Bullet heads coming off

chris .222

Well-Known Member
I've reloaded around 80 bullets myself now a are grouping great
but three times now when I have gone to remove the un-shot bullet the head has stayed in the barrel and the case has ejected
I have bought and using new Winchester cases and the overall length seems to be ok :doh:image.jpgimage.jpg
 
Sounds like their seated out too far and that their being held up on the lands when extracting. How does it feel when you close the bolt?
 
You shouldn't be having neck tension issues with new brass so I suggest you take a close look at how your seating die is set up. This should both seat the bullet to the right depth and crimp the mouth of the case to the bullet.
Take an empty case and resize it the run it through the seating die with no bullet. Does it do anything to the mouth of the case?
 
Crimp case mouth on bullet, also sounds like you are seating into the lands.

Photo 1 shows what appears to be the slightest witness marks from your rifling.
 
I've reloaded around 80 bullets myself now a are grouping great
but three times now when I have gone to remove the un-shot bullet the head has stayed in the barrel and the case has ejected
I have bought and using new Winchester cases and the overall length seems to be ok :doh:

Chris. Good photos. Can you take a photo of a loaded round with a bare bullet alongside it? Thanks JCS
 
Crimp case mouth on bullet, also sounds like you are seating into the lands.

Photo 1 shows what appears to be the slightest witness marks from your rifling.
Yes where the bullet starts to angle there are slight marks once put into the the rifle then removed
 
Almost certainly as others have already mentioned you have seated the bullet to far out of the case resulting in jamming it in the leade.

One thing I would ask though is how are you re-sizing the case and is it possible that if you are neck sizing with say a collet die the die may need to be adjusted to give slightly more neck tension. Saying that the drag marks on the pulled bullets suggest that there is plenty of neck tension and resistance to bullet pull so I would go with the original diagnosis.
 
Is this a WAH?????? - i truly hope so.

Seriously, how have you determined the seating depth - please tell me not by looking up the maximum cartridge overall length and using that?

No offence but i have serious concerns about some of the so called advice on this forum - crimp the case neck to hold the bullet in... REALLY???!!!

That is just dealing with the symptoms and not the cause.

The issue is caused by the bullet being seated so far out of the case mouth that when it is chambered it is forced into the lands of the rifling and when it sticks the rest of the bullet gets pushed back into the case which is why it feels easy to load, when you unload the bullet sticks in the barrel and is pulled out of the case mouth.

Your first photo shows VERY clearly how much engagement you have got of the bullet in the lands of the rifling. Stop what you are doing, get the right kit to measure the seating depth for that bullet in your rifle then do the job properly. While at it, learn how to do your case prep - a bullet (yes that is what they are called not heads) pulled from a case that has been properly prepped will show little if any scratching from the case mouth where it was seated.
 
Is this a WAH?????? - i truly hope so.

Seriously, how have you determined the seating depth - please tell me not by looking up the maximum cartridge overall length and using that?

No offence but i have serious concerns about some of the so called advice on this forum - crimp the case neck to hold the bullet in... REALLY???!!!

That is just dealing with the symptoms and not the cause.

The issue is caused by the bullet being seated so far out of the case mouth that when it is chambered it is forced into the lands of the rifling and when it sticks the rest of the bullet gets pushed back into the case which is why it feels easy to load, when you unload the bullet sticks in the barrel and is pulled out of the case mouth.

Your first photo shows VERY clearly how much engagement you have got of the bullet in the lands of the rifling. Stop what you are doing, get the right kit to measure the seating depth for that bullet in your rifle then do the job properly. While at it, learn how to do your case prep - a bullet (yes that is what they are called not heads) pulled from a case that has been properly prepped will show little if any scratching from the case mouth where it was seated.

And they tell me I'm too...er....direct?
Why is it every solution has something to do with buying a new tool? Measure the seating depth properly? How about a vernier caliper and seat to recommended OAL? Quit ragging the guy's case prep. What is the point? Other than the bullets unseating the fellow gets good accuracy. Leave it at that. That's an awfully high horse you're riding this afternoon.~Muir
 
If your neck tension is adequate then you should be able to press a loaded cartridge tip onto a firm surface by hand without the bullet moving (yes it is a bit crude). If that is ok then you need to look very hard at seating depth as others have mentioned. The photo would suggest the bullets are being forced into the lands. How have you determined how deep to seat the bullets?
 
And they tell me I'm too...er....direct?
Why is it every solution has something to do with buying a new tool? Measure the seating depth properly? How about a vernier caliper and seat to recommended OAL? Quit ragging the guy's case prep. What is the point? Other than the bullets unseating the fellow gets good accuracy. Leave it at that. That's an awfully high horse you're riding this afternoon.~Muir

I'm not so sure Muir. Based on the info given the accuracy is purely coincidental. I would be very concerned about pressure. My advice would be to read up on some reloading books about seating depth and pressure and work up a load from scratch.

Good on you for asking the question (the OP). Sift through the posts and take the good advice given.
 
I think Muir makes a fair point, seat it a bit deeper and see if the problem goes away. Not that this matters at all but what cartridge is it that we are talking about?
 
I'm not so sure Muir. Based on the info given the accuracy is purely coincidental. I would be very concerned about pressure. My advice would be to read up on some reloading books about seating depth and pressure and work up a load from scratch.

Good on you for asking the question (the OP). Sift through the posts and take the good advice given.

I didn't address the seating length other than to say that a vernier caliper and the listed "COL" are the only tools needed. There was a time when Hornady only made bullets. not tools to seat bullets to the lands, and yet reloaders survived to be grumpy old men. Accuracy with the bullets seated into the lands isn't coincidental. I did it with my SAKO Bench Rest gun but, as you said, pressure can be an issue if the load is hot. (The technical term is "plugging") My comments were directed at the off topic, curtly worded criticism of the OP's reloading. Those scratches could have happened when the round was chambered and then pulled eccentrically by the bolt. In any event, it didn't merit comment at this time. Additionally, since he got good accuracy, the scratches appearance there is moot: If indeed it happened due to poor case prep then it shows that in this case at least, it was of no consequence.~Muir
 
"This should seat the bullet to the right depth and crimp it"

So yes he needs to check his seating depth and ensure the neck has a decent hold on the bullet.

Pedant
 
I was getting this when I loaded 58 grain bullets in my 243 after having loaded heavier bullets. It was because I was loading the lighter bullet too far out. A bit of a D'oh moment when I realised I'd forgotten different weight bullets have different OALs in the same caliber.
 
I got the aol from the guy I bought the rifle from the 90 odd bullets I had from him there was no problem and the aol is exactly the same

so do I try and seat it in abit more is that the outcome ?
as I'm new to reloading and a lot of it is still over my head as people have to learn some people seem to forget this
I have followed all the instructions from the lee reloading kit I bought
 
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