Seating die leaves ring impression on bullet

DizzyJ · Jul 5, 2021

Two things after going back and re-reading the entire thread.

1) Is this a compressed load? I.E. is there still room in the case for more powder when the bullet is fully seated?

2) Nosler may say the brass is ready to reload straight from the factory, but I've had to recondition the necks even on brand new Lapua brass straight out of the box.

Id also check the OD of the Virgin brass and compare it to the OD of the loaded brass. What's the difference in measurements?

Make sure there's a healthy chamfer on the inside edge of the mouth. If not, the bullet can hang up when being seated, and cause more resistance to seating as well as shaving off pieces of copper from the bottoms of the bullet.

Greenbug · Jul 6, 2021

To summarize the possible causes....
1-Excessive case neck tension.
2-Inadequate case mouth inside chamfer.
3-Dirty inside case neck (probably not with new brass).
4-Over size bullet for case (not likely).
5-Improper seating stem to bullet interface (sounds like that is proven).
6-Possibly seating the bullet too fast, slow down and "feel" the bullet seat into the case.

Check the first 4 items.
Try a few different bullet profiles to verify the 5th item.

Slow it down and see if you can "feel" where the problem is starting. If the excessive pressure is at the very beginning of the seating, it is probably #1, #2, or #4. if it feels excessive the whole way it is #1, #3, or #4.

Hemlock · Jul 7, 2021

Even if the brass is "new in bag/box" RESIZE IT. Other then cleaning, treat it like it was used. Resize, trim, chamfer.
Banging around during shipping etc. Who knows what happened to the brass.