MT Beard
05-05-2016, 11:53 PM
Don't know why, but this is a bit of a long story. Prior to notifying my then wife that I was done and moving out, I loaded 2000 45 auto rounds, cast 2500 230 grain slugs and powder coated them. Well, I've just about shot all of the rounds I had made up and began my first session of 45 reloading since moving out. For some reason I thought that I had already sized the 230 gr bullets I had cast and powder coated. Didn't even bother to check to see if their size was correct. Did I mention that I was an idiot? Turns out that I hadn't and when I went to plunk test these light target rounds, they didn't make it halfway into the chamber[smilie=b:. I found this out after loading 400 rounds on my single stage press.....DAMMIT :x!!!!! Like I said, I have extreme bouts of idiocy.
While pondering my options, I figured there were three.
1. See if they would chamber with the force of the slide falling (idiot move)
2. Pull all 400 bullets and start over......
3. Figure out how to size them to chamber and work.
I tried #1. Now remember, I'm an idiot... That move jammed the over-sized cartridge in there so tight that it was a bear getting it out.
Thinking about #2, well I've pulled my share of bullets following mistakes. But, I sure didn't want to pull 400 unless absolutely necessary! Which left #3...
I pondered how to size them down, knowing that I had punched out the sizing ring in my Lee taper crimp die. Thinking about it, I knew that I had put the same crimp on these 400 that I had on the previous 2000. Because I measured....and wasn't an idiot for a couple of seconds. Well that crimp measurement happened to fall at .473-.475 :Bright idea:. Then I had the random thought that the outer dimensions of the 45 auto case are essentially the same as a lopped off 30-06. Case web dimension of .470. Hmmmmmmmm.....could I run these cartridges up into a 30-06 die and get them down to a dimension that will plunk in my 1911 barrel? Seemed like the best option, so I figured that I would start with the seating die. Never remembered a case coming into contact with the die walls while seating 30-06 bullets....... should be a larger diameter than the sizing die! DING DING DING!!!! By golly that worked, the first cartridge I ran into the die chambered like a champ. The next 8 all fed, chambered, and ejected [smilie=w:
I guess the reason I'm sharing this with you all is because we all screw up and are an idiot in some way at some time. Take my marriage for example. Man, I should have known better! My parents did, my friends did, but I sure didn't. So, I was an idiot and married her and had a kid with her. I'm not a George Straight fan, but my son is the light of my life, and if I have to pay by dealing with his mom for the rest of my life, it is worth it! I think the song of his that say's "if it weren't for my two kids, I'd hate my ex-wife" is right on the money, and I think of that a lot. Now it has been 17 months since I moved out and the divorce is still an awful mess and not finished. But, I am better! I am better. Making a mistake is a bummer, but recognizing when it happens and figuring out a solution is the experience that should be remembered.
So there it is. A long winded explanation of how a 30-06 die can be used to size down 45 auto cartridges that are too large in diameter to chamber. Now, off to my next idiotic escapade...
While pondering my options, I figured there were three.
1. See if they would chamber with the force of the slide falling (idiot move)
2. Pull all 400 bullets and start over......
3. Figure out how to size them to chamber and work.
I tried #1. Now remember, I'm an idiot... That move jammed the over-sized cartridge in there so tight that it was a bear getting it out.
Thinking about #2, well I've pulled my share of bullets following mistakes. But, I sure didn't want to pull 400 unless absolutely necessary! Which left #3...
I pondered how to size them down, knowing that I had punched out the sizing ring in my Lee taper crimp die. Thinking about it, I knew that I had put the same crimp on these 400 that I had on the previous 2000. Because I measured....and wasn't an idiot for a couple of seconds. Well that crimp measurement happened to fall at .473-.475 :Bright idea:. Then I had the random thought that the outer dimensions of the 45 auto case are essentially the same as a lopped off 30-06. Case web dimension of .470. Hmmmmmmmm.....could I run these cartridges up into a 30-06 die and get them down to a dimension that will plunk in my 1911 barrel? Seemed like the best option, so I figured that I would start with the seating die. Never remembered a case coming into contact with the die walls while seating 30-06 bullets....... should be a larger diameter than the sizing die! DING DING DING!!!! By golly that worked, the first cartridge I ran into the die chambered like a champ. The next 8 all fed, chambered, and ejected [smilie=w:
I guess the reason I'm sharing this with you all is because we all screw up and are an idiot in some way at some time. Take my marriage for example. Man, I should have known better! My parents did, my friends did, but I sure didn't. So, I was an idiot and married her and had a kid with her. I'm not a George Straight fan, but my son is the light of my life, and if I have to pay by dealing with his mom for the rest of my life, it is worth it! I think the song of his that say's "if it weren't for my two kids, I'd hate my ex-wife" is right on the money, and I think of that a lot. Now it has been 17 months since I moved out and the divorce is still an awful mess and not finished. But, I am better! I am better. Making a mistake is a bummer, but recognizing when it happens and figuring out a solution is the experience that should be remembered.
So there it is. A long winded explanation of how a 30-06 die can be used to size down 45 auto cartridges that are too large in diameter to chamber. Now, off to my next idiotic escapade...