Author Topic: Shaving sides off of bullets.... (Read 559 times)

huntswithdogs · « **on:** April 20, 2006, 03:13:48 AM »

I loaded my first cast bullets the other nite and kept having shavings of lead at the ends of the shell after pushing the bullet in. I cleaned /scraped it off prior to crimping. It kinda bothered me some. I don't know if I should have belled the ends of my cases more or what. I'm loading 45LC using Lee carbide dies.

Any info ,critisism ,advice ,etc would be greatly appreciated.

Oh yeah, I've been reloading for about 20 years but have always used jacketed bullets for rifles and shortguns.

Thanks

HWD

Sixgun · « **Reply #1 on:** April 20, 2006, 04:07:27 AM »

You need to bell your cases a little more. This may shorten case life a little but at least your shots will be accurate. You may need to take more care when placing the bullets in the case, before you seat them. Make sure they are straight in before you seat them.

Another thing to check is your case length. If the cases are different lengths, the bell will not be the same on all of them. Short cases may not get any bell at all. That is why some bullets go in just fine and some shave lead.

Sixgun

huntswithdogs · « **Reply #2 on:** April 20, 2006, 07:32:51 AM »

Hey Sixgun,
Thanks for the reply! These cases are all the same length. The bullets were made with bevel base on them ,but I probably didn't get them started in exactly straight. I reckon all those years with a set of Hornady Dies has spoiled me. I'll pay real close attention when I start on these next ones. Luckily these were just some of those "hey lets try this!" loads and not something that I was really serious about. I wasn't expecting a lot from them but ya never know....

Thanks again

HWD

Nobade · « **Reply #3 on:** April 22, 2006, 02:49:49 AM »

Another thing is most dies size the cases too much. You can either do what I do and not size the cases (I do check to make sure they're a slip fit in the chambers though) or make a bigger expander ball for the belling die. Of course if you're shooting stout loads in a revolver you need some neck tension to keep from pulling the bullets out of the cases under recoil. But in stuff with light recoil I hardly ever size straightwall cases.

stuffit · « **Reply #4 on:** April 22, 2006, 05:20:43 PM »

The guys are giving you good information. Reloaders have gotten satisfactory flaring/belling of the case neck with a number of different type dies. The one I used to prefer was the Lyman "M" die (a two step die) but if you intend to start using cast with some degree or regularity the Lee Universal Neck Expander Die is a really fine tool for this procedure. Actually it's a flaring/belling tool and does not expand the rest of the neck but, properly adjusted, it will eliminate the shaving problem you're experiencing. It can be adjusted to use with almost all calibers. Here's a picture of it showing its component parts.

:wink:
stuffit

Chuck White · « **Reply #5 on:** April 23, 2006, 12:54:50 AM »

HWD
Another thing, often overlooked could be causing you to shave your bullets!

That is, the case mouth hits the crimping ring "a little" to soon!
If this happens, you'll have little rings jammed up inside of your seating/crimping die!
Adjust your seating die so that the edge of the case mouth is just barely to the crimping groove before it starts to crimp the case!