Can you use multiple calibers with the same seating die?

[Doyle]

This may seem like a dumb question but here goes. Suppose you have both dies (FL and Seating) for a particular caliber - say .308. Now, you want to try something new and load 30-06 which uses the same diameter bullet. I know you need a 30-06 FL die to do the resizing, but is it necessary to change out the seating die to a 30-06 die since the .308 seating die is the same diameter?

If this combination would work, what about other comparable bullet diameter pairings like 7mm mag / 7mm-08, etc.?

 

[GP100man]

Some will ,some won`t . me thinks 7mag case is larger at the shoulder than the 708.

I`ve crimped with 308 die for 3006 , but as ya start tryin this ya have to factor in shoulder dia. & neck length.

 

[Doyle]

Some will ,some won`t . me thinks 7mag case is larger at the shoulder than the 708.

To follow along that logic, suppose the seating dies you have are 7 mag and you want to load 7mm-08. Since the 7 mag shoulders are larger, the 7mm-08 shell should fit totally inside the 7 mag seating die with only the neck hitting the die.

 

[William T. Watts]

I've been known to neck size a 30/06 case with a 308 sizing die if I have to pull some bullets, seat a bullet in a 30/06 case with a 308 seater is a stretch because the 308 seating die internally will not fully support the 30/06 case and keep it from cocking! You can do it but in my opinion it's very poor loading procedure plus bullet run out may be excessive. My .02 William

 

[GP100man]

Doyle

The 708 case is much shorter than 7mag & will never reach the crimp ring , you could possibly adjust the seater to seat the bullet but you`ll have nuttin to help hold it straight .

 

[oneounceload]

Why would you want to make things ore complex? When you buy dies, they come in sets - by the time you dial in for one cartridge, then dial it in for the other, and then back again, you'll have a hard time replicating what you had before

While the caliber of a 308 and 30-06 are the same, the cartridges themselves are not

 

[Uncle Buck]

I think OneOunceLoad said it best. Why bother. When you get the dialed in to the bullet/cartridge combination, just leave it there.

I just pulled my .30-30 die, which I last used more than a year ago. I was able to screw it in to my press and and a very minor tweak I was ready to go.

Sometimes re-inventing the wheel is not required.

If you are asking just because you are curious (Good Lord knows I have asked these types of questions before) about the mechanics of things, the answer, like GP100Man Says it all. "Some will/Some won't."

 

[F. Guffey]

Again, I have a Lyman 7mm Universal seater die, it will seat 7mm bullets in 7mm cases that have not been invented yet.

Wildcats: (?), there are no options, for some a seater die does not exist, again, the 7 Remington seater die is a die that is more than a nice to have die when working with wildcats, and remember, the seater die does not offer neck, shoulder or case body support. Another good seater die to have is the 308 Norma Mag.

Seating bullets in long cases with a short seater die requires the reloader to be able to keep up with more than one thought at a time, and again, my favorite die is the case forming/trim die, of all the forming die available my favorite is the 308 W.

F. Guffey

 

[Doyle]

Thanks guys. I'm new to this reloading thing so I'm trying to work out all the physics of how things happen.

That Lyman universal seating die sounds like an interesting tool.

 

[oneounceload]

when you buy die sets, they'll typically come in 2 die set (bottle neck rifle), or 3 die set (straightwall pistol or rifle. One of those will be your seating die.

Once you have made up some dummy rounds getting used to the press and getting a particular bullet seated where you want, lock the die ring and leave it alone (unless you will be loading a wide variety of bullets in the same cartridge case (like 38 spl). In that case, some folks will buy additional seating dies and dial each one in for a particular bullet and then set them and forget them

It makes life easier

 

[GP100man]

Yeeeepp

 

[FrankenMauser]

I have used a .22-250 seating die for .22 WMR, .22 Hornet, .223 Rem, and .220 Swift; but I don't even own a .22-250.

I used a .32 S&W expander die to seat wadcutters in .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R, and .327 Federal, until I got a wadcutter seating stem.

...And the list could go on.

There are four things to consider, when using a die for something other than its intended purpose:
1. Interference. You can't get a .308 case into a .30-30 die, so that's not going to work... I can run a 7.62x54R case into a .30-40 Krag die, but it will do really nasty things to the base...
2. Alignment. Will the case, bullet, or whatever else is being worked with, remain in proper alignment for the task? Seating a .308" bullet in a die designed for .318" bullets may not be very precise.
3. End Result. Will it work? Will the result be lackluster and half-baked, or will it be the same as using the 'proper' die?
4. Justification. Is it worth it? Is it worth wasting your time with the wrong tool, if you can buy the correct tool for a couple dollars?

I recently had to pick up an RCBS Small-Base die for .243 Win. I didn't need a 2-die set, but it was only $3 more than just the Small-Base die. So, now it will be easier to sell one of the sets in the future, should I need to.

Why would you want to make things more complex? When you buy dies, they come in sets - by the time you dial in for one cartridge, then dial it in for the other, and then back again, you'll have a hard time replicating what you had before

I have many different loads for most of my rifle cartridges. My dies never get "set" for a particular load (unless I leave them in the Turret press). It is assumed, every time I get them out, that the dies must be fully adjusted for the load desired. (I also have 3 presses. So, I never know which press they may have been set for, anyway.)

 

[hivel37]

I have used a .22-250 seating die for .22 WMR, .22 Hornet, .223 Rem, and .220 Swift; but I don't even own a .22-250.

