nose first sizing question

[colbyjack]

on the nose first sizing in a star. does that mean stick the point of the bullet down in the hole first or aim bullet up and run it thru?

havent set it up yet but someone told me the point or tip of the bullet faces up not down. is that correct or incorrect? and does it matter which way?

seems i got a tool (punch maybe) thats flat and one thats domed looks like maybe a point of a bullet goes up in it to size base first??? who knows im lost and i havent started yet.... lol going to need help guys.... -chris

[beagle]

The nose goes down. Star uses a flat punch (what we normally call a top punch in base first sizers)./beagle

[runfiverun]

magma engineering sells these look on thier website to get parts and instructions for these
i used to deal with them quite a bit and never had an issue with thier customer service
you will want thier catalogue anyway so you can price thier sizers etc..

[colbyjack]

part # s102n says special nose punch, not sure if thats what i got or not. ill look into it as i get set up. maybe i got the normal flat punch and a nose punch. not sure but it fits a 200 grain SWC pefect if it goes nose up. but wouldnt that get lube on the nose??? -chris

[garandsrus]

Chris,

I don't know the correct time line, but STAR's were initially used with the boolits going through base first and they sold different style nose punches. Somewhere along the way, somebody figured out that if you size the boolit nose first (nose down) then you could just use one flat punch for any nose shape in that or a similar caliber.

John

[colbyjack]

Chris,

I don't know the correct time line, but STAR's were initially used with the boolits going through base first and they sold different style nose punches. Somewhere along the way, somebody figured out that if you size the boolit nose first (nose down) then you could just use one flat punch for any nose shape in that or a similar caliber.

John

cool maybe i got both punches then. grandpa found the book on the star it says 1957 on it. so its pretty old. maybe it was set up for base first so grandpa has it set up that way. he might have came across a newer punch for nose first also. cause one is flat and one fits the shape of the wadcutter perfect.

i guess long as it works i m good to go then. -chris

[Ken]

I have an older star. I use the nose punches that were machined for nose up bullet sizing to nose down size the bullets. The nose punch contacts the base of the bullet around the outer circumferance but it works fine.

[Jon K]

colbyjack,

You can use the nose punch either way, but your question about grease on the nose when using the nose punch- you align the grease grooves with the holes in the die, and plug any excess holes, the grease is pumped into the boolit in that staionary position. Grease should not ooze while the boolit exits and the new boolit moves down to get greased, unless you have too much pressure jacked into th grease chamber.

Jon

[454PB]

I suggest you take measurements on the punch setting once you have it properly adjusted. It saves a lot of time when changing dies. Record the distance as measured with a vernier caliper and it is then repeatable each time dies are swapped.