

[Patriot_1776]

Ok, clicking on the link below will show a picture I just took.  It is a .308 Winchester, and the bullet used is a 175gr. Sierra MatchKing HPBT.  The dark line I put shows where the RCBS seater contacts the bullet.  Is that about how low your looking for, Carphunter?  It looks a little scrunched, but the measured length from the tip of the bullet to the line is approximately .390" or around there.  I used a Frankford caliper micrometer.

.308 Winchester

I hope this helps.


-Patriot

[Carphunter]

If I could get lower, I'd go lower... but from what I can tell...that's about the norm for the seaters.

[qajaq59]

I bought several boxes of 165 gr spire points that came to a really nice sharp point and every one of them had just enough of a mark on the tip after loading that I could see it. And I even belled the case mouth a bit but the die was just pushing enough to bend that point over just a tiny bit. I stopped using them because of that, but it annoyed me the whole time.
I don't think it threw them off substantially but I'd have been happier if they didn't get damaged at all. I will say though that that point was pretty delicate. Can't remember the brand at the moment.

[CyberSniper]

If your seater die is an RCBS, send the seater plug along with a sample bullet and they will provide you with one that fits the bullet. This is a free service that RCBS offers.

[PaulS]

You can also chuck the seating plug in a drill press with a drill in a vice. put a hole in the seating plug to give room for the bullet nose.
To do this with the most accuracy:

Gently chuck your chosen drill bit in the chuck of the drill press with the nose (sharpened end) in the jaws.
Lower the drill into a vice while it is in the drill press.
Clamp the shank of the drill bit in the vice while holding the drill press down.
While still holding the press down - loosen the drill chuck from the drill and let it return to the top of its stroke.
Without moving the vice clamp it in place so that it is centered in the drill chuck if you lower the chuck onto it.
Gently chuck your seating plug into the drill chuck and put enough pressure on it to keep it from spinning in the chuck without marring the threads too badly.
Turn on the drill press and slowly lower the chuck onto the drill bit. you want to drill a hole about 1/8 inch deep.
Remove the seating plug from the chuck and clean the inside with compressed air or spray cleaner, followed by a drop of light oil wiped out with a cotton cloth. (never use paper to wipe off oil)
remove your drill from the vice and put it away, clean up the mess and go back to your reloading bench.
Install and set your seating plug in the seating die.

The hollow cavity will prevent any contact between your bullets and the plug but you may have to clean it weekly or monthly (depending on how much you reload and how much dust is in the area you reload in).