Sizing How much will a die remove

[Bill in Ky]

My 45acp barrel slugged .450. My boolets are coming out of the mold at 454. My question is, can I do one pass through a .451 die in my Lyman 450? Or do I need to get another larger die and size twice?
Thanks in advance!!

[3leggedturtle]

One pass is fine.

[375RUGER]

You will be fine to size down .003".

[Tatume]

If ammo loaded with cast bullets will feed and chamber, then shoot them as cast or only slightly sized. There is no need to size your bullets to 0.451" unless they won't fit in the gun.

[hickfu]

Make sure to use lube on the boolit first... sizing down .003 will be hard to do with no lube.

Doc

[Blammer]

I'd check your slug dimensions again.

I'd size them to .452 and see how they do.

[gray wolf]

.450 seems a skosh small, + .452 would probably be fine.

[Bill in Ky]

I have slugged 3 times and its .450 the only die I have at the moment is .451, I guess I'll start with it..

[Iowa Fox]

Make sure to use lube on the boolit first... sizing down .003 will be hard to do with no lube.

Doc

Doc is right, .003 is going to be a hard pull on the sizing handle. I never worry about bore size, if it will fit the chamber and throat I shoot it.

[Tatume]

I don't know why you all think sizing 0.003" is hard. I've sized bullets more than 0.003" plenty of times without undue effort. I've even sized 350 grain 0.460" bullets to 0.452" for use in my Freedom Arms revolver. It's not hard to do.

[Tatume]

I never worry about bore size, if it will fit the chamber and throat I shoot it.

That's what I said.

[mpmarty]

Sizing won't remove anything. It rearranges things though.

[MtGun44]

+1 on not removing anything. I doubt the .450, but I suppose it is possible. I suspect
a caliper measurement.

Bill

[Tatume]

I'm still thinking about this sizing question. How many people here size jacketed bullets? I generally limit sizing to 0.003" when sizing jacketed rifle bullets from one caliber to another, particularly 0.375" bullets resized to 0.366" bullets. This requires three dies to reduce in three steps. I use Imperial Sizing Wax for this too, as it does take some effort. But the OP was talking about cast bullets, which is easy.

[mikeym1a]

.450 seem a bit small. I've never slugged my AutoOrdance .45. Nor have I sized the boolits that drop out of my Lee 6 gang mold. In my ignorance back then, I simply cast, lubed with LLA, loaded and fired. Never had a failure to chamber, failure to fire, and have never had any leading. Just for curiosity sake, I'll get up, and do that. Back in a bit. Several minutes later:::::::: WELL! Imagine that! my boreslug measures .450! I dropped it when trying measure the lands, and it must have found a nifty place to roll into, as I can't find it,now. Got another out to measure, and the Lee mould drops them at .454. Like I said, I have never sized them. Now, this is the 200gr, microgroove, SWC version. If you are using the 230gr, it might be difference. But, Several Thousand boolits later, I've never had a failure to chamber, fire, or eject. And the bore still had faint machining marks in the rifling grooves. Cast is easy on the bore. Oh, and when I go to the range, I usually shoot at the 75yd silhouette. It's challenging, and rewarding when it goes 'CLANG'! Still working on making it clang every time, but when I miss, I can see the impact. Not bad for a 64yr old guy who only resumed regular shooting a year ago. After the kids moved out, and the area got real built up, I lost my normal shooting spot, plus, it's more fun with company. So much for reminiscing, hope this helps. mikey

[captaint]

Simply, if it were me, I would size them to .452 and go shootin.

[beagle]

If you have the die, try .451". I have a Ruger .45 convertible and a M1911 Colt that shoots those fine. I doubt you'll have much trouble taking them down .003" in one pass. Worth a try before you invest though./beagle

[Bill in Ky]

I am a retired ole fart who is now a home machinist / gunsmith. I thread and chamber my own rifle barrels and build my own stocks. I'm just getting into handguns and started casting boolits last week. The gun is a XDS, slugged twice and measured with a micrometer. I greatly appreciate everyone's help. This is a great site!!
Regards

[gray wolf]

Sizing .003 to .004 with water dropped bullets that have sat around for a while may be a little hard on the handle. But .004 with freshly cast bullets will do just fine, you may distort the front band some, depending.
Also there is no need to WD for most hand gun rounds ( not saying you are )

+ a 45 does not need ultra hard bullets. 50/50 AC WW PB does just fine. Try the as cast if they chamber,
if not try the .451, if you get leading in the first inch or so of the barrel go to .452

[osteodoc08]

i prefer .452" for my 45 autos. Id advise checking with a micrometer. I didnt recognize the importance of a good micrometer until I finally bought one.

But to answer your question, size away with the .451 if thats what you've got.

[Alferd Packer]

Bill in KY-Why not bore a .452 in a piece of steel and a flat-nosed punch to fit and pound the slugs thru it.
You can start with a .454 hole at the top and gradually taper to the .452 an inch from the bottom.

[Tatume]

Again I ask, why do you think it is difficult to size lead bullets? It is not. Just size them; sizing lead bullets 0.003" is very easy.

[hermans]

Two of my molds drops the boolits at 0.455-0.456. I size them down to 0.452 in my Star, no problem. I just pass a sized/lubed boolit through the die once every 9-10 times when the handle feels somewhat stiff. My alloy is about 10-11 BHN, and I normally size them within a week of casting.

[MtGun44]

Maybe you could buy a piece of metal with a .452 hole in it and. . . . . .oh, wait --- I
think that is called a sizing die. :kidding:

Bill

[Bill in Ky]

I cast a couple of pure lead boolits and pushed one through my 45 and for the third time I read .450 with my micrometer...

[DLCTEX]

I think Bill's bore is .450:D. It shouldn't be a problem sizing them. If the lever is like the Lyman 45 you don't want to get too rough. It can push lead up in front of the driving band. Make sure the nose punch is a good fit. I used JB weld to make a good fit when sizing some oversize .357 boolits.

[tygar]

I have sized .460 to .454 lots of times with no problems, & the bullets looked fine & shot great.