450 Bushmaster Case Bulge

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
Has anyone experienced a case bulge where the base of the bullet sits after seating?
I know a slight uniform bulge/ring happens on straight walled and tapered cases sometimes depending upon brass thickness and or bullet diameter.
A slim few of my 450BM cases have a hard to see bulge only on one side of the case. Like 8 out of 50 show it but you'd really have to look for it and they chamber fine even pass the "plunk" test.
I use Hornady 4 die set. And flare the case mouth just enough for the base of the bullet to sit square. When i set the dies up I left the lock rings loose and ran the cases up into the die to align them both and then tightened the ring.

The problem is that my son's friend came over to load some of his own 450s on my dies that are set up but 3/4 of his loaded rounds have a very noticeable bulge to one side and they do not chamber. My only guesses are that he may have thicker brass (new run of starline) and or he was not careful to align the bullet the best he could while seating.
I am going to pull the tips and run the cases back through the sizing die with the decapping rod removed. Then reload them.


What experiences have you guys had and any thoughts on what you think is going on?
 

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
Left one is the worst. Middle slight,and right represents most of the ones he seated.
20211114_090446.jpg
 

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
My loads,same dies, same settings on the dies. Same 225gr ftx bullet
20211114_091445.jpg

My loads,different bullet (260gr)
20211114_091310.jpg
 
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bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
He had to NOT be paying attention to the initial alignment and possibly seating them quickly.
I just don't know for sure.
 

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
Also thinking that he may not have had the case(s) inserted fully into the shell holder.
 

Jester896

Senior Clown
could have been either. I know my buddy had a difficult start with a good learning curve.

do they also require shorter case than normal to use the FTX bullet?
 
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Bobby Bigtime

Senior Member
I am wanting to reload my 450 and requested a die set for Christmas. Your experience and some other folks having difficulty, has me a little on edge. If folks like jester896 have mentioned it then it's probably a concern. I did check some brass this morning and it certainly appears the starline is a bit thicker than the Hornady. Please let us know how you resolve his issue.... Good luck ?
 

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
could have been either. I know my buddy had a difficult start with a good learning curve.

do they also require shorter case than normal to use the FTX bullet?
No, only because the bullets do not have to be crimped into the cannelure, they headspace on the mouth like 9mm, 45acp etc.
 

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
I am wanting to reload my 450 and requested a die set for Christmas. Your experience and some other folks having difficulty, has me a little on edge. If folks like jester896 have mentioned it then it's probably a concern. I did check some brass this morning and it certainly appears the starline is a bit thicker than the Hornady. Please let us know how you resolve his issue.... Good luck ?
Well like I said,when loaded my ammo I didn't have an issue.
My son's buddy loaded his ammo with my dies which were set up to load the 225gr ftx already and his turned out with more of a pronounced bulge.
If I had to guess it think it is a combo of him not being careful to align the bullet the best he could initially and he probably didn't have the case seated firmly to the back of the shell holder on some.
I never got the pronounced bulges like he has and I loaded some dummies up since without issue.
 

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
This is not uncommon for this cartridge. They will chamber and be safe to fire. They may not hit POA like the others though. You have to find out. My experience is they hit the same POA/POI.

Are you using an FTX/pointy bullet seater?
The dies came with 2 seaters, a flat one and a concave one. I am using the concave one.
 

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
This is not uncommon for this cartridge. They will chamber and be safe to fire. They may not hit POA like the others though. You have to find out. My experience is they hit the same POA/POI.

Are you using an FTX/pointy bullet seater?
The slight bulged one chamber but will not fal out of the chamber without a ta from a cleaning rod, ones that are more pronounced will not chamber.
Ones that look perfect "plunk" into the chamber and fall out when the rifles are turned upside down.
 

earlthegoat2

Senior Member
A Lee FCD may solve the issue as the collet tightens around the whole top of the cartridge case.

I’m not sure if the Lee FCD has the resizer ring or not but a 45 Colt FCD with the resizer may solve that problem.

What rifle are you using? Little bulges like that are fine in my Ruger American. I can see it being a problem in an AR.
 
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bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
A Lee FCD may solve the issue as the collet tightens around the whole top of the cartridge case.

I’m not sure if the Lee FCD has the resizer ring or not but a 45 Colt FCD with the resizer may solve that problem.

What rifle are you using? Little bulges like that are fine in my Ruger American. I can see it being a problem in an AR.
I have a Savage Wolverine and a Bear Creek upper. But my loads are fine.

The rifle that my Sons buddy has is a Bear Creek upper and some will not chamber. He loaded the rounds for his rifle but his procedure has them canted.
 

trial&error

Senior Member
I agree either case not fully seated in the holder or being rammed in crooked. I can't think of a good way to check concentric centering, other than rolling and eyeballing the tip.
 

rosewood

Senior Member
Could the bullets be oversized? A bad batch from Hornady?
 

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
Could the bullets be oversized? A bad batch from Hornady?
I did measure them and the bullets are as advertised.
The bulge is only to one side of the case. I have had pistol rounds where the outline of the bullet can be seen around the entire case evenly. These are canted to one side.
 
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