.475 sizer

[JohnSmiles]

Ok, here is a question:
I use Lee products almost exclusively, and am in the process of buying either a Puma in either .480 or .454.
And I just noticed that Lee does not offer a sizer for their gas checked mold for the .480.
Who here shoots a 475 or a 480, and what sizer do you use?
John

[Scrounger]

Ok, here is a question:
I use Lee products almost exclusively, and am in the process of buying either a Puma in either .480 or .454.
And I just noticed that Lee does not offer a sizer for their gas checked mold for the .480.
Who here shoots a 475 or a 480, and what sizer do you use?
John

They will make you one for $25. Just call them and tell them what diameter you want the sized bullets to be....

[Lloyd Smale]

John my opinion is that if you want to shoot 480s and 454s at the velocitys your going to get out of a rifle its time to step up to a lubesizer and a good lube as your really pushing the limits of tumble lubed bullets. Some will disagree with me but tumble lube just hasnt performed for me at levels much over plinking bullets in handguns. For a small investment in a cheap lyman lubesizer that can be found on ebay for 50 bucks you will be much better off. For one thing i dont think theres a tumble lubed designed bullet for the 480s anyway. Tumble lubed bullet have many groves to hold lube which you dont have on a conventional bullet. A conventional bullet can be used with tumble lube but your allready pushing the envelope with tumble lubed bullets at those speeds and to take a bullet that wasnt designed for it and push them with it just isnt going to work out well.

[Scrounger]

If Lloyd is correct, and he has obviously done more than I have in that area, you can still use the Lee sizer by pan-lubing your bullets before sizing. Both methods have merit.

[Lloyd Smale]

that would work too. But it would be a messy deal that could be cured by buying a lube sizer. One thing to keep in mind loading the 480 476 454 and the big smith rounds is that your dealing with almost full bore rifle pressures with these rounds and they stress a cast bullet more then a 44 mag or 500 linebaugh. I doubt if many people would use alox for a 50000 psi rifle load so why figure you can get away with it in a handgun that is harder on a cast bullet slaming through a forcing cone then any rifle bullet. To run these guns at full throttle you need first a good gun second a proper alloy of at least #2 and preferably harder and a dammed good lube and for the most part your going to need a gas checked bullet design if you are really looking at performance loads over 1300 fps. Now im sure ill hear about somebody using a ww plain based bullet and having good luck. But slam 300 of them through your gun in one sitting and look at your barrel and more importantly look at your groups. You might get minute of beer can accuracy by cutting corners but your not going to shoot one inch groups and hold that accuracy through many rounds.

[JohnSmiles]

$25? Thats not too bad.
I have used the pan and lube method years ago, and it wasn't any big deal.
I do not shoot as much as you might think.
Or NEARLY as much as I used to for that matter.
I have no intentions of using alox on full house cast rounds.
I was making some lower end gas checked .500's for plinking in my Handi rifle.
And expected to do same with the Puma in whichever caliber I finally decide on.
I have 20 or so bars of 63/37, 50 lbs or so of pure lead, and about 250 lbs of cleaned wheel weights, and have been mixing what comes very close to #2 alloy.
Down the road I intend to drop them straight into cold water, or maybe try heat treating a couple hundred rounds, to work into some full steam cast loads.
Thanks for the suggestions!