How far can I beagle up?

[HammerMTB]

Here's what prompts my question:
I have a ROA that takes a .457-.458 boolit.
I also have a Lee 2-cav 230 Gr TC mold.
Wonder if I could beagle that up to .458 or so? It's only .006", it just might.
Wish I'd thought of it BEFORE I bought the 456-220-1R conical!
Then I'm going to ponder if I can size down the 220 conicals to fit the .45 Auto....

[462]

I've beagled .452" to .458".

[missionary5155]

Good morning
What I found was a mold of .458 drop diameter Beagled to +.003 was of little consiquence and shot fine. .006 made an oval boolit that when sized down to .462 was near round and shot well. +.009 again made an oval boolit but sizing down to .465 made round boolit that shot well. That is as far as I needed to go.
Down sizing works up to a point. I have squeezed .458 down to .446 for options in my 44-77. I have sized down .431 to .411 again for options in my 41 mags. I found squeezing works better in steps and with the boolit lubed. Also to keep the base flat, base first sizing was needed. So you will need a decent fit nose punch or the nose becomes swaged to another shape. BUT under 50 yards nose shapes are little consequence unless this is for a match projectile. I have swaged noses near flat and they shoot nicely. What you get into especially with Rifle boolits is that the lube grooves begin to disappear. So be aware long barrels need lube. My simple solution is to smear a dobber of lube around the nose before firing.
Another solution I have used down here to Fatten up boolits is to employ a vise. Using flat jaw protectors place a boolit in there and turn the crank slowly. Check diameter and note handle position. I took .427 near pure lead up to .433 for my 1892 SRC 44-40. 5 " patterns at 20 yards were nicely reduced to 3-4" at 70 yards. Did that for a couple years until I got a Saeco #443 220 grain that drops at .433 with 25-75 lead-WW. The Saeco boolit by the way shoots much better. 2.5" at 75 yards.
You can also make a sizer die with any water pipe or barrel stub and use that to hammer swage a boolit to proper diameter. Again a proper fitted blunt boolit is far more accurate than a pretty one that is way undersized.
There are always simple solutions if we are not to concered about looks and normal practices. Necesity will find a way.
Mike in Peru

[looseprojectile]

I have tried that and my efforts didn't please me. I ended up lapping the moulds.
Lapping is easy and larger boolits nearly always shoot better for me. I prefer round boolits.
One time I removed the gas check rebate from a .44 mould and have regretted doing that as I now want to shoot those .44 boolits in a rifle and need checks.
I now think long and hard before I do any altering of moulds. Lapping a mould has never been a dissapointment. I have also had good results bumping up boolits in a sizer lubricator if they are fairly soft.
When sizing and lubing Lee Micro Band boolits with Alox just a hint of lube grooves are all that is needed. Most any boolit up to 260 grain can be made to shoot well in a .45 auto if it feeds good. I have shot a bunch of those boolits in my .45. That is one of the best boolits I have and I size them to .452".

Life is good

[HammerMTB]

One time I removed the gas check rebate from a .44 mould and have regretted doing that as I now want to shoot those .44 boolits in a rifle and need checks.

Life is good

Thanks for the feedback. My point of view is that since beagling is not a permanent change, I have little (some electricity) to lose. Just wondered how much others have beagled up. The missionary had some good info on his experiences. Thanks bro!
About the .44 GC boolits
Have I got a deal for you!
I have a 1 cavity .44 240 gr gas check mold from Lee. I got it a long time ago. It served its purpose, but I now have both PB and GC molds I like better (along with not a few of the 240 GC's)
It doesn't make a lot of boolits fast, but it is pretty consistent, being 1 cavity.
PM me if you want to carry the conversation further.

[looseprojectile]

Thanks but no thanks. Since I got the Ranch Dog 270 grain .432" mould I have not needed any other .44 mould. When all I had were handguns in .357 and .44 I didn't need GC boolits. Now I have only Rossi rifles in those calibers and those go at way higher velocities. All I load for now in handguns is the .45 auto. Got lazy in my old age.

Shoot a lot of .22 LR in a MK 1 Ruger and .22 magnum in the AMT Automag II.
Bought rimfire ammo cheap and stacked it deep years ago.
Sounds like you only need a Lee push through sizer or two and you are good to go.

Life is good

[Chapped Lips]

could anyone who has beagled up....say .006....or even less....post some pics?
the reason i ask is i'm under the impression there will be a......?..."flare" of lead on the boolit due to the tape......is that correct?
and would aluminum duct tape work.....i guess i need to measure that tape thickness.

[462]

Chapped Lips,
No pictures as it was done quite some time ago. However, when I beagled from .452 to .458 (two layers of tape on each block of a Lee 452-255 RF) the part line stood more proud, but was removed during the sizing/lube process. Finning, amazingly enough, didn't occur.

I used Scotch 3M 3311 aluminum foil tape. If you'd like some to try, send me a PM with your mailing address and I'll get some to you.

Beagle's article is still available for reading, over at Castpics.

[beagle]

You might be able to improve the diameter that much. Try 2 layers on each side of the blocks and see what you get. If that works, go to three layers. Try and keep the casting temp as low as possible and still get good fill out to prevent flashing on your bullets.

If you need some of the original tape, PM me with your snail mail and I'll get a piece in the mail on Monday.

"You never know what you can get away with until you try......"/beagle

[gefiltephish]

..."You never know what you can get away with until you try......"/beagle

"You never know how far you can go until you've gone too far" --Fred Picker

[Chapped Lips]

462 and Beagle.....my,you folks sure are friendly...privy msgs sent....i use some Nashua Tyco aluminum tape when bedding...got out the measuring thingy and tape & backing = .00730....the backing = .00275...so,the aluminum&adhesive = .00455....is that close to what ur using?

[runfiverun]

airc the 3 is is about .003