LEE bullet sizer

[HGunner]

I bought a couple hundred Cast Performance 265 gr WFNGC bullets for my FA 454 to use for lighter loads.  I was disappointed to find that the most of them won't fully chamber.  I see that I can get a LEE .452 bullet sizer for about $5 more than it will cost me to send these bullets back.  Has anyone tried to resize commercially cast and lubed bullets like this?  Can I just load them after or will they need to be relubed?
Will it work with the gas check?


Thanks,  HGunner

[TNBilly]

Yes you generally can resize but, and it's also Lee's recommendation that bullets  always be lubed before sizing.  You don't state any actual sizes - bore size, size of the bullets now?  If indeed sizing is needed then were it me I would coat them (the bullets) with an Alox mix diluted out before sizing.  I use a mix of Alox and wax, and dilute it out 50/50 in a shaker setup on my own bullets.  Works really well BTW up to over 1200fps.

Ron

[HGunner]

These bullets are marketed as .452 and are already lubed and gas checked at Cast Performance.  I am shooting them in an FA 454.  Most of the 20 that I loaded come about 1 mm or so from fully chambering.  I noticed this with my first 10 test rounds and was very careful using new Starline brass for the second 10 and it was the same.  Basically, my question is:  Can I just run the rest of these gas checked bullets through a LEE .452 sizer and then load and shoot them or is it more complicated than that?


Unless anyone knows for sure then I'll probably call Cast Performance and Lee Precision tomorrow and see if they can help.


Thanks,  HGunner

[Graybeard]

If they are already .452" what is it you think you are going to accomplish by running them thru a Lee .452" sizer?

One trick I've used in the past that helped most of the time in such cases is to run just the exposed lead and the tiniest fraction of the mouth of the case into the sizer die with your loading die set.

That does to some extent negate the positive benefits of that exposed lead ahead of the case in keeping the round centered in the chamber but then with FA guns their tight tolerances don't need the help like most guns do.

I'd give it a try on a few rounds that don't fit and see if it fixes the problem before spending money on some other fix. FA guns are made to very tight tolerances and very often bullets with much full diameter lead exposed outside the case will fail to fully chamber.

[anachronism]

How clean are your revolver throats? Even a little fouling in a revolver throat can cause chambering problems. If you have .452 throats, and .452 bullets, there's no  room for fouling from previous shooting.  Back in Elmer Keiths day, Lyman reduced the diameter of the front driving band of his bullet designs to facilitate reloading dirty chambers. This is one of the things that really upset Elmer, who rather enthusiastically let them know what he thought. Another possibility is that you over flared your cases, and that your crimp die wasn't able to remove all of the flare. This would show up as a slight bulge in the case, just below the crimp.

[HGunner]

Graybeard,
The only sizer in my die set has a primer punch built in. I don't think I can follow your suggestion. I may have misunderstood.

Anachronism,
I'm assuming the bullets are oversize because I load .452 Montana Bullet Works 300 gr SWCGC and Cast Performance 335 gr WLNGC with the same components and dies and have zero chambering problems. I clean the chambers with solvent and brush every time I shoot.

Thanks,  HGunner

[Graybeard]

Ya gotta pull the depriming stem out if your sizer also deprimes. Not all do but pulling it to see if it fixes the problem then reinstalling is not a biggie. If it fixes your problem a cheap sizer die is all you'll ever need to do the job.

I've done it this way lots of times. I even did it to a bunch of ammo I had loaded with the Lyman 358429 Keith bullet made with linotype that I had apparently not sized down far enough. They bulged the cases enough they wouldn't feed. I just pulled the deprime stem and sized down far enough for them to fit.

I still have a few hundred of those linotype Keith bullets laying around. They haven't been sized or lubed yet but one of these days I'll get around to it and load them. I think I was using a .358" sizer back then and suspect if so a .357" would do the job properly the first time. These days I think I have both sizes.

Lots of ways to skin a cat.

[paul105]

Hgunner,

You said the 265 WFNGCs are for "lighter loads".  Why not just seat the bullet deeper.  You can crimp (taper or light roll) above the crimp grove -- just make sure the flare is removed.  Neck tension should hold the bullet in place with the lighter loads, and the front of the bullet will be well below the cylinder face (no crimp jump problems).

Paul

[HGunner]

Good idea Paul.  I think that'll work.  I previously talked to a Hodgdon tech about Trail Boss and the 454.  He said it is safe to load to the back of the bullet with NO compression.  I'll just figure out what charge that is with the new seating depth.  I'll burn these up in offhand practice and won't buy anymore.


Thanks!  HGunner