Another way of thinking about what that bulge at the base of a seated bullet may indicate goes like this. When I load a cast lead bullet into a case having both a nice thick case wall and a case wall that's very close to being equally thick all the way around I observe a bulge in the case down by the bullet base that is pretty much the same all the way around. So what does this more or less equal 360° bulge mean?
• That the bullet is equally crooked all the way around?
• Better yet, is it even possible for a bullet to be equally crooked all the way around?
If crooked means the bullet is pointed in a different direction than the case - I don't think so. All a 360° bulge means (to me, at least) is the case wall has nearly the same thickness all the way around. And I look for that bulge - no matter how complete - on all my handloads. it's a positive indication that the case has been stretched by the bullet and (because of that stretch) has a good grip on the bullet. If I don't see a bulge it means the case was not stretched sufficiently to have a good grip on the bullet. And because I don't like reloads with poorly held bullets, no bulge is a sign something is wrong.
As previously mentioned, I've inadvertently attempted to seat a bullet crookedly a few times but never succeeded. All I got was a crumpled case mouth. I'm almost certain that once a bullet starts into the case mouth (without being caught on it) the bullet cannot help but get seated straight. This, of course, assumes the bullet seating plug is a good match for the bullet (and I'm not so sure that's even necessary).
Regards
When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind. [Lord Kelvin]
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