[AR guy]

i never did these two steps together, so its new. I have a set of RCBS carbide 9mm dies. I set the crimp as i was told from the Speer loading manual #14. then I screwed the seating plug down till it touched the bullet. It then say seat & crimp a bullet to check and i might have to do minor changes. Well I did and it seats and crimps in one pull of the handle. The bullet came out with a flat spot on top. is that ok or will it mess with the balistics? here are the bullets. The one on the left is the 2 steps in one bullet and the one on the right is seated and crimped seperatly. You can clearly see the differance in the two. will that flat spot affect the accuracy? when i losen up the seated to apply less pressure the oal is longer and not what i want 1.135" these are berrys bullets they are 124 gr. first time I used them.

 

[mikld]

The bullet is being pushed in as the crimp gets tighter. More force is needed, thus the flat nose, to seat the bullet when the case is gripping the bullet tighter, as the bullet/case go deeper in the die, pushing against the crimp. One good reason to separate steps.
Prolly won't have much if any effect on accuracy.

 

[AR guy]

ok ive been doing it seperatly, i just wanted to see if it would go faster. thanks

 

[gdmoody]

All of my handgun dies crimp and seat in one operation except the .44 Magnum which I chose to buy a separate Lee Factory Crimp die for.

 

[AR guy]

Well is it ok that it puts a dent on the tip?

 

[PanhandlePop]

Shoot them and see if they are as accurate at the others (I bet they will be). As to solutions, you could go to a FMJ rather than a plated bullet; they would be less likely to deform. Secondly, your seating stem could be replaced to better accommodate the round nose design (contact RCBS to see if they'll send you a different stem). Or, finally, just go with 4 dies.

 

[AR guy]

Secondly, your seating stem could be replaced to better accommodate the round nose design (contact RCBS to see if they'll send you a different stem).

Do I have to send my old stem back to get a new one?

 

[312shooter]

You have two things going on, you have plated bullets which will deform easier during the seating process. You could stand to lighten up on the crimp and you'll see that deformed nose disappear and your bullets will be sufficiently secure.

 

[USMCSpeedy]

Do I have to send my old stem back to get a new one?

No you don't. If you pull out the stem and look at the part that pushes the bullet, its most likely flat for the most part. If you look at the marking on it, I'd bet it says WC or SWC indicating a stem for wad cutters or semi-wad cutters. They make a different stem that has a rounded indentation for FMJ and other round nose bullets. Sometimes you can use the stem from another set of dies. I use the SWC stem for my 38/37 dies to load 147g Hornady XTPs for my 9mm.

 

[al45lc]

I had several dies in same bullet dia. (but different cartridges), so I just pulled out one the the flat SWC seater plugs and drilled and counterbored it to work for the Hornady ballistic tipped bullets for my .45 LC.
Most seater plugs are soft metal, easy to do, if you have spares or don't want to wait for your order to arrive.

 

[carver]

You have two things going on, you have plated bullets which will deform easier during the seating process. You could stand to lighten up on the crimp and you'll see that deformed nose disappear and your bullets will be sufficiently secure.

I agree completly. The simi-auto bullets do not need much crimp to start with. Back off some, and see what happens. If you need to, back off some more.

 

[AR guy]

But is or will it make a big diff when I go to shoot it? Or will it just be the same? Anything to worry about?

 

[AR guy]

Ok I'll back off on the crimp a wee bit and check it out.

 

[carver]

Nothing to worry about at all. Remember that there are flat round nose bullets out there for reloaders, as well as manufactured. Shoot em! They will be just as accurate as a good round nosed bullet!

 

[carver]

I was just thinking. I use Lee, and the crimp, and bullet seat both performed with the same die. One time I was loading up some .38 and noticed that I was mashing the end of the bullet. I took the die apart to clean it, and discovered that the part that seats the bullet was stuck. Got it free, and cleaned it, no more massed bullets.

 

[AR guy]

Ok I'll check that out. Thanks

 

[howlnmad]

As long as the rounds chamber okay you should have no problems shooting these. As far as accuracy, only the target will tell you that.
Because these are plated bullets they are much softer. You're flattening the lead thats under that thin copper plating. Call RCBS and have them send you a seating stem for FMJ bullets and all should be okay.

 

[AR guy]

Hey I got two sweater plugs in my die set one says 38 rn and he other says 9mm TMJ but it has a flat top the 38 is round. I thought the 38 was for 38 cal. And the 9 for 9mm. Does it matter. They look the same just different tops?

 

[312shooter]

Hey I got two sweater plugs in my die set one says 38 rn and he other says 9mm TMJ but it has a flat top the 38 is round. I thought the 38 was for 38 cal. And the 9 for 9mm. Does it matter. They look the same just different tops?

One seater plug is flat and one is round? Use the round nose plug for RN bullets, if there is any doubt take a bullet to the removed plug and test fit them together, looke closely how they appear on the mating surface.

 

[PanhandlePop]

Gotta love this forum. If your car was on fire there wouldn't have been this many people to try to help you out! Good job, y'all.