Is this too much bell?

[Big_Red]

Over the weekend I put my Dillon 550b together and today I started playing with the dies. I think that for the most part all the dies are set correctly but I am not sure about the powder die as far as case belling is concerned. Please take a look at the attached photo and tell me if either one of the two casings sport an acceptable bell. Both passed the gage test once the bullet was set and everything crimped.

Thanks!

 

[Jose]

That's too much. So much cold working will lead to case splits at the mouth. You only need enough so that you don't shave metal off your bullets when you seat them.

 

[Lugnut]

Yep- too much. I use plated with is easier to shave off than most FMJ and I do a lot less than that. Here's what I do.. bell just enough so the bullet can just sit inside the case. It doesn't need to go in much at all.

 

[Cuda444]

+1 on too much. Bell it just enough that you can place a bullet on top without fiddling with it for more than a second. The bullet doesn't have to be perfectly square when you set it on, the die will straighten it out when you work the press.

 

[Manomet]

Yes to all of the above, if you can see it then it's probably to much, you just want to be able to set the bullet in like c444 says.

 

[Big_Red]

OK, thanks.

 

[Gammon]

Over the weekend I put my Dillon 550b together and today I started playing with the dies. I think that for the most part all the dies are set correctly but I am not sure about the powder die as far as case belling is concerned. Please take a look at the attached photo and tell me if either one of the two casings sport an acceptable bell. Both passed the gage test once the bullet was set and everything crimped.

Thanks!

View attachment 3737

I think that this belling is not excessive. The real question is what kind of bullet are you using, flat base or tapered? Flat based bullets need this amount of belling, tapered base bullets can get away with less. I prefer a little more belling than most as a lot of my reloading is done with flat based lead bullets. I know that the more the belling the greater the wear and tear on the case mouth, but I prefer the ease of seating with the more fully belled cases and have never noticed much premature case mouth wear. I would continue to use the setting that yielded the cases in the picture until splitting became a problem (which I do not anticipate).

 

[Big_Red]

I think that this belling is not excessive. The real question is what kind of bullet are you using, flat base or tapered? Flat based bullets need this amount of belling, tapered base bullets can get away with less. I prefer a little more belling than most as a lot of my reloading is done with flat based lead bullets. I know that the more the belling the greater the wear and tear on the case mouth, but I prefer the ease of seating with the more fully belled cases and have never noticed much premature case mouth wear. I would continue to use the setting that yielded the cases in the picture until splitting became a problem (which I do not anticipate).

I am using flat base 230 grain bullets. I have readjusted my die so there is less belling now although still visible. I have never reloaded before so this will be somewhat of a trial and error until I come up with a setting that I am comfortable with. I would like to avoid splitting so I will go with less bell for now.

 

[Patriot]

The one on the left is too much. The one on the right is just a tad more than I would do.

 

[ochmude]

I bell just enough so I can feel the bell but barely see it unless I look very closely.

 

[Bob's Gun & Archery Shop]

rule of thumb is only give as much is needed, you will experment with your set up and find what works for you and the bullet you are using. I would say that bell flare is way more than is needed.

 

[Big_Red]

Thanks everyone.