I’m looking for a little advice with regards to the die I need for a lube/sizer I’m getting, and any other advice anyone might care to offer. I am not new to shooting or reloading, but I AM new to working with cast bullets.
I’m taking the plunge and buying a Magma/Star Lubesizer. I’m getting the basic machine plus the heated base. I may get the air feed system for the lube later. Don’t know about the bullet feeder.
Initially I’m going to be sizing bullets that were cast for 44 Mag. I have 8000 of them I got from a friend who quit shooting. These are cast, but not lubed or sized. They were cast on a commercial machine and are 240 grain SWC bullets. They appear to be very uniform and are nice bullets. I’m not sure what the alloy is but I think it’s wheel weight (or close). There is one large lube groove in the body of the bullet, and a narrower groove higher which I assume is the crimping groove.
I presume you do not put lube in the crimping groove, if that is what it is, but I’m not sure about that.
Between myself and a friend we have 4 different guns. All are S&W but one is an older 29-2 with a custom 5” bull barrel, one is brand new from the S&W Performance Shop with a 7 ½” barrel, one is a Hunter Classic with the 6 ½” barrel, and one is a basic 29-2 with a 4” barrel. All S&W in 44 Mag but all in different models and configurations.
Purpose is strictly target shooting.
Now I know in an ideal world one should slug the barrel and order a die sized accordingly (about 1/1000 larger). But if I do that I’ll need 4 dies. I guess that’s not impossible, but I’d like to buy them one at a time to keep immediate costs down.
So my question is, what size die should I get to “start” with? I understand most bullets for that caliber are either .429 or .430 and most “factory” bullets are .429.
Anybody want to toss out some thoughts, ideas, suggestions, etc?
Also, I’m not sure what kind of lube to get. I understand Magma sells a hard lube so I may just go with that. If anybody has any other suggestions with regards to lube I’d appreciate your thoughts. I want a hard lube (the reason for the heated base) because I understand it’s a lot less messy when reloading – and I’m told it works better.
Lastly, anybody got any thoughts on the machine itself? I understand it’s a good one, but am open to suggestions as to what I should get with it or for it.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or tips.