vld seating die

wabbiter

Member
Hi all Am just putting my first batch of Berger 140 gr VLDs together for my 6.5x55 and was seating my first one when i spotted a ring mark had appeared on the head just below the point. i decided to take the die apart to check it out and taper on the seating piece do`s not follow the bullet head at all and it only touches right at the bottom hence the mark. The die is a LEE 6.5x55 L2, can i get a replacement inner to match the VLD or will i have to get another die that is suitable for these tips. Any advice will be very much appreciated. Kev
 
Hi all Am just putting my first batch of Berger 140 gr VLDs together for my 6.5x55 and was seating my first one when i spotted a ring mark had appeared on the head just below the point. i decided to take the die apart to check it out and taper on the seating piece do`s not follow the bullet head at all and it only touches right at the bottom hence the mark. The die is a LEE 6.5x55 L2, can i get a replacement inner to match the VLD or will i have to get another die that is suitable for these tips. Any advice will be very much appreciated. Kev

Does the bullet seat straight? If so, forget it and move on. (Better yet, dump the VLD bullets unless you're shooting past 600M.) The long taper of these bullets almost assures that there will be a mismatch between seater and ogive.~Muir
 
I use a standard RCBS seater with VLDs and get discrepancies on OAL of upto 5 thou. I would also like a seater which has the correct innards for a secant ogive.
 
Thanks, the bullet seats straight but is just marked and the neck size micced up ok. will have to try and get another inner made at a more suitable angle at some stage if i carry on with these. Kev
 
I now measure each loaded round to ensure that the OAL is within my tolerances. its slightly time consuming but worth it IMO. It may be worth surfing some other forums regarding VLD seating dies.. theres a lot of guys shooting targets and varmints using the VLD, im sure theres a solution.
 
I use RCBS competition dies for .223 and .308 and they also leave a ring around the bullet.

I have read about polishing the seater insert with a dremmel to remove the ring, but as the accuracy is sub MOA I never bothered.
 
Thanks all, Have been looking through my other dies and have found a 223 inner has a surface area that corresponds better to the VLDs ogive so will try and check out a few more with friends to see if i can find an even better one, i think 6mm might be even better. All the outer measurements of it correspond so it should sit the same in the die casing, will just have to adjust out further.
 
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