I loaded my ammo long so that I could seat to the proper depth shortly before using it. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, just what I did. This question is not about cold weld. This question is about one bullet that did not seat correctly. I could feel it in the press and stroked several times with no success. I tossed that one to the side and when I came back to it had to lower the stem to seat to proper depth. I could see where the stem had deformed the bullet, it had a pinched ring. Guys at the range said I shouldn't shoot it. Is it safe to shoot and more importantly, what caused the bullet not to seat like the others?

Multiple things can cause a tight seating bullet. Your sizing die, your seating stem, your brass, the bullet itself. If it’s a common occurrence, or every bullet you seat is so tight it’s deforming the nose, it’s worth chasing down the culprit. If it’s a one-off, I wouldn’t worry about it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong, or dangerous, about shooting a bullet with a seating ring/dent around the nose. Will it affect accuracy or bullet performance? I highly doubt it if we’re talking targets at 100-200 yds, but you won’t know until you shoot it. I would set it aside if it bothers you, and use it as a fouler.

Also, regarding lowering your seating stem. The COAL was longer when measured partly because of the nose material being pinched forward. If you don’t have a comparator to measure cartridge base to ogive, it’s worth picking one up. It’s possible that even though your COAL was longer, the actual ogive in relations to your lands could have been spot on to the rest of your loaded rounds.

If it felt off, respect your sense that something is off. Take it apart, analyze what is wrong, and make sure everything is correct.

Tossing a couple of components is cheaper than replacing body parts.

I’d pull it. What if you somehow overcharged the case and it’s compressed and that’s causing the bind?

Gary, that's common, but what's different from the other ammo that this one did this?

I couldn't say Chad. Just under the plastic tip the bullet was squeezed/pinched where the stem hits it. I'll pull it apart and inspect.

Pulled it, resized, tossed old bullet, verified charge weight, seated new bullet. No clue what caused that bullet to deform. I'm guessing a soft spot in the jacket but that could be way off. I have loaded and shot almost 400 rounds and this was the only time I've encountered this. At this point I'm just going to continue as is. If this issue becomes more common, I'll be back to pick the brains of the community.