Can Diameter Be Too Large?

[Djones]

I have a LEE TL358-158SWC two cavity mold.
81393

It is throwing a beauty at 0.360" diameter. I plan to shoot these unsized through my 35 Remington. I would also like to shoot these boolits through my 357 and 38 special but I dont have any way to size them currently.

Am I crazy to think that I can shoot these through a 357 or 38 unsized?

I have read a lot of information on casting and everyone says to size the boolit 0.001-0.002" over groove diameter. I have read that you can have boolits too small but I never read about boolits being too big.

Thank you all for the wealth and collection of knowledge!

David Jones

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

the question is, can you load them and have them chamber without sizing ?

with the 357 [I assume revolver], have you slugged the throats ? and the bore ?
Good Luck,
Jon

[Larry Gibson]

Depending on the load the case expands, assuming they chamber, away from the over size bullet before it is sized down in the throat. That leads to gas cutting and the lube blown/burned off. That then leads to leading. Lots of variables but it's not just undersized bullets that cause leading. Ilike to not go over .001 of throat diameter and prefer right at throat diameter.

Try 3 - 4 gr Bullseye under that .360 bullet in the 35 Rem. Mine loves 3 gr with the same bullet but it's a 26" boltgun.

Larry Gibson

[Djones]

Thankd for the help Jon and Larry. I know I need to slug my bore(s). I was wondering what is the worst that could happen leading, pressure or poor accuracy? I have some pure lead and I could probably buy some chamber casting alloy if the pure lead doesn't work.

Thanks for the bullseye load advice. I have 4 lb of 700x for my 12 gauge trap/skeet gun. I will probably try it out first in my sweet 336. I love shooting my 35 rem!

[williamwaco]

That diameter is normal for that mold. I own three of them.

The diameter of the bullet in relation to the bore is not the problem.
Shooting a .360 bullet through a .357 bore is not a problem.

The problem comes when the extra size bullet expands the diameter of the mouth of the case so much that it will not enter the chamber. Or, it may enter the chamber but not be able to expand enough to release the bullet easily when the charge is fired.

That said:

You will not be happy shooting them unsized in your .38/.357.

In my experience, you will find that around ten to twenty percent of the loaded rounds will not enter the chambers of your revolvers.

I have no experience with using them in the .35 Remington.

[Shiloh]

Do they fit in the chamber ??

[Djones]

I will load some and see how freely they slide into my two 357 revolvers. It sounds like I need to invest in a bullet sizer.

Thank you all for the input.

David

[imashooter2]

My experience with the Lee micro band designs is that there is so little bearing surface on the rounded bands that they size down a few thousandths going into the brass.

[Djones]

My experience with the Lee micro band designs is that there is so little bearing surface on the rounded bands that they size down a few thousandths going into the brass.

I could test that theory by loading some boolits. Pull them and measure the diameter.

[mpmarty]

+1 on the above post

[imashooter2]

I could test that theory by loading some boolits. Pull them and measure the diameter.

Well, it was my experience, not a theory... But you are welcome to see for yourself. :)

[leadman]

If you have some brass fired in your guns see if the boolit will go in the mouth without difficulty. This should tell you if the loaded round will go in your chambers and release the boolit safely.
If you are using a hard alloy the addition of some of your pure lead will soften it and may reduce the diameter somewhat. That said a Lee push thru die runs around $20 and is a good investment for you.

[GP100man]

Like Imashooter said , they size down in the brass .

Seat 1 in a case then pull it & measure .

[303Guy]

How do they fit in unsized cases? If tight to firm then they're too big to chamber. If they slip to rattle in they're fine as they are. Fast powders bump up soft lead in the necks anyway.

[Djones]

Well, it was my experience, not a theory... But you are welcome to see for yourself. :)

I agree. I should have said...good idea, I will try that.

My boolits won't fit inside fired cases. I will buy a lee push through 0.358" sizer. Thanks all for the help. I don't have to worry about too big a boolit leading, over pressure etc if the darn thing won't chamber!

[DLCTEX]

+1 on 3 gr. Bullseye. Great load!

[Djones]

I tried dropping pure lead boolits (0.359") and my harder alloy boolits (0.360") into my revolvers chambers. Neither would fall through with just the tip poking out ask Mike Venturino suggests. So I think I need to try a 0.358" sizer for my revolver.

[mdi]

Go ahead and get a sizer kit. If you don't really need one for this bullet, in the future you may need one for another bullet. Besides, a caster can't have just one mold, now can he! :Luvcastboolits:

[williamwaco]

I could test that theory by loading some boolits. Pull them and measure the diameter.

Actually,

You should do this with every bullet, for every handgun cartridge you load.

(No, I don't either.:sad: But I should.)