If it's not feeling right

stop, sit back and go over all your steps. I was reloading .357's yesterday, and when I was seating the bullet, it didn't feel right, worse, I could tell the top of the case was pushed in.

I had done every right, put my seating die in, screwed it in until it touched the case holder hold and turned back 3 turns. Just like I do every time, then I start turning the seating screw at the top to push the bullet in the right deep. But it kept compressing the top of the case.

Sat back reread all instructions, reviewed my logs. And then it struck me, I was leaving the .357 washer in the seating die when I was turning out the 3 turns. Well those are .38spl instructions, and the washer adds the height for the .357. So I was only backing out .38spl height. Removed the washer, screwed it down to the case holder, backed out 3 turns, put the washer back on and Whoola it all worker.

So I wrote on my instructions in big red letters, don't setup the setting die with the washer on. I only post as a lesson in even if you've done this for a while, sometimes you make a mistake, but you can tell you're making one, even if you don't know what it is at the time.

ArchAngelCD, I was setting the seating depth with the washer on, so it was setting it for the 38spl. Normally I set the seating depth without the washer for the 38spl, then add the washer which accounts for the difference in length of the .357