.475 report and a question

[ck]

Well I  tried out my new used .475 last weekend with a few different loads.This was my third time out shooting working up to more of a midrange type of load using hs-6 and a starting load of H110.Bullets used were the 400gr Lee which technically does not fit the FA cyl. 375 gas checked and a few 435 plain base bullets that Mr. 475/480 was kind enough to make me. In short I think this gun really likes the 375's,15.8 gr of Hs-6 and 26.5 gr of H110 were making nice one holers.The not so good news is that every load I tried was jumping crimp about .030" by the last round,if it was a 6 shot some of the longer bullets would have locked up the cylinder.


My question is has anybody tried to partially size a revolver case? The Hs-6 loads were so clean I could have wiped the on my shirt and resized them on the spot. The H110 loads like any other cartridge I have loaded it in comes out stained and never seems to come clean after tumbling. Im thinking if I could size enough to hold the bullet the case would seal against the chamber and help seal off the gas,this may also help in accuracy and case life.


What do you guys think?

CK

[Ken ONeill]

I am a firm believer in full length resizing any and all revolver cases, to assure ease of loading in any chamber of a cylinder. Bullet creep can be overcome by proper roll crimping of the case, and such heavy crimping is absolutely required with heavy loads using heavy bullets. The instructions included with the reloading dies give directions on how to roll crimp. If the 5th or 6th bullets creep, crimp 'em some more!
Most .475 die sets will have a separate 4th die to be used for crimping.

[WL44]

I resize my .357 cases for my FA to just a bit below the seating depth of the bullet. It works great. Is it better than full length? Can't say, never did full length size them. I recall Seyfried recommended it in an article entitled The Minute of Angle Revolver. He seemed to think that it was the common thread to all those shooting really accurate revolver loads. (Going from memory here). The idea is that the slightly expanded case helps to center the cartridge so that it isn't lying in the bottom of the cylinder and accordingly enters the forcing cone more "centered" too. Probably less of an issue with a FA.

That said I too just got a .475 and Saturday was the first outing. I sized in a similar fashion and had 3 rounds from about 45 or so that wouldn't seat in the chamber (brass was fired and came with the gun). I've not been able to check whether this was because of bullet size, bad crimp or the case being too expanded at the rear.

I think it depends on your brass and your chamber size and consistency, I do recall that my SBH is less foregiving as one of the cylinders seems a touch larger than the others. If you don't want to be needing to push the occassional round home to seat fully then yes, as Ken says, you need to size 'em right down.

I like the Redding Profile Crimp dies, but don't have one for my 475 yet.

[Lloyd Smale]

what brand of dies are you using? i allways full lenght size. My first 500 linebaugh dies were c&h and they didnt full lenght size and after a few fireings brass got tough to chamber. Keep in mind the linebaughs recoil alot more then say a 44 mag and need a good heavy crimp and case neck tension to hold the bullet. They also need a bullet with a good deap crimp grove. Ive got a few like the rcbs and lee that are great bullets but the crimp grove is just not deap enough and its tough to keep them from jumping. You shouldnt be having that problem even with them if your crimp properly using the load levels that hs6 allows.

[ck]

what brand of dies are you using? i allways full lenght size. My first 500 linebaugh dies were c&h and they didnt full lenght size and after a few fireings brass got tough to chamber. Keep in mind the linebaughs recoil alot more then say a 44 mag and need a good heavy crimp and case neck tension to hold the bullet. They also need a bullet with a good deap crimp grove. Ive got a few like the rcbs and lee that are great bullets but the crimp grove is just not deap enough and its tough to keep them from jumping. You shouldnt be having that problem even with them if your crimp properly using the load levels that hs6 allows.

Im using Hornady dies.I like them, I think they are a cut above RCBS dies.I'll just have to crank the crimper down a bit more down and see what happens.

[WL44]

Not necessary, but I like the Redding Profile Crimp and intend to pick one up for mine when I have the chance.

[Lloyd Smale]

I went from the c&h to hornadys and i like there sizer but didnt like the bullet seating die (kept breaking that floating nose punch and didnt like there crimp die its a combination roll and taper crimp die and just doesnt give good case tension on bullets.. i bought a set of lees when they first started making them and there the best ive found. Buy the 4 die set with the factory crimp die. Best 30 bucks youll spend.

[WL44]

Lloyd,

Thanks for that. I got a set of RCBS with the gun, but they are steel, so a set of Lee carbides is a thought. THe Redding profile crimp will run me about $29 anyway, so for the same price....

Are you happy that the factory crimp die is not swaging your bullets smaller in the 475?

Thanks.

CK, sorry to highjack this...

WL

[Lloyd Smale]

I dont think its hurt me a bit. My 475 is probably the most accurate revolver ive ever owned.

[WL44]

Lloyd sir, I'm not finding the Lee Deluxe 4 die set in 475 on either the Lee site, or at a supplier I would use. I see it in other calibers though. Do I need to buy it in 2 parts - a 3 die set and the factory crimp die? Or is it just not listed where I'm looking?

Thanks.

And thanks for the head up on the factory crimp.

WL

[Gun 4 Fun]

For what it's worth to anyone buying .475 dies- I bought the Hornady's [I prefer RCBS] and I'm impressed. They come with a seating/roll crimp die, and also a taper crimp die. The taper crimp is handy for those who like to use rainier plated bullets that don't have a crimp groove.
I load 28.5 gr. of Lil'Gun behind a CPBC 370 LFN-PB, which is right up there at the top, and never had one jump crimp. The Hornady's do a good job, and they seem to have the expander ball sized right to create a good bullet pull, and combined with the roll crimp the bullets stay put.

[Lloyd Smale]

i bought mine as a 4 die set if im not mistaken

Lloyd sir, I'm not finding the Lee Deluxe 4 die set in 475 on either the Lee site, or at a supplier I would use. I see it in other calibers though. Do I need to buy it in 2 parts - a 3 die set and the factory crimp die? Or is it just not listed where I'm looking?

Thanks.

And thanks for the head up on the factory crimp.

WL

[Boxhead]

Sorry for the OT question.

Lloyd, what dies do you use for the 500 L?

[Lloyd Smale]

hornadys. I had a set of c&h initialy but they were junk. I sitll use the c&h seating die as i dont care for that sleave with the hornady dies. Guess i never really gave it a chance with the 500 but broke so many of them with the 475 set that i didnt think it was worth farting with.

[Golfswithwolves]

Your bullets may be too small in diameter for the inside neck size

[CT Dolan]

Hornady dies are the best for these calibers.  I had a set of RCBS for my 475, but bought a set of Hornady for my 500 (on the advice of John Linebaugh).  Also, as I recall Hornady pistol dies uses a different type of crimp that really holds, which helps prevent bullet pull (and also makes for a more consistent load).

I would always recommend a full length re-size for any hunting loads.  Freedom Arms cuts tight chambers, and a full length re-size is important to guarantee the round will chamber with ease.  Shooting for accuracy (target work) is something different altogether, and in this case one could get by with (and take advantage of) a partial re-size, but in the hunting fields the risk of having a problem is too great.  I experienced this with my FA 475, and had about 200 loads ready to go, with about 1/4-1/3 of them not wanting to chamber as they should.  In the end, only a few could not be used, but when hunting you want (and sometimes need!) 100% reliability.