Author Topic: lee sizer (Read 725 times)

Jim 44-40 · « **on:** February 27, 2005, 03:50:24 AM »

Found out the hard way,had a box of cast 180FN for my 33-30 Win.Cast them about 6 months ago they came out to .311 dia. Well I tried to run them though a lee sizer to .309 with gas check.Will not work,because the lead must of got a lot harder since a cast them.Had to use a rod to drive one out of the die. Guess I will size them right away next time. And only cast what I'll load up that day.

Leftoverdj · « **Reply #1 on:** February 27, 2005, 07:30:48 AM »

Jim, you can take those bullets back to as cast hardness by baking them at 425 degrees for an hour and turning the oven off. GC and size them soft. They'll harden back up again over about a week.

You might have some other issues, too. I have never seen a non heat treated bullet that would not take an .002 sizing in a Lee pushthrough no matter how old it was.

Kingfish · « **Reply #2 on:** February 27, 2005, 08:10:43 AM »

Like Leftoverdj said, that's odd. You are supposed to tumble a tiny bit of the Lee alox on them before you size. And if you are using a micro-groove barrel, they may like the .310 or .311 size better.

Bill

BCB · « **Reply #3 on:** February 27, 2005, 11:03:08 AM »

Jim 44-40,
The other advise is correct. I size .0285"+ bullets down to 0.278" (custom made) in the Lee Sizing Dies. I use a couple of juck 280642's (0.278") with Lee Alox on them to lube the inside of the 0.278" die. I then size a few 287346's (0.285") down to 0.278". When it gets difficult to push the oversize slugs through the 0.278" die, I push another lubed one through. I have tried just lubing the inside of the die, but it doesn't seem to work as well. Maybe some type of wax would also work. Good-luck...BCB

reallybigfoot · « **Reply #4 on:** February 27, 2005, 12:12:19 PM »

I had the same problem with a .323 sizer. I was using a very hard alloy. I found if I sized the bullet without the gas check and then ran it through again to put on the gas check, I had no problems. I only have problems if I try to put on the gas check and sized the bullet at the same time.

Jerry

ron haralson · « **Reply #5 on:** February 27, 2005, 12:24:37 PM »

I agree with Leftoverdj,you shouldn't be having trouble sizing .311 to.309. I commonly size from .314 to .311 with a lee sizer Maybe your die could be adjusted closer to the end of the stroke for better mechanical advantage. Also, at a pinch you can size your bullets without the gas check and run them through a second time to seat the gas check.

The other thing you might want to try is an alloy of 20 : 1 lead and tin. Hardening will not be an issue, and my .30 - 30 shoots better with it and at near full velocity.

Jim 44-40 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 28, 2005, 01:12:18 AM »

thanks guys, I sized them first then put gascheck on and run them in sizer again.All is good