What is it?

Unlike other dies, the EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE allows you to put the bullet through a convenient window in the side of the die instead of trying to fish the bullet up into a hanging sleeve past the case neck.

The EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE consists of four major parts: 1. A micrometer top that allows the die to be returned to a previously used seating depth and allows precise changes in seating depth. 2. The outer die body that screws into any reloading press with 7/8-14 threads. 3. A seating stem that is matched to the guide sleeve 4. An inner guide sleeve reamed for a specific combination of bullet diameter and neck diameter. Just like other straight line seating dies, this sleeve holds the bullet in perfect alignment with the case neck as the seating stem pushes it to the proper depth in the neck. EASY SEATER AND CUT-AWAY DIE. More pictures at the bottom of this page.

What are it’s advantages?

The EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE is fast. The bullet window is above the press frame and right up front. No more fumbling with tiny or delicate bullets under the press frame where you can’t see.

Unlike conventional seating dies and even other straight line seating dies, the EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE allows you to but the bullet through the side of the die instead of trying to balance the bullet on the case neck. The EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE reduces the chance of damaging the edges of the bullet base by bumping into the case neck, starting the bullet crooked or dropping the bullet on the floor.

Because the EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE does such a good job of holding the bullet straight with and centered over the case neck, it is no longer necessary to bell the case mouth when seating cast lead bullets. Just a good chamfer is all that is necessary. Your expensive cases will last a lot longer because the brass of the case neck will be worked less. Reloading goes faster and lead shaving is eliminated.

Who needs it?

The EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE is ideal for cast bullet shooters. Bullets are seated straight, without lead shaving and without case belling.

The EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE is great for varmint hunters and competitive shooters. Bullets are seated absolutely straight with the case neck and very quickly. It is the fastest way to load really accurate ammunition.

The micrometer top on the EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE is just what is needed for fine tuning cartridge overall length for best accuracy.

Shooters who reload for many different cartridges will find the EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE less expensive than buying a micrometer straight line die for each cartridge. One inner guide sleeve will work for all cartridges of any given bullet diameter. Additional calibers can be accommodated relatively inexpensively by just replacing the inner sleeve and seating stem.

The EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE allows long action cartridges like the 30-06 to be loaded in the ANYWHERE RELOADING PRESS which was designed for short action cartridges like the 308 Win. The EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE even allows the ANYWHERE PRESS to load the 45-100 with 535 grain Postell bullets

What are its limitations?

The EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE will not work with short cases.  Put an empty cartridge into the correct shell holder in the reloading press in which you intend to use the die.  raise the ram to the top of its stroke.  If the mouth of the case does not extend above the top of press frame by the bullet seating depth plus 3/8 of and inch for the die locking ring, then the die will not work in your press with that cartridge.  To work easily,  you must be able to set the die so that bottom of the window is above the lock ring.  The bottom end of the seating stem must be high enough to slide the bullet under.  In practical terms, cartridges shorter than the 22-250, 250-3000, 300 Savage are not going to work well in a Rock Chucker press.

The EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE has trouble adjusting to extremely long bullets in very short cases. In the 45-70, the 530 grain bullets can be seated to the back of the first driving band. Shorter cases such as the 45 LC can be accommodated but only with shorter bullets which is, if you will think about it, pretty reasonable, longer and shorter seating stems are available as a special order item.

How is it available?

The EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE is available for 458, .446, .416, .411, .408, .376, .338, .308, .284, .264, .257, .243, .224, .204, .172 bullets.

NEW! POWDER COMPRESSION STEM TURNS YOUR EASY SEATER INTO A MICROMETER POWDER COMPRESSION DIE  45, 40, and 38 cal.   $19.95 each.

Prices for the EASY SEATER STRAIGHTLINE SEATING DIE

Read a review of the EASY SEATER STRAIGHT LINE SEATING DIE that appered in Rifle Shooter Magazine HERE.

Customer Rick Mulhern sent a link to his Yahoo photo gallery.  He has some great pictures of his Easy Seater die at work in his Redding turret press.  He also has some good ideas on setting up a reloading/bullet casting room and a nice place to shoot. I kind of have a problem with his choice of rifles but I may just be prejudiced.

THANK YOU  for purchasing the EASY SEATER straight line seating die. You will find that this die is a little different than other seating dies you may have used.

1. Bullets are put into the die through a window in the side of the die rather than through the bottom.

2. The die is made to work with all cartridges of a particular bullet diameter rather than with a specific cartridge.

3. Because of the need to balance the height of the window opening with the length of the bullet and the length of the cartridge, the die set-up procedure is a little different than with other dies.

