Help w/ 41 mag

[ridgerunner]

I am new to reloading straight walled cases.  I have a 41 mag.  I just pruchased some components for reloading and am having some trouble.  I loaded new brass.  I did not resize it.  Then I loaded some 215 swc into it over 8gr of unique.  Ok here is the problem.  They seem to be very tight and some won't even let me cock the hammer.  I made sure they were the correct oal.  I have reloaded some once fired cases with some sierra and speer bullets have not had any trouble.  I need to know what I should be looking at, so I can correct the problem.  

Thanks

Ridgerunner

[John Traveler]

Ridgerunner,

Your description indicates that the cartridges do not seat fully into the revolver chambers.  This is usually caused by bulged cases or improperly crimped bullets

1.  The bullet base may have bulged the case, causing your chambering problem.  Check that all rounds drop freely into and out of the chember when loading/unloading. They should not require force to chamber.

2.  If the case mouth is crimped too hard into the lead bullet, or if the crimp is not aligned with the "crimping groove" the case can bulge at that point, and prevent easy chambering.  Sometimes the maximum LOA is exceeded when using the crimping groove.  If that happens on lead bullets, you miss the crimping groove and bulge the cartridge case.  Crimping on jacketed bullets is easier because a "cannelure" is provided to give correct LOA.

3.  Finally, your description of not being able to cock the hammer may be due to either bulged cases or protruding primers.  Make sure that all primers are seated firmly to the bottom of the primer pockets.  A protruding primer can cause your revolver to "chain fire" with REALLY bad results!

HTH
John

[ridgerunner]

Hi John,

I did notice that I can see the bottom of the bullet when it is in the case.  Just a ring around where it stops.  These are cast swc and have a groove in them just below the ring that goes around it.  The base is tapered.  

I will go check them with a mic.  I believe that bulging case is the problem.  Ok, now how do I unload them and do I have to crimp the cast bullets if I am just loading them light for plinking.  That is what I bought them for.  This cast bullet stuff and revolver rounds is all new to me.

Thanks for your help

Ridgerunner
Bruce

[John Traveler]

Ridgerunner,

I've sucessfully "ironed out" bullet base case bulges by running the loaded round PARTIALLY into a full-length resizing die.  Remove the decapper stem if present, of course.

That partial sizing is usually enough to make the cartridge easy to chamber.  For plinking quality ammo, you should notice no difference in accuracy.

I forgot to mention:  you definitely need to flare or expand your case mouths before seating lead bullets.  The lead tends to shave off if the bullet is not properly aligned during seating, and that too can cause case bulges.

HTH
John

[ridgerunner]

I will go give that a try.  What about crimping, do I need to do it for plinking rounds?

Thanks

Ridgerunner

[ridgerunner]

Ok, I just went and did some more micing of the bullets and brass I have been using.

Cast Bullet .412
Sierra Bullet .410
Speer Bullet .410
Loaded brass with Cast .433
Loaded brass with Sierra or speer .431

So the differnce is in the bullet.  Is there a solution to this problem or do I need to find another cast bullet that is smaller?

Ridgerunner

[John Traveler]

Okay,

That 0.002" larger lead bullet certainly CAN make for chambering difficulty, especially if your cylinder chambers are on the small side.

Add the fact that R-P brass is usually heavier than other brands, and VOILA!  Noticeably bulged cases that are hard to chamber.

However, commercial cast bullets are commonly larger than jacketed by a couple of thousandths.

I would try another brand of cast slugs or share some with a friend's gun to see if he has the same problem.

John

[Dand]

I'm a long time 41 shooter.  I have a couple suggestions.

1.  I always size new brass and trim it to get uniform case length and square case mouths.  Often new brass may be slightly out of round and the case mouths may be a little ragged.  Aslo its a good thing to check every case every time.  Just because its new doesn't mean its perfect and ready to load.

2. Squared casemouths and uniform lengths help assure your crimp is landing in the same place on each bullet.  OAL might not mean much if some of your crimps are catching the bullet above or below the crimp groove - and could end up bulging the cases a little. And performance would be a bit erratic.

3.  I have 1 S&W, 2 Rugers in 41 Mag.  All allow some flexibility in OAL so seat the bullets so the case mouth lines up with the crimp groove to get a consistent good, non bulging crimp.  If I recall, the Redhawk and the SW 57 will allow a longer overall case length than my Bisley - but all allow a longer than factory spec round.  If I recall the Freedom and or Taurus may be less flexible in this regard.

Have you looked at the rounds that were sticking?  Is there scuffing on the primer or case base?  On the bullet tip?  Have you tried to rotate the cylinder and watch where the hang-up is occurring?

Good luck I sure enjoy my 41s.

That should be a nice performing load if you can get your rounds to chamber easily - which shouldn't be much of a problem.

You want a pretty tight fit of brass over bullet with a 41 mag to make sure you get good performance of the high end loads - unless your bullets are way over size or your sizer too small, seeing the bullet outline in the brass a little  should be ok.

[Badnews Bob]

I had the same problem with my .357 rugers when I first started reloading, turns out my problem was not full legnth resizing the cases. I would on run them far enuff into the die to punch out the primer, running them all the way in fixed the problem. I've also had a few primers not seated fully and it will jam a revolver up tight if you do that then try and rip off some rounds quick.