I tried a RCBS 38 Cowboy expander plug in my 9mm die. Besides being too long to flare the mouth, it was only .3564 in diameter. .358 bullets swaged to .356 in the case.
Heavy leading resulted in my .357 bore. (Bullets were unsized 3 week old air cooled COWW equiv., lubbed with WLL)
Should I try a plug from a .38 S&W? It's supposed to be .361. I suppose I could hone it to .358, if need be...
I left the cases uncrimped. Cartridges easily dropped into the chamber.
Last edited by BSJI; 07-04-2015 at 07:36 AM.
I'd have to go look, but I believe I do use the expander from my .38 S&W dies. I welded and turned that one, and don't recall it's exact diameter. Do remember you need sufficient case tension to prevent boolit setback. It doesn't take much in the small volume 9mm for things to get interesting. I shoot .358 in most of my 9mm's., one requires .359" Good luck.
I think your expander is fine. I use 6-2-92 alloy and HI-TEK coating and have clean barrels with great accuracy. 9mm is just hard to do with cast boolits. Also your bore condition can have a lot to do with how cast boolits perform.Originally Posted by BSJI
I use a 9 mm Makarov expander but then again I size my 38 S&W boolits to .362" works like a dream for my wife's S&W Terrier
" Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation: for it is better to be alone than in bad company. " George Washington
I use my 9mm as cast as well which is at least .358" and my barrel is .355" I also found that I need around 15bhn to prevent leading. These are tumble lube boolits though. You could very likely get away with less hardness with a normal boolit.
Motor
Keep in mind stock reloading die set ( including a 38 S&W) expanders are made for jacketed bullets ( Unless you order a custom expanding die) That is why the Makarov expading die is perfect for cast boolits in a 38 S&W cartridge
" Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation: for it is better to be alone than in bad company. " George Washington
What diameter is the Makarov expander? The Cowboy .38 S&W is supposed to be .361. But the again, the Cowboy 38 was supposed .357...
I got one of these from NOE and I love it in my 9mm.
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product...2m928v6kimle06
Your sizing die must really squash the cases down. Could your bullets be getting sized down in your crimping stage instead? It's a pretty common problem, especially for 9mm
It sounds like your problem starts when your brass goes through the sizing die. If your sizing die is tapered, try backing it out until it quits under-sizing your brass. What you want is sizing that results in the brass being the size you want the expander plug to make it. The expander then won't matter so long as it will bell the mouth. Choose one that will and your reloading will speed back up.
And now set your seating die to work normally. Make sure it isn't resizing the cartridge. And adjust your crimp so it isn't either.
Every die in the set can screw up things it supposedly doesn't have "responsibility" for. You're seeing a sizer that screws up the expanding.... because the expander isn't appropriate (and they don't have to be as mentioned above). etc etc
The Lee Mak Expander is .363"/ .364" on the flare ...If you figure out your brass spring back It does nicely with a .362" boolit which is really a 38 S&W lead boolit size I haven't see many .38 S&W's that were less then .360" in groove dia.!
" Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation: for it is better to be alone than in bad company. " George Washington
Just want to be clear here are we talking 38 S&W or 9 mm? this thread is getting confusing. I'm answering the OP original post
" Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation: for it is better to be alone than in bad company. " George Washington
Worth a try. You can always sand down a plug that is too big/long. With the right equipment or determination. I have a Lee 38SW plug, and it is only 356. I have no clue how that is supposed to work for 362 bullets. I used it for 9mm with good results.
I'm still taking about a 9mm.
I'm just trying to figure out a, more or less, drop in expander plug that'll open the cases enough for my carbine.
Try different headstamp brass, some are significantly thinner than others, and you get much less boolit swaging from the case. I have come to prefer the R-P cases for my 9mm's as they seem to be thinner and allow me to use fatter boolits while still chambering well.
The Lee SE1699 38 S&W expander (PTE) works great. I think the main reason to use it is for depth, not just diameter. Expands the case much deeper than the 9mm expander does, perfect for 9mm cast boolits. A drop in $3 part for Lee PTE die that requires no modifications.
I use the .38 cal D-funnel for loading 9mm on a Dillon 550 to expand the case deeper than the 9mm expander does. This helps the boolit to not be swaged down on loading.
OP, I am not aware of any manufacturer that makes a full 358 expander plug. My bores are only 355 1/2" at most, and for that, the LEE 38SW is fine, and the NOE 356/360 is superlative.
For 38, I think you're on the right track with trying the Cowboy 38SW expander. If the Cowboy 38 special expander is .3564, the Cowboy 38SW should be close enough to what you want. Because if that doesn't do it, you may have to get one custom made and/or turn one down yourself.
I had the same problem for 40SW. My 401/404 expander is made from a Lyman 40-60 WCF plug, shortened and turned down.
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