ADJUSTING THE DIE

To adjust the die for a cartridge that it has not been used before:

With the reloading press ram at the top of it’s stroke, screw the assembled die into the reloading press until the bottom of the die window is level with the top of the lock ring as the lock ring seats against the top of the press frame. Next, back the die out of the press some portion of one turn so that the window in the side of the die is pointed conveniently toward you. Lightly screw the lock ring against the top of the press to temporarily hold the die in place. Back the micrometer top out until the bottom end of the seating stem is slightly above the top of the die window. Lower the ram and put a charged case into the shell holder. Slip a bullet into the die window and hold it with your thumb. Begin to raise the press ram. As the case neck contacts the guide sleeve and the sleeve begins to rise, release the bullet, move your hand out of the way and continue to raise the press ram. With a little luck, the ram will reach the top of its stroke before the bullet touches the seating stem. Screw the micrometer top down until the seating stem just touches the bullet. Lower the press ram. If you know the seating depth you want, screw the micrometer top down that amount less a little for error. Replace the bullet in the window again if it has not balanced on top of the case neck. Now raise the ram again releasing the bullet as the sleeve begins to move. Continue raising the ram to the top of its stroke. The bullet will be seated into the case. Lower the ram and measure the cartridge’s overall length. Adjust the micrometer top to compensate for any error and seat a bullet in another charged case to check the new setting. Record the micrometer setting and the angle that the die body was backed off after touching the shell holder for future reference.

When seating long bullets into short cases you may encounter a problem if the seating stem must be screwed down so far that the bullet will no longer fit into the window under the seating stem. Under these circumstances, screw the die down into the press threads a few turns and screw the micrometer top up until a workable combination is found. One turn of the die body threads will require a 0.071 inch change in the micrometer top. Under extreme circumstances, a custom length seating stem can be ordered.

USING THE DIE

Be sure that the correct guide sleeve and seating stem for the bullet diameter that you are using is installed in the outer die body. The caliber is stamped on the front of the sleeve just below the window. Push the inner guide sleeve up with your finger until the numbers appear in the window. Put one of the bullets you intend to load through the die window. It should not be able to have any noticeable side to side movement and it should slide easily down through the die with little force. Adjust the die for the desired seating depth or over all cartridge length desired. See the instructions for “Adjusting the die” above.

Prepare a charged case following excepted safe reloading procedures. Consult a published reloading manual. If you have never handloaded ammunition, and even if you have, we recommend that you buy and read carefully one of the comprehensive books on handloading such as Metallic Cartridge Reloading, by M.L. McPherson (order at 970-564-0500) or one of the handloading manuals by Speer, Sierra, or Hornady. All of them contain detailed instructions for safely reloading accurate ammunition. Because of the design of the EASY SEATER die, you will probably find that it is not necessary to bell the mouth of the case. Expand the case and be sure that there is a uniform chamfer inside the case mouth and then continue with the loading procedure.

Slip a bullet into the die window and hold it with your thumb. Begin to raise the press ram. The case neck will contact a shoulder inside of the guide sleeve and the sleeve begin to rise. Release the bullet, move your thumb out of the way and continue to raise the press ram. The case mouth will contact the bullet base and raise the bullet until its nose contacts the seating stem. Continue to raise the ram seating the bullet into the case mouth. After the ram has reached the top of its stroke, lower the ram and the sleeve will follow the case back down.

CHANGING DIE INSERTS

To change the INNER GUIDE SLEEVE and SEATING STEM, screw the micrometer top counter clock wise until it can be removed from the die. Insert a small diameter rod through the hole near the top of the seating stem and use the rod as a wrench to loosen the rod from the micrometer top. Screw the rod out of the top and replace it with one of the correct caliber. Snug the new seating stem against the top.

Use a 3/32 hex wrench to loosen the socket set screw on the back of the die far enough that inner guide sleeve and spring can be pushed out the bottom of the die with a pencil or some such thing. These parts will probably just fall out once the set screw is loosened enough.

Clean all parts with a rust preventative bore cleaner or lubricant like Hoppies No. 9 or WD-40. A little molybdenum-disulfide grease or case lube spread in the die body bore and over the outside of the inner sleeve will help keep the die working smoothly.

Insert the inner guide sleeve for the new caliber into the die body so that the end that the window is closest to is up. Align the slot in the back of the guide sleeve under the socket set screw and carefully screw the set screw in so that the sleeve can slide up and down but can not turn or fall out. DO NOT TIGHTEN THE SET SCREW. GENTLY BOTTOM THE SET SCREW IN THE SLOT AND THEN BACK IT OUT 1/6 TURN. The sleeve must move up and down freely.

Drop the spring back into the die body on top of the guide sleeve and screw the micrometer top/seating stem assembly back into the top of the die body. Follow the instructions for “adjusting the die” above.

EASY SEATER PICTURE GALLERY