[ccargo]

I jut got my first box of BTB and WOW here we go...after some checks I seated 4 bullets OK in my 444 hornady dies but I could feel it getting harder to pull the die AWAY from the completed bullet...on the fifth bullet it remained in the seater die...up till now I have NEVER experienced this...after measuring the inside diameter of the bullet "seater itself" I got .4295 which makes sense I guess?? so what is solution to use these bullets which is necessary for my NEF single shot which I have slugged to the fit ".4315" so needs the .432 bullets ANY help here would be appreciated...if this is in many older posts I apologize am in time crunch for HUNT thanks guys for help Dave

 

[Dan 444]

The bullet is getting "caught" in the crimp ring....

My favorite load for my Marlin 444 is the BTB - .432"-290g LFNGC. I use Lee Pacesetter dies in a Lee Classic Press. Initially, I had the problem with the bullet hanging up in the seater die. It was getting stuck in the "crimp ring" in the seating die. Since I like to seat and crimp in two different operations (I use the Lee FCD to crimp), I simply don't screw the seating die into the press so that the bottom of the die is touching the shellholder. I leave about a .5" gap between the bottom of the die and the shellholder (when the ram is fully "up") and this takes the crimp ring out of play. I use the seating screw to obtain the OAL that fits my gun (bullet just kisses the lands).

Dan

 

[Bill M]

I jut got my first box of BTB and WOW here we go...after some checks I seated 4 bullets OK in my 444 hornady dies but I could feel it getting harder to pull the die AWAY from the completed bullet...on the fifth bullet it remained in the seater die...up till now I have NEVER experienced this...after measuring the inside diameter of the bullet "seater itself" I got .4295 which makes sense I guess?? so what is solution to use these bullets which is necessary for my NEF single shot which I have slugged to the fit ".4315" so needs the .432 bullets ANY help here would be appreciated...if this is in many older posts I apologize am in time crunch for HUNT thanks guys for help Dave

I have read that some dies are cut a little smaller than others. In other words, some are cut more for jacketed bullets and some are more generous to allow for bigger cast bullets. I have found Lee and Redding pretty easy to work with in this regard. Don't know about Hornady.

Still, if your bullets are .432 bullets, they will actually mike out at about .4325. That leaves you half a thousanth to work with. I'm gonna guess that it did not take long to get a small build up of lead or lube in the die to gum up the works. You might want to take the die apart a bristle brush any built up lead out of it. It may be that you need a bit more case mouth expansion to prevent shearing of lead but if clearances are real tight the die may not allow much. Double check that your case mouths are chamfered so sharp edges are not contributing to the conditions. I agree with Dan that crimping seperately is also a good idea even if you are not using a seperate crimping die.

Hope this helps some as I am doing a fair amount of educated guessing. Personally I have had such good success with Lee dies and lead bullets that I've converted most every cartridge over to them. That's including the 444.

 

[Greenhorn Dave]

Here's another possible solution: The Hornady seater die for 444 comes with only a concave (tapered) stem that works well to center hollowpoint bullets like the XTP. Their 44 mag dies come with 2 stems -- the same concave stem PLUS a wide flat face stem that works fine with my .432 Beartooth Bullets.
I called the Hornady tech guys and confirmed they still pack the 44 mag dies with both stems, and the wide face stem will also work with the 444 die. The technician said you can call them, 308-382-1390, and they will send you a flat stem. Hornady is the greatest!
The technician said you can also polish the inside of the sleeve the stem slides in. That may improve the "slide" of the bullet within the sleeve. I think I will put some Flitz on a 410 shotgun bore mop, chuck it in my battery power drill and polish that sleeve and see what happens.

 

[Chief RID]

I seat my oversized bullets by backing out on the seating/crimp die so the crimp is not in play. I then crimp using the Redding Profile Crimp Die per Marshalls tech guide suggestion.

 

[Greenhorn Dave]

Is that tech guide online??

 

[Chief RID]

I don't think so. There are lots of tech notes but Marshall's Guide is by order only, I believe.