450Bushmaster.net

gmstack, I find that if I do have a tough time seating a bullet, back off, spin the case, try again, if not, back off and spin again. It will usually go after a couple spins. Don't use a lot of force, that could put the bullet out of alignment, or worse, crush the case. I did use the expander die as a last resort when I first started reloading for the 450B, I haven't used it in a long time.

Slight expansion of the case mouth helps with bullet seating. It's designed to work that way. You'll wrinkle brass w/o expanding the case mouths. You don't have to make them look like a powder funnel, just a slight amount works wonders, since the brass is thinner at the open end and prone to bulging. I messed up enough of them to know how much it helps.

I have never had to use an expander die to seat either the 225 or 250 FTX type bullets. As Hoot commented on a thread about the best dies for the 450:

"That having been said. I use the Hornady dies in other calibers as well and they are my 450b set. IMHO, as long as you chamfer the mouths, the Hornady seating die makes them easy to start bullets without having to use the expander, which I don't like doing. So, my money's on Hornady. IMHO: Here's why:

Brass, like many other metals has a degree of springback. We know that the 450b needs all the neck tension it can get. If you seat the bullets into an unexpanded case, it springs back in the direction it came from. IE towards the bullet = good. Applying the taper crimp reinforces that inclination.

If you expand the case and then seat the bullet, the case stays expanded until you force it back towards the bullet using the taper crimp die. Once that die is removed the brass wants to spring back in the direction it came from, IE away from the bullet, albeit a very small amount = less good. If you're using a stab/side crimp, it won't matter."