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Old 04-03-2012, 08:37 PM
bellarum bellarum is offline
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Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies  
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Default Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies

I'm loading 124 grXTP 9mm and the seating ends up being random within .010 of what I have my die correctly set to. (This is nota brass related issue) I talked to lee and they say I can get a custom plug made that will help to seat them more accurately. The plug from the Lee die comes no where near the ogive of the bullet. The plug just rolls around on the tip of the XTP. I'm still waiting for Hornady to get back to me with their recomended die to seat their bullet. (I'm sure it will be an expensive Hornady die)
Here are my questions:
1. Has anyone had Lee make a custom seating plug? Was it worth the wait?

2. Is there another die you are using that works great with seating the XTP bullet specifically?
Thanks to all in advance!
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Old 04-03-2012, 08:48 PM
Pisgah Pisgah is offline
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Take small, loosely-crumpled ball of aluminum foil. Put it up in to the die. Seat a bullet. Voila, custom bullet seater. You may have to readjust seating depth a bit, but this works like a charm. Haven't changed seating plugs in years.
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  #3  
Old 04-03-2012, 09:50 PM
bellarum bellarum is offline
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Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies  
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I'll try it! It sounds way too easy to be true but, if i doesn't thrash the jacket and my bullets and they seat at the same depth everytime, I'm in!
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Old 04-03-2012, 10:02 PM
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Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies  
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I load 9mm on a Dillon 550, using Dillon dies. Works fine with XTP, also Speer Gold Dot. I use all brand of die sets, but I really like the Dillon sets - unfortunately they are not available in too mant calibers. I just loaded 1750 rds of 124 gr. Gold Dots, and the depth was consistent, no adjustment needed
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Old 04-03-2012, 10:10 PM
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Shooting Padre Shooting Padre is offline
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Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies  
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I have used XTP in .38 and .45LC and they seemed to work fine with the Lee dies for those calibers. But this is really a great fix well worth a try. Thanks for the post.
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Old 04-03-2012, 10:25 PM
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A more permanent modification would be to use some JB Weld on the seater plug and use some release agent on your bullet tip and make your own. I haven't done this, but no reason why it wouldn't work.

Personally I wouldn't loose any sleep over 0.010" length variation. It is more than I see on my normal loads, but not that much. And certainly not enough to significantly impact pressure.
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Old 04-03-2012, 11:12 PM
bellarum bellarum is offline
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Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies  
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I tried the foil trick pisgah suggested and it worked perfectly for the 20 rnds I just tried it with. Got to love those no money fixes!
So far only a 0.002 spread!
My M&P eats everything I cram in it without issue but, my son just picked up a Walther P99 AS and the OAL needs to stay more consistant. I load my XTP ammo out to around 1.123. Those rounds will not drop into his barrel. I guess Walthers have tighter chambers.
I always remove the barrels and test fit the rounds for OAL when I can.
Anyways Thanks again for all of the tips. If the foil fails to work after a while I'll be trying these other suggestions! I'll try the JB weld prior to a new die purchase.
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Old 04-03-2012, 11:20 PM
MrApathy MrApathy is offline
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I use hornady's seating die's and they work great in 9mm and 40sw.
lee dies were horrid with 9mm got canted bullets.
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Old 04-03-2012, 11:24 PM
bellarum bellarum is offline
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Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies  
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Do you happen to have a part# for the seating die in case I need to go there?
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  #10  
Old 12-20-2019, 09:07 PM
Papaw8264 Papaw8264 is offline
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Red face Consistency Issues Seating Any Bullet

