Re-sizing cast Boolits?

[d1nk3r_9mm]

Hello,

This may be a stupid question, but im going to ask it anyway. I reload for 9mm, and a while back i ordered ~1,000 125gn LRN, sized to .356, they load and shoot great in all of my current guns. But i just got a kahr cw9 and when i slugged it, it comes in at .356, so knowing i need .001 larger to properly seal the bore and cut down the leading, can i get a lee sizer in .357 and "re-size" a few hundred of the .356s? or is that possible?

can i "re-size" a .356 to a .357? I just wanted to ask before i went thru the trouble of ordering more boolits?

thanks

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

That's called "bumping" or Bumping up a boolit.
BUT,since you bought these, they are probably hard cast, which means they'd be too hard to bump up...probably...maybe? IDK, you can always try.
good Luck,
Jon

[d1nk3r_9mm]

yeah there around 18, i have 2 lee molds, the 124gn tc and the 125gn rn, but there both .356 too... i may have to invest in a mold in .357

[Airman Basic]

That's called "bumping" or Bumping up a boolit.
BUT,since you bought these, they are probably hard cast, which means they'd be too hard to bump up...probably...maybe? IDK, you can always try.
good Luck,
Jon
Okay, I'll bite. How the heck does that work?

[bedbugbilly]

I know this may be a stupid question but have your tried any of what you have out of the Kahr yet? Or are you just assuming they will be inaccurate based on your barrel slugging?

[polara426sh]

Have you mic'd any of the boolits that you have cast? There's a good chance that they'll drop bigger than .356.

[btroj]

Bumping up is a mood where you use a die SPF the size you want and a close fitting punch to essentially squish the bullet into a larger zone or different shape.

A Lee push thru won't work as it only touches one end of the bullet, you would need some sort of a formed nose punch to bump up the diameter.

I would try what you have but most likely you are looking at needing larger diameter bullets.

[DRNurse1]

I searched "Bumping" on our site. You folks are great about sharing your advanced knowledge on all subjects casting, lubing, sizing, and swaging and I thank you for this.

I have heard of/ seen swaged boolits but do not need to add that step for competitive pistol shooting (yet). I read Felix's bench-rest information with great interest then was distracted by his NHRA entry. From my limited exposure to swaging, I agree this is the best way to reach the consistent result we strive for but most of us do not have the tools to make a swaging die, the additional time needed to process swaged boolits, nor the capital to buy the needed equipment.

I also tried to 'resize' some 0.356 boolits to 0.358 in my Star with very inconsistent results, but I did not prelube nor add downstream resistance to the process, both which could increase the consistency of my results.

Then I 'inadvertently beagled'* my mold and cast a bunch of oversized boolits which sized down to the perfect boolit with great consistency and accuracy, then I cleaned the lead off the mold and lost that boolit.

It sounds like the best results (as in most consistent) are achieved in swaging style presse as a separate operation, followed by 'softer' boolits in a push through type press with something to provide additional resistance (squeeze?) on a pre-lubed boolit, followed by my type attempts to bump and lube simultaneously without the benefit of additional resistance in the boolit path.

But the most reasonable course for most of us would be obtaining the right mould and lubrisizer die in the first place, IMHO.

Thank you for the great education and if you want to find out how this DA (not 'double action') 'inadvertently beagled' his Mihec mold, it is in the mould thread under "Cleaning Al Mold.'

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Okay, I'll bite. How the heck does that work?
There are a few different ways to bump a boolit...as others have stated, some ways require some specialized equipment, but if a guy is clever, there are ways to do it without such special equipment. Lots to read on this subject, and while it isn't necessarily for a newbie, the OP asked the question so I offered an answer, or at least a 'keyword' to start his search for 'thee' answer for him.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?218511-Thinking-some-more&highlight=Bumping

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?137185-Bumping-undersize-boolits

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?8538-BUMPING-UP-Bullet-Size

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?23908-Bumping-up-little-boolits-to-bigger-boolits

http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/HowTo/Bumping%20up%20a%20bullet.pdf

http://www.lasc.us/Brennan_4-1_BulletSizingBumping.htm

[mdi]

Bumping up is a mood where you use a die SPF the size you want and a close fitting punch to essentially squish the bullet into a larger zone or different shape.

A Lee push thru won't work as it only touches one end of the bullet, you would need some sort of a formed nose punch to bump up the diameter.
I would try what you have but most likely you are looking at needing larger diameter bullets.

I have a rifle in .44 Magnum with a groove diameter of .432" which is kinda large since my sizers run around .432". My thoughts were to pour epoxy into a coated Lee sizer die and push a bullet into the epoxy to form a custom "nose punch". I pushed the nose punch out (the die was coated with a release agent) and I opened the die up to .433"+ and would have used my nose punch to hold a .432 bullet while I applied pressure to the base, bumping the bullet up to .433". Great idea, but got side tracked and found a mold that worked fine (Ranch Dog .432" that dropped .433" bullets with my alloy).

[Char-Gar]

No, it is not possible to resize bullets to a larger size.

Yes, it is possible to bump a smaller bullet up to a larger size.

No, it is not worth the effort.

Yes, you need to buy or cast larger bullets.

[fredj338]

Are you guessing the finished size or have you actually measured the dia? I doubt your mold is throwing exact sizes most do not. You may already be casting 0.357" bullets?? Final size is a product of the mold, alloy & temp you cast.

[NSP64]

all above is correct.

I have bumped up .450 rn cast boolits to .458 to use in a contender 45-70 pistol.

I used a 44 mag seating die and rammed the boolets into them with my push through die ram.
I adjusted the seating plug down, and the die up in my press so at bottom stroke it was repeatable.
Shot good using wdww.

for my 9mm I cast the Lee .358 RNFP (38/357 mold casts .360) size/lube them .360. 1-9mm is .356 and 1 is .359

[d1nk3r_9mm]

the boolits in question where sized to .356 when i bought them, and they mic right on the money. i haven't had a chance to cast any with the molds i have, as the only lead i have to use is range scrap, but i guess ill have to break out the old cast iron pan and refine and clean some and give these new molds a shot... thanks for all the info!

[MtGun44]

Drop into boiling water to remove the lube, then remove from heat and when cool
remove the lube as a cake. Drop the boolits into the pot and recast. Frankly,
you will go nuts trying to bump up that many, especially if hard alloy. Melt them
down.

Bill

[mdi]

[QUOTE=MtGun44;2493866]Drop into boiling water to remove the lube, then remove from heat and when cool
remove the lube as a cake. Drop the boolits into the pot and recast. Frankly,
you will go nuts trying to bump up that many, especially if hard alloy. Melt them
down.
Bill[/QUOTE
true! Been there tried that...