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I have a 9mm sig slugged at .355 then my revolver I measured out at .4515 each cyl throat so same thing I was thinking. Does any one see issue with me sizing .0015 over?
I am just starting my treck into cast boolits & this community, I was under the impression that basically if it fits it shoots. But I love my guns & my hands and wish no harm upon either! Also i am sick of melting down batches of boolits because i screwed something up!
Read the sticky on determining bullet size.
Fitting bullets to cylinder throat size in revolvers or to fit the unrifled portion of the throat ahead of the case mouth, before the rifling starts in rifles, is usually the best way, but sizing 0.001-0.0015 larger than groove will usually get you close to that, if you are unable to cast the chamber. It is a shortcut and educated guess which is not perfect, but is usually acceptable.
thank you i will try n find that sticky
If it fits, and it chambers and didn’t leave large lead deposits shoot it! Welcome and some size as much as 5 thousandths over diameter depending on what slugging the bore or cylinder or a
Chamber cast tells them it needs, all my 44 mag and special chambered guns get 432 sized slugs, 357 ranges from 357 to 360, I have one old beaten up counter bored nagant that shoots well with 315-316 diameter boolits. 311-312 for some 30 cal rifles, remember those lead boolits you lovingly poured cause a lot less friction on their way to the target. Each will be a rule unto themselves , with some general trends . Also remember the hard and fast rules nonnegotiable rules always apply except when they don’t!
Sounds like you’ve done some reading and homework; and asked an intelligent question; read all the stickies and take notes; final answer, try some 0015 over and see what they do. Once you start thinking and acting outside the box; the box will feel confining and silly
First ita great you slugged your bore. Can't tell you how lonh I k ew I should on my 9mms and just assumed a 356 would work. My bore sluggs at 356...meaning I needed a 357 size. I've heard some needing a 358 in 9mm.
Also good to have concern and appreciation for your booger pickers and firearms. I don't think you would likely see a ton of benefit loading hot enough that the extra effort to swage a 357 into a 355 bore (cast of reasonable alloy) to risk damaging either. *Meaning* you should be able to size a thousand larger and not risk a high pressure incident or else maybe consider dialing back the load a touch.
If you can try (ie without buying another sizer) see if a larger bullet will chamber (dummy round plunk test) if so load up a few with a reasonable load and see if that doesn't help with your leading if you are getting any.
I have always sized 1/1000 over and had no issues with the right alloy and pressure combo. Lee manual has pressure ratings on loads which is gold for alloy choice for casters. Other variables that help are type of lube and powder coating....crimp...etc.
There is alot of effort and many reworked batches. Stick with it. So very worth it when you dial that right load in...something deeply satisfying aside from hearing the ring of steel plate or seeing x ring hits.
Good luck and happy casting
Oh, what sizers you use? I have heard of some guys taking g push through sizers with a dowel and very fine grit sandpaper ...spinning the die in their thigh to keep it concentric and opening it up another half a thousand...then polish with bore paste or something like to give a good polish on the inside of that die
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my real concern was creating an over pressure situation but that really opens my eyes to how I can experiment & maybe I should get some chamber casting alloy & check them out thank you nagantguy ! I love that the more I read the less I feel like I know but still learn the lasc.us website really smacked a whole lot of variables & exceptions across my face, defiantly keeps me interested almost obbsessivly
I got 2 lee Sizers .356 & .452 when i started then learned way more n bought one from N.O.E. so I just swap em out reasonably cheap n easily too many guns I have to load for
& thank you 2 jhon
thank you so very much guys i did not expect such quick & informative responses
Welcome to the rabbit hole. Your statement "I love that the more I read the less I feel like I know but still learn" will one day bare fruit. You will most likely be guaranteed frustration and failure depending on your depth. The more you have read and absorbed through the kindness of those going before and having shared will make lights turn on with answers and the possible solutions to the "situation". Just be safe and enjoy it, and remember to just keep telling yourself over and over you reload to save money and you will be fine.
I think someone mentioned it earlier but you have a good approach and are really setting yourself up for success and enjoyment here...
