bullet seating stems

[BigChief52]

My RCBS die set came with 3 different seating stems, but some bullets like Remington JHPs have a lot of soft lead exposed and none of the stems I have can seat them without deforming them in some way. Just wondering if more shapes are available on stems. It would be nice to have a rounded stem that didn't leave marks or flatten the tips of JHPs with exposed lead tips.

 

[ACORN]

Never did it myself but have read of people using J B Weld to custom form a stem to a particular bullet.

 

[twodog max]

Many many years ago I want to think that RCBS would modify a bullet seating stem to fit a particular bullet. Now my memory may be flawed and even if right they may not do that these days. Can't hurt to send an email and ask.

 

[scattershot]

You don't say what caliber, but I find that a .45 Colt seatings stem works well for my .45 ACP loads.

 

[Alk8944]

The easiest way is if you, or a friend, have a lathe simply face the RN or SWC stem flat. You will be able to use it with SWC, WC, JHP, HP, TC and any style that is basically flat. The rim of the hollow point can be considered the same as a truncated cone bullet. It may slightly flatten the nose of JHP bullets, but they will be square. I have been using flat stems like this for around 50 years with full satisfaction in all cases!


As a matter if fact, I frequently use a larger caliber seating die body with a flat stem to seat bullets in multiple calibers like .32, .38, .41, .44, etc. I usually crimp in a separate step anyway!

 

[Nevada Ed]

My dies have a flat surface the works well with JHP and lead SPFN designs
and then there is the standard round nose shaped die that usually works for all the rest.

If you are damagaing the lead noses, maybe you need to open up your cases more or slow down ?

 

[Oldfrt]

If memory serves me right I got a RCBS stem for FTX bullets about a year or two ago for 45's from Midway, that would be a good place to start.

 

[glenwolde]

Back in ancient times, we'd take a ball of paraffin wax and shove it up in the die. With some finagling back and forth, in and out, you'd end up with a slug of wax shaped to the bullet nose. After a bit of use it got compressed enough to stay put. It worked.

 

[irapollock]

9mm seating stem is another option

If you have a set of dues for 9mm the seating stem should be a much better fit for the SJHP's. The tradeoff is having to back the die way out to account for a much longer cartridge and then seat and crimp in separate steps
Out of curiosity, do you know if the deformation of the soft lead tip actually affects expansion and penetration?

 

[BigChief52]

What happened was I inherited 2 boxes of Remington 125g JHPs 500 each. They have Midway stickers. Hard to imagine ordering up 1000 bullets from Midway. Bet he spent a good 40 bucks for em back then. I decided to load them in 38 special loads for plinking, but my die set only came with flat stems for SWCs. Not a problem for the XTP bullets I use for Magnums. Strange feeling it is that I worked for 35 years as a tool and die maker and now I don't have access to a lathe. I'll hunt around on the internet and see what I can find. Has to fit my old RCBS die though.

 

[twodog max]

I have ordered lots of bulk bullets from Midway in the past. Real good prices back in the old days. Remington 140's and 158's. I even have some .458 45/70 bullets left 300 gr. HP
I have also experienced the flattened HP or rounded noses in both 357 and 44 magnum. It never seemed bad enough to me to worry much about it.
I did order a Redding 357 seater die , for different reasons, and it does not seem to be as bad as my RCBS. At any rate I just notice it and move on.

 

[gwpercle]

Custom fit the seating stem cavity to the bullet nose with Hot glue ...which is temporary at best or with a small ball of epoxy putty (slow cure) for a more permanant fit ( I have a few that are 20 - 25 years old .

Tip #2) Any bullet with a flat spot on the top , be it WC , SWC , RF , TC, Flat or a JHP with a nearly flat nose ... can be easily seated with a flat stem . Take a stem and fill the cavity with epoxy putty , let set up and file , sand the nose dead flat ... any bullet with a flat spot can be seated .

You can use Epoxy Glue ...but epoxy "Putty" will not run and drip into "unwanted" spaces .
Clean the cavity so the epoxy will stick , grease the bullet so the epoxy will NOT stick ...don't glue the bullet into the stem !
Also ...use slow setting , slow curing epoxy putty or glue ...the quick-set doesn't give you enough working time ... trust me !

This advice only applies to those of us without a lathe or the ability to operate a lathe ... you lath operators know how to make custom nose stems ... please ignore .
Gary

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

The easiest way is if you, or a friend, have a lathe simply face the RN or SWC stem flat. You will be able to use it with SWC, WC, JHP, HP, TC and any style that is basically flat. The rim of the hollow point can be considered the same as a truncated cone bullet. It may slightly flatten the nose of JHP bullets, but they will be square. I have been using flat stems like this for around 50 years with full satisfaction in all cases!


As a matter if fact, I frequently use a larger caliber seating die body with a flat stem to seat bullets in multiple calibers like .32, .38, .41, .44, etc. I usually crimp in a separate step anyway!

EXCEPT! It will flatten the gummy tip on Hornady XTP bullets. For that you need a hollow type seater..

 

[Funflyer]

Problem with many bullets is what appears to be a flat nose may not be flat at all, but slightly convex with the very center higher than the rest of the tip.

Also, a lathe isn't necessary if you have a drill press and a rotary tool. Simply chuck a stem in the press and use a Dremel to hog out the end. I made a custom stem for all my castings after using ones that "work" but would leave marks as a result of not fitting right. Even a round nose stem can leave a dent around the circumference of a JHP depending on the fit so I made a stem for those also. Thankfully a few years ago Midway had a bunch of RCBS stems on clearance for less than a buck each so I bought a few dozen.

 

[mikld]

I have used center drills to taper the ID of a seating stem a few times, IIRC a 60 degree taper. The taper seems to center on various bullet shapes' ogive. Works well with any shape that has an ogive as the stem does not ride on a flat nose that may vary in length (some hollow points and soft points are ragged and vary in length).

 

[BigChief52]

I tried out the rounds with the flattened ends this morning and they seem to shoot fine. I'm happy to have these jacketed bullets because I bought my first brand new and first CC revolver and I need to practice with it. Not used to the two finger grip or the short barrel. My commercially cast bullets foul the bore badly with this gun. Maybe because it's new and not broken in? So far, it's been a humbling experience. Hopefully, I'll improve some with practice.

 

[twodog max]

Stick with it. Shooting a handgun well is a learned skill. Some folks are better than others but lots of good practice will get you there.
Shooting cast bullets and leading can have so many causes that it takes experience to know why. If your bullets are swaged and dead soft that may be you problem or it could be any one of many others.