Of Sizing Dies and Boolit Diameters

[JohnH]

A couple weeks back I ordered an NOE 434429 plain base boolit mold. I've had trouble for several years with 44 Magnum rifle barrels not shooting well and recently discovered that SAAMI specs allow two different bore and groove diameters for handguns and rifles so chambered. The 434429 boolit drops beautiful .434 diameter boolits and has resolved accuracy issues with two different rifles, and NEF and a Rossi '92. Now its a question of case dimensions. I'm using the boolit as cast, except for sizing the forward most driving band to .431 to seat in the chamber of the Rossi without interference. The NEF will take it completely unsized, but shoots the boolit equally well either way. Good thing, I don't have to keep up with separate sizing of boolits. The matter at hand now is a question of case sizing. Obviously dies are sized to work best with .429-.430 bullets. After FL sizing and then expanding, the inside of the case at the bullet seat area is .426. The rifles will chamber loaded cases which have not been full length sized, the boolit diameter is such that no sizing is required for firm seating and obviously the crimp aids the situation. But after a few firings of ammo so loaded, the Rossi lever gun begins to balk as chambering becomes a bit stiffer.

My question is this, would it be worthwhile to have a sizing die made which is slightly larger by a few thousandths than a standard die, which does not "squeeze" so tightly on the as cast boolit, allow me to seat the oversize as cast boolits without trouble, and get a little extra life out of the brass, I'd like to completely eliminate FL sizing altogether, but may not be able to. Hmmmmm.

[Yodogsandman]

How about using a custom sized "M" type expander die.

[stu1ritter]

Where does one get custom sized "M" expander plugs?
thanks
Stu

[leadman]

I buy the next size up and chuck it in my mini lathe or drill press and work it down to the size I need. I think there is someone here making custom expander plugs for either the Lyman or the Lee tools.

[kevmc]

check "deltaenterprisies" on this site.....

[Scharfschuetze]

"Buckshot" is a great option too. He's a member here and has made several for me (including Dillon flow through expanders) that are the cat's meow. His service is fast and his customer support is outstanding. He's also a member of the brethren here.

Just PM "Buckshot" with your needs. Lyman M Die expanders to your measurements are $12.00 as I recall.

[10mmShooter]

I use an rcbs .44 cowboy expander die and the cowboy seater/crimp die. Works great for expanding and seating and crimping my Henry .44 loads that are sized .432

[10mmShooter]

The rcbs cowboy expander die is a copy of the lyman m die. It expands a couple thousandths more than a standard .44 expander. Perfect for fatter .44 cast bullets

[Nueces]

Search the Buffalo Arms site for "custom expanders." They are listed by the two diameters in the stem. Nicely made tools.

As another reminder, folks who want to avoid over sizing their brass for fat boolits can look at using the Lee carbide factory crimp dies with the crimp function removed. These carbide rings are larger in diameter than regular sizing rings. A thou or two larger will help preserve your brass.