.501 will not fit my 500 S&W

[wilddog45]

I just got a 440 grain lee mold for my 50 cal with a .501 lee sizer. The mold seems to make good bullets and it takes a little more effort to press the gas checks on. I loaded up 10 boolits and low and behold they would not chamber in the cylinder. I then miked them and they came in right at .501. I usually use a .358 sizer for my .357 in a lyman 45 lubesizer so I thought they should work. It seems like all of the sizers offered for the 500 are .501. I ordered a .500 rcbs sizer die which I know will work . Does anyone else have this same problem with their 500? :castmine:

[racepres]

No.. Cause I don't have a 500.
but, One [and only one] of my 357's has the same affliction. Curious it is, but sizing a bit smaller [for that piece] does not seem to hurt accuracy.. MV

[dubber123]

Do you have a taper crimp die for the 500? I have a FA in 475, and the very slightest of bulge just below the crimp is enough to prevent chambering. The taper crimp is set so light you wouldn't think it did anything at all, but the rounds will drop right in afterwards. My brothers 500 was pretty loose, .501" would fall right in with room to spare.

[wilddog45]

Actually , I am using Lee dies and I am crimping it with the bullet seating die and you can see a bulge in the sized brass from the crimp to the base of the boolit. I tried to drop one of the unloaded .501 boolits in the cylinder and it would not press through with minimal preasure.So the problem is probably tight gun dimensions, ya think?:castmine:

[dubber123]

Actually , I am using Lee dies and I am crimping it with the bullet seating die and you can see a bulge in the sized brass from the crimp to the base of the boolit. I tried to drop one of the unloaded .501 boolits in the cylinder and it would not press through with minimal preasure.So the problem is probably tight gun dimensions, ya think?:castmine:

Just out of curiosity, try seating one, crimping only enough to straighten the bell out, and see if it will chamber. I know you will not want to shoot them this way, but it will tell you if it's your crimping that is the culprit. The boolits I shoot in my FA won't go throught the cylinder throats either, but they shoot the best that way in my gun. If it were not for the taper crimp die, I wouldn't be able to shoot most of my cast loads.

[454PB]

I have the same situation with all three of my .454 Casull revolvers. All have .452 throats, and any boolit that protrudes enough from the case to enter the throat MUST be .452" or the loaded round won't chamber freely.

I'd suggest you force one of your boolits through each chamber throat and measure them.

Of course you could have the throats reamed to eliminate the problem, but it might not be needed. In my case, all the bores also measure .451" to .452".....which is a good match to the throats.

[wilddog45]

Wow, Thanks for the suggestions! This site is the greatest!!:drinks:

[475/480]

I have had 4 different SW 500 and they all had tight throats,All the SW 500 I had shot best with .500 Dia boolits.

Sean

[leftiye]

So what does your BARREL GROOVE DIAMETER measure? Open up your chamber mouths to groove diameter plus .001". Can be done well and easily with a dowel and 400 grit.

[happy7]

I had problems with chambering sometimes, if the brass bulged a little. I got a Redding Profile Crimp Die and problem solved.

[klw]

I've got two. Both shoot Ballisti-Cast 1454 linotype bullets. They come out of the moulds at 0.504 and I size them down to 0.501. Never had any chambering problems. The loaded ammunition is right at 2.00 inches long.

What is your overall cartridge length and what brand of gun do you have?

You mikes the loaded cartridges at several locations?

[wilddog45]

Klw, The OAL is 2.29 using the Lee 440 gr. mold and the gun is a S&W. On your ballisti-cast mold, what is the grain weight . I got some of Ranger Ricks boolits in 525 gr. Keith and 700 gr thumpers.Real nice hunting boolits but I was looking for a lower weight practice round. I am trying the Lee 440gr with 10.1 gr of Unique but I am just having some sizing problems.

[Lloyd Smale]

I dont shoot the 500 smith but my best friend does and has his best luck with accuracy at .500

[wilddog45]

Lee does not offer a .500 sizer for the 500, only a .501, unless you custom order one. I also found out on the Lee nose first design,at least on the .501, that I had to place a flat piece of metal under the bottom of the sizer to seat the Hornady gas checks all the way on. I went ahead and ordered an RCBS H&I style .500 sizer to work in my Lyman 45 with Felix Lube. That should do the trick because the Ranger Rick Boolits were sized at .500 and I had no problem at all with them.

[klw]

Klw, The OAL is 2.29 using the Lee 440 gr. mold and the gun is a S&W. On your ballisti-cast mold, what is the grain weight . I got some of Ranger Ricks boolits in 525 gr. Keith and 700 gr thumpers.Real nice hunting boolits but I was looking for a lower weight practice round. I am trying the Lee 440gr with 10.1 gr of Unique but I am just having some sizing problems.

368 grains in linotype powered by 15.5 grains of Unique. Accurate load. No problems whatsoever.

I've got two PC S&W's, a 6.5 inch and a 10.5 inch. Really don't like the latter. Just TOO muzzle heavy and, because of that, hard for me to control.

[dmftoy1]

FWIW I just loaded up 100 rounds of .50 S&W using that bullet with a Hornady gas check in Hornady brass sized through a star .501 die and they drop right in the chambers on my S&W Model 500 (4 Inch)

Regards,
Dave

[wilddog45]

I just loaded up a batch I sized at .500 using the Lee 440 gr. cast with water quenched ww over 10.1 grs. of Unique in Hornady cases. They fit fine and are an accurate lower power load in my 8-3/8 bbl 500 S&W. I still need to experiment with the .501 and the crimp. :Fire: