cast 38spec reloading question

[original]

hello.   my first time reloading cast.  i started with 20rounds and 5 do not fit in the revolver or were very tight.  several of the brass pieces i am pretty sure i put too much of a flare on them and i am pretty sure they are the same ones i am having problems with the fitting.  i figured when i crimped them they would be ok.   would putting too much of a flair cause the rest of the case to bellow out just a bit?   also how do i know when enough crimp is enough, too much or just right?  i thought i had it right the first time and the tip of the bullet did not fit so i slightly turned the die until the bullets slide in ok.  i am not going to fire the tight fitting ones.  thanks

[kshock]

Turn in your crimp die a little and recrimp. Then try the round in the gun to see if it fits. Keep doing that until the round drops into the cylinder easily and you are good to go.

[LaOtto222]

Over crimping will cause a slight bulge right below the crimp. I am not sure if you under crimped and still have a bit of flare or over crimped and have a bulge. Since the 38 Special does not recoil much, I would use a slight crimp, just enough to turn the mouth in a little, but no more. Make absolutely sure you are crimping in a groove, or you could also get a bulge, right below the crimp. You have to adjust your dies so that the bullet is seated slightly short of OAL just as the crimp starts to work. As the bullet comes to full seat, the crimp will be made at the same time. If you use a separate crimping die, then you seat the bullet to where you want it and then run it into the crimp die.

[wncchester]

For a .38 Spec. all you need do is "crimp" enough to remve the flare. And firing the "tight" ones is harmless.

[Steve P]

Turn in your crimp die a little and recrimp. Then try the round in the gun to see if it fits. Keep doing that until the round drops into the cylinder easily and you are good to go.

NO!  DONT DO THIS!!   If you are over crimping, you are bulging the base of your brass near the rim.  The brass will start to go into the cylinder and stop.  IF you crimp more, you will bulge more and the case becomes junk!

You should adjust your belling die so the base of the bullet just sits in the case opening without tipping off.  If you bell it beyond that, you are belling too much.  Cast bullet with gas check may tip off a couple of times before sitting there.  Plain base cast bullet should just start into case.

Here are a few paragraphs I wrote for another thread in this forum on how to adjust a 45LC seating die.  Most of the steps will be similar or same for the 38.  I hope this helps.


“I would screw the seating stem down into your seat/crimp die and slowly seat your .454 bullet until the crimp groove just aligns with the case mouth. (Your seat/crimp die will not be screwed tight into your press and you are starting to adjust it.)  You should have a bit of a bell in your case from the belling die so it could be hard to gauge the depth of the bullet.  Don't seat it too deep.  You will still be able to adjust it deeper in another couple of steps.

Once you get the bullet seated it is time to see what the die is going to do to your ammo.  Screw the seating stem all the way up.  We don't want it pushing on the bullet right now.  Set your die about half way into your press and bring the press handle down all the way.  You should feel your case go into the die, but should feel no other pressures.  Now, with press handle all the way down, screw the die down until you feel resistance.  This should be where the die is starting to taper down toward the crimp.  As the die is tapering down, the bell in your brass should start to dimenish.  Check your ammo to see if bell is still visible.  If it is, screw die in about 1/8th to 1/4 turn and pull handle all the way down again.  Keep adjusting die down 1/8th to 1/4 turn at a time until bell is gone and case mouth appears straight.  

Check alignment of the bullet.  You want the case mouth about even with top of crimp groove.  You should be able to feel crimp groove with fingernail, but should not see the whole thing.  The top .050" or so of your case is going to be rolled into that groove.  If bullet is not deep enough, now is the time to screw seating stem back down until it touches the bullet.  Screw it down 1/8th to 1/4th of a turn at a time until your bullet is seated as referenced above.  Once bullet is properly seated, screw seating stem back up so out of the way.”

“I have 44 Mag and 357 dies also.  They come with washers so you can set dies for 44 spec and 38s and use washers between die and press when loading 44 mag and 357.  This washer works perfect to put between your set crimp die and the press.  I always make a dummy round or use a previous reload to adjust my die the next time I load.  I get the 45LC seat/crimp die and the washer and screw into the press.  I grab the dummy round or reloaded round and put it in the press.  The washer keeps the crimp away from the round.  With press handle all the way down, all I have to do is screw the seating stem down until it touches the bullet and I am set for seating bullets.  When time to crimp again, screw seating stem all the way up and remove washer.  Die is already set to crimp from prior setting.”



Steve

[Sweetwater]

Well written, Steve!

[securitysix]

As has been stated, if you're over crimping, you can create a problem, and trying to crimp more will just exacerbate it.  That said, if you have already over crimped these rounds and still want to shoot them, go buy a Lee Factory Crimp die.  Adjust the die according to the directions, then run these potentially over crimped rounds through it.  It should fix your problem even if you've over crimped them.

When flaring cases, you don't need to flare to the point that the bullet slides way down into the case.  You want to flare just enough to allow the base of the bullet to start.  This means you'll have to flare a little bit more with lead bullets than jacketed bullets, but it shouldn't be much more.

[wncchester]

IF your problem is indeed excessive crimping (instead of under crimping and therefore leaving too much flair) you can easily "iron" out the bulge by removing the center parts of your sizer and running the loaded rounds about 1/4" or so into it.