Enjoy the process and don't over think it....at the same time be reasonable and safe. Assumptions are the devil. But half the fun is in the experimentation...lots of variables to test and lots to learn...goodness knows I'm still learning after years. Don't try and know all of it before you start just know the parts that keep you safe and don't cause harm other than inaccurate rounds or leading. ...don't try and load max off the bat. It introduces less tollerance in mistakes and you can go from an "aw, man that didn't work" to a "no, nurse I didnt think I'd lose that nerve function today"
Definitely on the right track so keep it up. Wish I had your head on my shoulders when I started...keep up the good questionsSent from my Moto G Play using TapatalkQuote:
Originally Posted by T-KING
thank you guys I really appreaciate the input & kind words I have no one to reference in person feel a little more confident on my approach now
Where are you located? I'm sure someone on here is somewhere close bySent from my Moto G Play using TapatalkQuote:
Originally Posted by T-KING
Rarely does too large get you into trouble. You should be working loads up anyway. In 9mm, all my guns get fed 0.357" bullets.
I haven't done alot with my auto loaders yet lots with my revolvers but I work up all my loads from the lowest weight published & go up in small increments trying a couple powders atleast depending what i have on hand, watch my brass & primers & stop when I'm happy with the accuracy with ideally a light charge have only done a few hot loads from my 9mm & 45 acp auto loaders. I still have a ton of plated bullets so I haven't had to break into my cast for them so I've been trying to get everything right b4 I load in mass & make a choice on my mix & loads & then possibly immediately regret it once I learn something more or different. I'm confident in my knowledge and ability now to get them satisfactory I've got a process down that I just need to put to the test & make note of everything so I can reproduce my results.
I have likely melted the same 50 pounds down 4 or 5 times now between powder coat fails, cast fails & sizing wrong after I slugged the bores.
my only other dilemma is getting published data for my cast boolits. Do i just choose a weight that's as close as possible & start from the minimum?
I live in northern Michigan near Ludington small town called scottville
powder coat fails primary cause is the countertop oven temperature setting is wwwwaaayyyyyy off. Put an oven thermometer in the middle of the back shelf and adjust the ovens setting until you get 400° and bake for 15 min. If you have a toaster oven keep the amount of boolits you bake at one time down to where they all bakes evenly.
I can get the powder coat to set just fine even with the low heat method Elvis ammo does around 200 for 15 min & the hammer test & they were fine I was having a hard time coating them well I think I had to much powder per the boolits quantity so I wasn't getting enough static doing the shake method is my theory atleast. my other fails were having to boolits warm & them turning into a glob of boolits n powder. harbor freight red as long as I get the ratio right for the amount of boolits it's been working aside from a batch I left in the container to long & couldn't get them to coat well after . cleaning & new powder seemed to solve that tho.
I need to order some from smoke or Eastwood
On the shake and bake with harbor freight red...does one coat do a good job for you or does it take a few to do the job?Quote:
Originally Posted by T-KING
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The Lyman Cast bullet handbook 4th Ed. is a great resource for Data.Quote:
Originally Posted by T-KING
If the exact boolit isn't listed, choose one the same weight and same style...or closest listed.
and as always, use starting load and work up.
normally one coat does it but occasionally with certain batches I have a hard time getting it to coat well but most often there's enough that I have to tap the bullet & knock off excess, I've been using a round Tupperware & a cool whip container with black air soft Bb's with excellent results
so far I've only had difficulty getting it to coat my 360 grain .45 flat point & in the hollow point configutation i cannot get the bottom of the hollow point cavity, boolits idk if it's the alloy or just harder to get coverage on the greater surface area
And you need the bottom of the HP coated why?
Couple of observations:
- "I have too many guns". Incorrect. The correct formula for gun ownership is "n + 1" where "n=the number you currently own". This rule is only superceded by "y - 1" where "y equals the number that causes your wife to leave you".
- On a serious note, I'd invest a few dollars in Smoke4320's powders. Check the Vedor section. I had trouble with Harbor Freight red. Could not get it to work well. Switched to Smoke's and it works every time.
- While I know Elvis does a lot of testing, the whole "preheat so you don't have to bake as hot" is a nice experiment.....but it introduces another variable as you have found. Use a Cool Whip or Sherbet container, non-stick foil, and pluck them. You can still get 3-500 an hour this way and you'll be sure of consistency.
- Always, always, ALWAYS start low and work up. Among other reasons, I've NEVER gotten best accuracy from max loads. It's always somewhere between the middle and the 75% mark.
Keep at it, go with the "slow, but tried and true" methods. Fit is king and even though you are powder coating- hardness still matters. Just not as much.
I don't know what your set up is like, but you might want to be casting like a maniac now. You aren't going to want to do THAT in the middle of Michigan winter.......
o ya winter is all I can think of it's my reloading season indoors so I've been gathering all the lead I can to cast as much as possible now that I've got a better idea of what I should be doing that will be very soon, thank you & that's a good formula priceless I will have the Wright that down
If anything, I would NOT want PC inside my HP cav or not much of it.