Franken, you jarred my brain. I have a high-dollar Redding micro adjust seating die for a 22-250. Through the years I've owned several in that caliber, but not currently. Think I'll see if it'll work with .222 Rem.

 

[T. O'Heir]

"...since the .308 seating die is the same diameter..." The .308 case is a half inch shorter. Use the right die.

 

[F. Guffey]

I will say again, for those reloaders that can keep up with more than one thought at a time there are options.

I seat 308W bullets in 308 W cases with a 30/06 seater die, I use the same die to seat 8mm06 bullets in 8mm06 cases with the same 30/06 seater die and I seat 8mm57 bullets in 8mm57 cases, again, with the same 30/06 seater die, savings? $130.00 +, then there is the space thing.

And I have seater dies that are called ZERO ERROR, just how accurate does a die have to be before it can get away with being called ZERO ERROR,,,,,,,If the error is not eliminated before seating the error will exist after seating.

F. Guffey

 

[wncchester]

A few seaters have long been made with sliding bullet guide sleeves that allow them to function acceptably well with multipule cartridges but they have never had strong market share. Herter's Universal and Lyman's "Precision Alignment" die had those slipping sleeves long ago but, so far as I know, only Hornady and RCBS' so called 'premium' dies currently use that design. None of them are in the same accurate bullet alignment catagory as Forster/Redding full body length sleeves, and even that means little if the chamber doesn't match the cartridge.

The fact that someone may paste a "ZERO ERROR" label on a die doesn't impress me very much. Such a claim is pure BS so it actually loses credibilty, at least to me.

 

[jaguarxk120]

The seater that comes to mind is the Vickerman seating die. It is made for the bullet diameter ( 223,243,308 ect.). The has a window or cut out for the bullet, then straight line seating. The die works very well.

 

[F. Guffey]

Jagurxk120, RCBS starts out with "These dies are not for everyone" I have both, the Gold Medal and Competition seater dies, I have Weatherby, 257 Weatherby dies and the ERROR FREE dies, not my fault Wncchester did not take the time or have enough information to Google, the ERROR FREE came in boxes labeled TARGET MODEL by LEE in the old days. Those that are wildly indignant about everything should not be able to have it both ways, they love Lee, his equipment, design, function creativity one minute and call it BS the next. Again, I had nothing to do with setting him up on this one, he did it to himself.

I have been accused of building 'boobie' traps into responses, I deny that, because boobies are so easy to catch, 'trying' is not necessary, they do it to themselves.

"The fact that someone may paste a "ZERO ERROR" label on a die doesn't impress me very much. Such a claim is pure BS so it actually loses credibilty, at least to me".

To Critique a die and it's function the person doing the test must be able to be constructive, fair and objective, those that are not and can not be constructive, fair and objective are not to be taken seriously. Case support? A seater die with case support? Someone here on this forum has seated bullets in a seater die and has had trouble lowering the ram because the case is wedged in the die because the die is supporting the case, neck, shoulder or body???? And then someone tells me a die is junk and is a gimmick and again, I had nothing to do with Wncchester last outburst, he did it to himself.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=514

Unless a reloader is seating boat tail bullets releasing the bullet means there is nothing holding the bullet straight on the top of the case mouth and for the most part the reloader does not have a clue as to what happens to the bullet when released, the Hornady New Dimension seater die will not allow the bullet to lean or tilt and it centers the bullet in the mouth of the case, and I have a few Hornady die sets. The RCBS bullet guide centers the case, it also centers the bullet, there is no way the bullet can lean or tilt and it fits.

And I have made seaters for 25 cal, that is 25 cal anything, there is absolutely no way the bullet can tilt or lean, there is absolutely no way the bullet can be misaligned with the mouth of the case, the seater supports the shoulder and neck, removing the seater requires a small amount of effort if the neck is thick or the bullet is too large in diameter, like the RCBS Competition or Gold Metal die, the die is not for everyone, especially those that do not understand how the die operates and is designed, and all of my seater dies are micro adjust, as I have said before, I took a picture of my micrometers and gages, the picture weighed 400lbs.

And my seater for 25 cal anything does not have a die body, shell holder or press. These things do not lock me up, but even when seating bullets with conventional dies the bullet can lean/tilt then ride the side of the die up and be straightened by design, unless the flat base of the bullet does not center on the mouth of the case, again, not for everyone but the sliding guide prevents lean and or tilt and centers the bullet in the mouth of the case.

F. Guffey

 

[wncchester]

"The seater that comes to mind is the Vickerman seating die."

RCBS simply copied the old Vickerman/Herter's short sliding sleeve and side window design. They work as well as any average conventional seaters but no better.

Trying to connect anything ever said about approval of Lee tools to suggest I MUST agree with any advertizing claim is silly. I like the old Lee Loaders for what they are but "error free" they are not; nothing done by hand or machine is, that's why manufactoring tolerances exist. I like Lee's "Perfect" powder measure for tubular powders but "perfect" it ain't.

"These things do not lock me up..."

Perhaps Mr. Guffey doesn't understand that straight-line seaters, Wilson types (including Lee Loaders) and Forster/Redding, have sufficent clearance in the neck to allow seating to occur without locking anything up? And, actually, conventional seaters lightly push bullets up into their bullet guide section, after which they are as straight as the oversized guides will permit. Sliding guide dies are no tighter fitting than those without sliding guides.


"I have been accused of building 'boobie' traps into responses,.."

We find boobs where they show themselves, do we not?