Hello All,
I am a Journeyman Toolmaker with 30 years experience and a Novice loader with 3 years experience. If anyone is still following this thread I hope this helps. If you are having problems with variations of COL after seating you need to determine whether it is the case, the bullet, or other issue. The easiest way to determine whether it is the case is to back off the crimp setting of your die so the die does not contact the case. If you do this and still have a variation your problem is the bullet or it is press related. If you have double checked your press setup try one case one station at a time method. If this doesn't help you probably have an issue with your bullet. I had an issue with the Hornady XTP 124 grain 9mm. After ruling out the case and press I looked closer at the bullet. I could visibly see the beginning of the truncated cone had variations. My Lee 9mm die was giving me as much as .015" variation in COL. After making a new seating plug that would contact only the top portion of the bullet I was able to seat the XTP bullets with only .002" variation. After seating a couple dozen XTP bullets I switched to my Lee cast bullets and had only .001" variation. This is with one case at a time in the press. The point is it doesn't matter whether it is a bulk purchase of bullets or a box of the name brand bullets. If you rule out the case and your setup it's got to be the bullet. I hope this helps and sorry for the long post but it should cover the problem with inconsistency. If you don't have access to a lathe the foil solution is a good way to verify your problem although once you have verified your problem you really should come up with a more permanent solution. Sorry, that's just the toolmaker in me.
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  #11  
Old 12-21-2019, 12:57 AM
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Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies  
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Default I had a bullet seating problem..........

...it wasn't the setup or the bullet. I seem to have forgotten how to read a dial caliper after my digital broke. 9mms don't work well with about .10" of extra length. They don't even work in the magazine. I used a gauge to 'plunk test them' and they passed. Until I tried to use them.

PS: I can excuse not catching the way they LOOKED because they were very heavy plated bullets with a long ogive that I've only used one other time.


PPS: I'm seriously considering my mental fitness for reloading. Good thing I'm not using a vernier. I do have a digital scale for powder, but I wonder how I would do going back to a balance beam?
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  #12  
Old 12-21-2019, 05:32 AM
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BLUEDOT37 BLUEDOT37 is offline
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Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies  
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Welcome to the forum Papaw8264 !

Quote:
Originally Posted by Papaw8264 View Post
If anyone is still following this thread...
It's been over 7-1/2 years.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Papaw8264 View Post
After making a new seating plug that would contact only the top portion of the bullet...
Since you resurrected this I'll add that I had a similar situation, in particular loading my 356TSW loads. I wanted to keep the max COAL" at 1.160", which is the max length that works good in my mags, but I kept getting variations seating my "XTP like" JHPs & didn't want to seat it shorter, just for the variations, since they are high pressure/full loads.

It dawned on me that basically all my JHP's essentially have flat noses & the rounded/concave seating plug Lee provides was the problem, so I ordered a flat seating plug from Lee ($8+shipping/tax) after asking them if they made one standard.

Lee considers a flat seating plug a custom item but all you have to do is go to their webpage:" Custom Bullet Seating Plug - Lee Precision " & fill it out with the caliber/cartridge info & put in the notes that you want a flat seating plug for flat nose bullets. No need to send in a sample bullet, in this case.

They usually state that it may take (4) to (6) weeks to complete but they did mine in about (2) weeks each time.

(I'll also suggest that you include in the notes the measurements of your original round nose seating plug, that is, it's overall length & the diameter of the stem's body. I suggest this because the 9mm flat plug I ordered first was made incorrectly & they made another plug to replace it (at no extra charge) using the dimensions I gave them (which they should have already know). I did that when I ordered a 40 S&W flat plug from them too, just to be safe.)

The flat seating plug cured the large COAL" variations.

Hornady includes both a round & flat nose seating plugs with their reloading sets.

I've never found that variations in case length affect COAL".

And I always do seating & crimping as separate steps with separate dies.

.
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Last edited by BLUEDOT37; 12-21-2019 at 05:33 AM. Reason: .
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  #13  
Old 12-21-2019, 02:28 PM
Papaw8264 Papaw8264 is offline
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Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies Problem seating XTP bullets with Lee dies  
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Default Seating Plug

BlueDot37, I knew the thread was old and wondered if anyone would read my post but thought someone new might benefit from it.
I inherited my dad's old South Bend lathe and had a piece of stainless so I made my own. I didn't make it flat but used a 1/2" ball end mill to put a nice radius on the end. I was trying to seat to 1.060" as my G2C doesn't like anything much longer than 1.080".
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