Ring around the lead.....Why????

[rod locker]

I have been loading lead bullets for a .38 Special.  Once I seat the bullet there is a ring cut into the top of the bullet.  I double checked and I have the right seater in......and I have adjusted the expander down futher.  Do I need to go even deeper with the expander?  I also get a small an=mount of shavig off the bullet.  Can someone help me???

[Grapeshot]

I have been loading lead bullets for a .38 Special.  Once I seat the bullet there is a ring cut into the top of the bullet.  I double checked and I have the right seater in......and I have adjusted the expander down futher.  Do I need to go even deeper with the expander?  I also get a small an=mount of shavig off the bullet.  Can someone help me???

You may need to flair or bell the case a little more and/or champher the case mouth with a deburring tool.  I had the same problem with .45 ACP using cast bullets.  Once I champhered the case mouth that problem went away.  As far as the ring cut into the top of the bullet, that means the bullets are soft and you are using a lot of pressure to seat the bullet.  You might want to check your expander and see if its too small.  Sometimes switching to a Lyman M-Die for Cast bullets helps with that.

[Delmonico]

Are you crimping in a separate operation or seating and crimping at the same time.

[rod locker]

My dies are crimping and seating at the same time.  I am using Lyman Carbide dies.

[Delmonico]

My dies are crimping and seating at the same time.  I am using Lyman Carbide dies.

Try setting the die to seat and then set it to crimp, sometimes that causes problems doing both at once. 

[cpt dan blodgett]

If the bullet seating plug is designed for pointy bullets it will leave ring you can get a flat seating plug

[Coal Creek Griff]

As mentioned before, I would make sure the cases are belled enough.  If it is a tight fit, it might be causing the nose damage too by requiring more force to seat the bullets. 

I don't have a problem seating and crimping in one move.  Some cartridges (like 44-40) work better with separate operations. 

CC Griff

[rickk]

Separate the possibilities out by going to extremes.

Bell one case way out and see if it fixes your problem. If it does, mess around to minimize the bell but still stop the rings from forming.

If you are seating and crimping at the same time, you can back back off on the crimper and just seat the bullet to see if that fixes the problem.

Less of a crimp might reduce your problem.  If you try for too tight a crimp the crimper starts crimping way too soon, and the bullet is still being seated when the crimper forces the case into the lead bullet.

If all the cases are the same length you should be able to seat and crimp at the same time. If there is a lot of case length variation it gets harder. Trimming all case to the same length would help. Are all the shaved rings the same, or are some worse than others?

A separate crimping die would possibly help as well.  Personally, once I found out about separate seating and crimping dies I switched over to them and never looked back.

What brand of dies are you using? Different brands bell the mouth differently. Some simply bell the mouth. Others expand the case straight down for a ways and then put a bell on the case mouth.

[Delmonico]

I will also say if you go the seperate crimp die route get a taper crimp, light years ahead of a roll crimp.

[Jefro]

Separate the possibilities out by going to extremes.

Bell one case way out and see if it fixes your problem. If it does, mess around to minimize the bell but still stop the rings from forming.

If you are seating and crimping at the same time, you can back back off on the crimper and just seat the bullet to see if that fixes the problem.

Less of a crimp might reduce your problem.  If you try for too tight a crimp the crimper starts crimping way too soon, and the bullet is still being seated when the crimper forces the case into the lead bullet.

Waht rickk said, start over. It sounds to me like too much crimp, and the crimp is starting before the bullet is seated enough. I don't know what kind of machine you're using, but a loose or out of alingment shell plate can also cause problems. Bell the case mouth just enough to start a bullet. Back out the seat/crimp die and reset.
From Richard Lee Modern Reloading: "Screw in the seat/crimp die untill you feel it stop against the case mouth of the shell. Be sure to hold the lever down while doing this, otherwise the die will move the ram down. The die is now a 1/2 turn from a light crimp and 3/4 turn from a heavy crimp. (I find with my Hornady New Diminsion dies 1/2 trun is a good tight crimp)
Back out the seating plug a couple of turns. Now start a bullet into the die, adjust the bullet seating screw untill the mouth of the case is at the base end (bottom) of the crimp groove. Turn the entire die 3/4 of a turn and crimp the case. The bullet will be moved into the case .055 and the crimp is complete."
This method has worked on any brand die I've tried. With the Horandy 1/2 turn was plenty, so I had to adjust the bullet depth just a touch, you may have to adjust it to fit your desired crimp. Good Luck

Jefro Relax-Enjoy

[swampyankee]

I had the same problem with the very same round, until I did like Grapeshot said. Camphering seemed to fix the problem asap.