Gb 358-123 fn

[Cherokee]

Got this mold after Christmas and cast 300+. Short breakin and bullets cast fine, dropping from the mold easily. WW alloy yielded 123 gr with .361 as cast. Today I sized these to .358 in my Star sizer. Easy sizing, bullets look good. Will have to wait for warmer condition to try them.

One thing happened I have never seen in casting/sizing bullets since 1969, one side of the base band was torn (for lack of a better word) from the base on 9 of the sized bullets. Base on one side was higher than the other, but the base was still in one piece. I guess the thin base band is subject to deformation when sized nose first in the Star. Odd........:cry:

[IcerUSA]

Check the dia. of your top punch , might be too small to keep the base together with small drive bands . I like mine to be a slip fit to the sizing die .

Keith

[garandsrus]

Cherokee,

I have seen torn bands, but it was because the boolits were still too warm when dropped from the mold.

Are you sure that the band wasn't torn before resizing?

John

[glicerin]

X2 Happened to me dropping 38-200 too hot out of mold.

[Cherokee]

The bullets looked great when inspected after casting and sat for about 2-3 weeks before I got around to sizing them. I size nose first in the Star and use a 357 diam punch so the base is about as fully supported as it can be. Just never encountered it before, 9 out of 300+ isn't bad.

[IcerUSA]

I wonder if letting them age a few weeks might do that as I'm sure they got harder than when cast .

Keith