Brass sticking in seater die.

nuttinbutxs

I just started loading for 30-30 in a TC contender using RCBS 30-30 dies and a rock chucker press. I've reloaded for many years and this is the first caliber I've seen this on. After sizing the brass I try to seat a 150 grain Nossler ballistic tip and it consistently sticks in the seater and is pulled back out of the brass. I have to remove the seater from the die to get the bullet loose. I read on the RCBS site that they make the seaters to an angle that should work for most bullets in the caliber range being used but I wonder if the 30-30 dies have a seater meant for softnosed bullets used in the lever guns and it wont work on the ballistic tip bullets. If I got a seater from say a set of 308 or 30-06 dies might that work better or are the RCBS seaters all the same for a particular caliber?

mrbruce

Seems most 30/30 seating dies are for seating flat nosed bullets, "that the TC's dont need to use", and probably needs to be changed out for Ballistic Tips..

nuttinbutxs

Thats my guess but I'll check with RCBS on Monday and if so I'll order one.

laylandad

I had a similar problem with .308. It seems my problems began when loading a close to max or compressed load. I had to replace my seater. I have not had that happen again "yet".

nuttinbutxs

Interesting about the compressed load, I am doing a compressed load....Think I'll try it on an empty case and see what happens. Maybe compressing the load causes too much pressure in the seater. I'm still checking with RCBS but I'm giving it a try. I also thought I would try wrapping some emery cloth around a bullet and mount it in my drill press to see if I could change the angle on the seater to match the bullet. Worst I can do is buy a new seater which I may have to do anyway.

Rocky Raab

Yup, you'll have to swap out the seater plug. Any plug from a .308, .30-06 or similar die will work fine. Call and RCBS will probably send you one no charge.

What possible load would be compressed in a .30-30? A powder slow enough to require compression would never reach its design burn pressure in that small case. You'd get below-best velocity and a lot of unburned kernels. Unless that's the only powder you have - and you live on Mars - there surely are better choices. IMR3031 is classic, and RL-15 gives best velocities in the .30-30 in most guns.

nuttinbutxs

Your right Rocky, it is not a compressed load, I must have been looking at a load for my 204 Ruger that uses H4895 that is compressed. I'm using 34 grains of H4895 that should give me in the neighborhood of 2390 ft/sec. But I will check into those other powders you list. My main reason for H4895 is because I can use it in most of my rifle loads so I need less types of powder. And I tried wrapping 1200 wet/dry around a bullet and chucking it in the drill press and polishing the seater on it and the seater works fine now. I think I will still get one from RCBS though.

owen219

Contact RCBS and they will provide you the proper cone for the new ballistic tips. No problem.

BGHillbilly

I would try a different seater.

We used to load compressed charges quite a bit in 30/30's with good results.

bpost

A 30-30 is THIN brass. it has rather poor grip on the neck to begin with. You may want to try an expander ball a couple thousandths smaller to increase neck tension.

If you have other seater plugs in the 25-30 cal range you could swap it out to see if it helps.

nuttinbutxs

Update after talking with RCBS - First off, all 30 caliber seater plugs are the same from RCBS whether they are from a set of 308, 30-06 or 30-30 dies. You can have a custom one made for your bullet profile for $20 if needed. The problem with the bullet sticking in the seater plug is common for Nosler ballistic tip and some of the Sierra bullets because of the long profile and angle of the bullet. Inside the seater plug are some very fine rings from the manufacturing process that are all but invisible but will grab the sides of the Nosler and Sierra bullets and pull them back out of the casing. RCBS is going to polish the inside of one and send it to me to see if that works. As I wrote earlier I polished mine and it seemed to work so I guess that is the fix for the problem.

Rocky Raab

Very interesting. Thanks!

One should be easy to polish with a tight cloth wad and some JB Paste or Flitz. Chuck the plug in a drill and have at it.

JustC

I use a bullet in the profile I want, chuck the seater plug in a drill, coat the bullet in lapping compound, insert it into the cone and run the drill for a few minutes.

nuttinbutxs

Just got the new seater plug from RCBS. They did a better job polishing it than I did. It shines all the way in the cavity. Nice looking job. Havent tried it yet but I'm sure it works fine. I also received two new retainer springs for keeping the shell holder in place in the ram. Bought this press at a yard sale and the retainer was missing. Since it was used I never bothered asking for a clip. But since I was on the phone I offered to buy one and in typical RCBS fashion they sent me two, no charge. RCBS is without a doubt the best company I have ever dealt with in standing behind their products. I use a piggyback on my other Rock Chucker that I just couldn't get the APS primer system to feed correctly. It kept crushing primers since they weren't in position correctly. Twice I was sent new feed assemblies, again no charge. The second replacement works great. Yeah I have had a few problems with things but RCBS has ALWAYS without exception worked with me until I was satisfied. And usually I was satisfied before them but they had to be sure everything worked properly. I would never buy a reloading product that wasn't RCBS after the treatment I've received from them. Sorry to get off the subject but as you can tell I'm one happy RCBS customer and I like to tell people when a company does right for it's customers.