Just started loading for the newly acquired Remington 722, .222. Loaded some Nosler 40 grain ballistic tips with no issues. Loaded Hornaday 50 grain V-max and every round has a concentric ring shaped "dent" below the plastic tip. I have polished the seating stem and tried to readjust the die with no success.

I have heard rumor this may be due to the hollow cavity behind the plastic tip on the Hornaday bullet.

Not sure if changing to another die is the answer or not but really hate to spend the money on a new set of dies. Have sent a note to Redding but have had no response as of yet.

Any suggestions or similar experiences out there?

Thanks

GEC

I've run into some seating issues with 40gr v-max bullets in .223. It's been suggested to me that the shape of the tip requires a seating plug modified to fit. I think that Lee offers this service for their dies. For me, the issue has been overall length, and since these will be used in a Contender I don't plan to have the die altered.
-Mark

I'm going with Mark's response. I've encountered it occasionally over he years but I can't recall right now the bullet/caliber involved.
If you're seating the bullet with a gradual steady pressure my $0.02 is - don't worry about it. I really don't think you'll significantly affect accuracy/performance.

I've not experienced "dents", but I have seen rings around the ogive of bullets. One trick that worked was to put a little bit of aluminum foil into the seating plug. Then, with a bullet in hand, push the tip of the bullet up into the foil to shape an area in the foil. The seating stem has to be backed out a bit more. Its temporary, but it does get rid of the rings.

Ideally, the seating stem cavity will precisely match the profile of the projectile nose. When it doesn't, then 'dents' and 'rings' occur. One way to obviate this happening, is to fill the stem cavity with candle or canning wax. Then, use the stem to seat a bullet. The excess wax should ooze out of the stem, leaving a perfect matched cavity to your bullet's ogive. Scrap away the excess wax and load away. You may have to play with it a little to make it precise.

I understand that sealing wax can be used to conform the sizer to the exact bullet and will last long enough for a batch. If you want to permanently modify a seating punch I'd put a little epoxy putty in the shaped part.

I'm kinda used to punches not fitting bullet noses exactly because I use a bunch different types of bullets. Mostly I ignore it. It's worth doing with long Spitzer type rifle bullets because the thin point can really get smashed/bent out of shape. I quit using Spitzers due to expense and conical points are all I use now.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I ignore the rings. Works for me.

I'm almost through a box of Xtreme plated 158gr. RNFP's for 38/357 that get a smile or ring when seated. I tried the SWC stem and that was worse by cutting the plating. Nothing I did stopped it and they all shot fine. I just started loading (last night) my first coated bullets. 230gr. RN's and seating them was tearing a ring in the coating. I cleaned the round nose pocket in the stem as it was copper colored and that looked to eliminate most of it. After about 40 or so seatings the ring went away. Don't know. Maybe the copper on the stem was "sticky" and pulling on the coating.

Took the seating stem out of the die and looked closer at the bullets last night.

The bearing surface of the seating stem is very narrow and appears to have very little angle to the profile. Looking closely at the bullets there is an upper ring on the bullet jacket that appears to be cosmetic and a lower ring that actually is indented.dents.jpg