New to casting, first cast, first question

[drmellow]

Hello
I am new to casting. I've been reading and buying my equipment, doing everything I am suppose to be doing.

I have a Ruger Security Six .357 that I slugged twice. The result was a bore diameter of .355.

My mould is a Lee 358-158-RF and I'm dropping boolits that caliper out at .360-.361.

This tells me I need to resize to a smaller diameter. I would like to order a Lee Sizer but I don't know what caliber to order. The books I've read says to resize to .001 over the barrel diameter. That would be .356.

I am now confused, because in the past I've reloaded with store bought copper jackets in size .357. Conventional wisdom would mean .358 in lead cast.

Which size Lee Sizer should I order?

Please advise. Thank you.

[dragonrider]

Drmellow, welcome to the forum, glad you found us.
Not doubting your slugging and measureing ability but .355 is somewhat small for most Ruger 357's. I have found that revolver slugging can be difficult to get accurately. You could have a constiction where the barrel threads into the frame and this could be the reason for your small measurement. You must also measure the cylinder throats and sizing should be at that diameter or .001" over. You could also try to cast a slug in the barrel just an inch or so from the muzzle. Use cerrosafe for this casting procedure. Should you find that you do have a constiction in the barrel, not unusual btw, lapping will be needed to remove it. Sounds intimidating but it really is not. There will be many other idea forthcoming.

[462]

Yep, sounds like the typical Ruger barrel/frame restriction. Since you've already run a slug all the way through the barrel, run another just into the muzzle, then compare the two. I suspect that the muzzle slug with measure .357".

I think that most booliteers size to .358" -- I do.

[MtGun44]

Guessing that you made an error. First, using calipers for this is nearly a waste of time,
they are only accurate to +/- .001" and you need more. Could be a frame restriction
or bad measurement of some sort. .355 is unlikely the real groove diam (certainly is
possible, but rare) except if the bbl is constricted due to thread over tightening.

Check out Enco tools online, look at their Fowler micrometer line, usually can get a
.0001" mic for $35 or less. Really necessary in this game.

That said, start with .357 or .358 and you will be good, probably. Also you should be
sizing to the THROATS not the bbl. You want the boolit supported straight as it comes
out of the case. Proper dimensions are steady decrease from the throat to the bbl
groove diam. For example, .358 throats, then .357 or .356 groove diam should work
very well with cast at .358 or even .359.

Air cooled wwts are plenty hard enough, no need for GCs in pistols. Jacketed are
more forgiving of improper dimensions.

Bill

[runfiverun]

if the initial slugging took extra effort right at the frame i'd say you have the constriction.
it's pretty common with that revolver.
the lapping is a pretty painless solution either by hand or by fire lapping.
other than that dragon rider covered things pretty well.
if you do decide to try the cerrosafe measuring you need to make dang sure you don't pour on both sides of the constriction.
things shaped like this....>8< don't push out of bbl's too well.

[drmellow]

I must thank everybody for their quick response and help. I've been surfing this website for 2 months as I waited for my tools to arrive and read up on the art of casting.

I slugged my 1903 and both M1 Garands and they each measured at .308 so I know my digital caliper is working.

I tried slugging the Ruger Security Six again and I think because it has a 5 groove barrel that I'm having difficulty reading the size. I did not notice any abnormal restriction where the barrel threads would be so I'm guessing its the 5 groove and me.

I took a Hornady .357 to my micrometer and it measured at .357. I locked the micrometer and rolled the slug inside and I felt just a hint of resistance, same as the Hornody. I would guess my barrel is .357 and not the .355 I was reading.

The posted replies do bring up another question. I just finished casting about 1000 rounds of wheel weight boolits for .357.

I water quenced every one.

Will they be too hard for pistol?

I will order the .358 Lee Sizer for pistol and based on my 30-06 slugging, I will order a .309 Lee Sizer.

Would you concur?

Thank you

[ShooterAZ]

Size to .358 and I think you will be golden.

[462]

Boolit casters and their guns are individuals, but I've never found a need for water quenched handgun boolits. I cast them of straight air cooled wheel weights, or an air cooled 2:1 wheel weight/lead alloy.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Hullo Darmello , and welcome to the insanity , You might want to read the "Stickies" on these questions, and the time is well spent, especially for new casters/reloaders... .The LASC site also has lots of good info...

I have found that most weapons I load for like a fat Boolit...as in 2-4 thousand's over bore size... there is no one size is best for all...to many variables. Your on the right track , buy the cheap Lee sizers and see how you guns run em

I use .360 in my 357's, .432 in 44's and .455 in 45LC/454's: but I have some guns that want more or less size

My 30-30's,06's 308's use .312, 444's use .432, 45/70's use .460-.462

.001 may work fine for you , if not don't be shy about .002 IMHO

[mpmarty]

At the very least, save yourself some time and effort: Lube them in a pan or tumble lube and let the chamber throat and barrel size them for you. As long as they will fit in the gun they won't be too big.

[drmellow]

mpmarty.. I like your style. Sometimes I get confused behind the theory or what I read. I'm sure they will shoot a paper target just fine. The rest is fine tuning. Thanks for the encouraging words.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

The posted replies do bring up another question. I just finished casting about 1000 rounds of wheel weight boolits for .357.
I water quenced every one.
Will they be too hard for pistol?

They will be fine to shoot, but they will be more difficult to size, I like to size harder boolits soon after casting to save wear and tear on the press/sizer (within 24 hours) because they will age harden. when you get to sizing them and it's too difficult, you can take the hardness out of them by heating them to about 450º (like in a toaster oven), then let them slowly cool.
Jon

[drmellow]

Sounds like a good tip. I'll order my sizers tomorrow and give them a try next week. Thanks.