Do you have to size bullets?

[.41LC]

Hi, I may be getting into casting. I would be casting for the .41 Long Colt. I would probably go with a hollow base mould where the bullet is smaller than the bore and the hollow skirt is bumped up with the pressure of the powder. Would this bullet need to be sized? Is sizing something you HAVE to do?

Thankyou.

[JRW]

I don't size any of my rifle boolits, nor any boolit for revolver, only for semi autos. most of the molds i have are giving me the accuracy I need with out sizing.

[Shiloh]

Nope.

I size my pistol boolits for consistancy. Prevents the larger boolits from not sticking in cylinders or chambers.

If they fit and chamber, they are good to go.

Shiloh

[Lawnjockey]

JRW, Nice looking pup. I have a brit myself. How are the quail in your area this year?

Jocko

[Bret4207]

41, welcome. In the case you're describing as long as the mould drops boolits that will chamber and you start low when loading you should be fine. many people load a variety of designs without sizing. As long as the boolit isn't grossly oversize for the barrel, (over .003 plus), and if they chamber without problems you can use them. Only by shooting them can you determine if the gun wants them smaller. But don't use a "fat" boolit and start with high end loads, you have to work up, especially in vintage or weaker guns.

[Harry O]

You might want to read this. Yes, it is mine.

http://harryo.sixshootercommunity.org/

The direct answer to your question is no, you don't need to size boolits for the 41 Long Colt. When I first got started casting for them (with a Rapine 386185), I lubed them with the pour/cake method. I put the cast boolits in a shallow pan and poured lube around them. When it solidified, I cut them out (first with a modified fired case and later with a modified .357" Lee Kake cutter). Naturally, they were unsized that way. If the hollow bases are correctly formed, they will not get lube in them. If you do get lube in the bases, they are much less accurate.

I eventually got a custom 0.386" sizer/luber. It is much less messy and quicker, too. It took nearly a year to get it, though. It doesn't really size them. More like seals the lube grooves so the lube will not squeeze out when lubing it.

The Rapine 386185 hollow-base is a good boolit to start with. I learned a lot from it and am still learning.

[nonferrous]

What about out of round Boolits.
Some from my .358 TL 6 cavity Lee, drop as much out of round as from .357 to .360 across the parting line.
Would these shoot ok in a .358 barrel at about 800 FPS?
Thanks

[runfiverun]

if they will chamber the bbl will round them out for you.
beageled boolits are out of round on purpose. and they work far better than ones that are too small all the way around.
when you put them into a case it will smush them some also and help round them out.
try a couple and see what happens.

[nonferrous]

I will try that today. I have some ready to size but my Lee .358 sizer is pushing them thru at .357 and I have not lapped it out yet.
Also, I have a bunch of commercial reloads from years ago. They are .38 Spl 148 gr HBWC, I needed them to shoot in my S&W Mod 52.
I have always felt that they were more accurate in any gun than my reloads. I took one apart yesterday, it was a 148 gr hollow base. The cavity is deep, about 1/4 inch, the outside is knurled and there seems to be no lube. It looks like a hollow base may be more accurate than a solid base.
I bought a Lee .358 148gr WC mold but it casts a solid boolit. I have cast a few and will try them soon in the 52. They also cast out of round about .003.
I have my seating die set just perfect for the 158 gr SWC and I hate to change it.
Thanks

[Echo]

I
I have my seating die set just perfect for the 158 gr SWC and I hate to change it.
Thanks

Buy another seating die at the next gun show, or from the junk bin at the local gunshop. Probably $5 or less. I use different dies for different bullets/boolits.

[Wayne Smith]

41 Colt, welcome! You, HarryO and I may be the only ones here shooting the .41 Colt. Mine's in the shop getting a new forcing cone cut and, naturally, a shorter barrel. I like the heeled boolits and have only shot them, don't have a .386" boolit yet. Have you loaded yours with FFFG yet?

[nonferrous]

Buy another seating die at the next gun show, or from the junk bin at the local gunshop. Probably $5 or less. I use different dies for different bullets/boolits.

Thanks, will do. Loaded 10, calipered each one for OAL, what a pain. I will shoot them tomorrow.
Didn't mean to horn in on the thread so much but it was mostly about sizing. Welcome .41 Colt.

[HORNET]

IIRC, Ranch Dog was playing with the .41 Long Colt a year or so ago. You might try to find something he posted. I think that he and Harry O had a good discussion thread going at one time.

[JRW]

JRW, Nice looking pup. I have a brit myself. How are the quail in your area this year?

Jocko

We have good numbers, but now we have to deal with a rabies outbreak, and of course, there are still the snakes above ground. Buddy of mine made some good snakes on opening weekend. We usually wait till we get a good freeze before we really get serious.

We are really waiting for the Mearns season to open! Then the fun gets going!

Jim.

[.41LC]

Thanks for the welcome.

Harry O I have your webpage in my favorites, good read. The Rapine mould is the one I will be getting, CH Tool & Die sell them.

I bought some heeled bullets from a local caster, they shoot well enough, but crimping was obviously an issue. I ended up making a die type tool mounted to pliers that adds a crimp. He and another .41lc boolit caster are on hiatus for now so I can't get more to shoot, so I think getting into casting is the best thing to do.

I have only shot my .41LC guns with two types of smokeless (after careful research) and 777. Real black powder is a slight issue, the only place close enough requires me to buy at least25lbs and it will need to be specially shipped. I'm thinking about investing in 25lbs worth however.