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Thread: .44 magnum brass with bulge...

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy iwottopq's Avatar
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    .44 magnum brass with bulge...

    Hello to all.
    I have a used Ruger .44 magnum carbine, the Deerstalker.
    When I resize the spent brasses in Lee decapper/resizer die appears the bulge in the pic. It is about 2 or 2 height above the rim.
    Why this occurs?
    Thanks inadvance for your help.
    Nino
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails IMG_20170924_063919.jpg  

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    The brass is shaped by the resting die to the point of the bulge. Try the brass in the gun, if it will chamber you are are OK. The shell holder can be shorten by taking material off of the top of the shell holder. The removal from the top of the shell holder will allow the case to do further up into the resting die, the bulge will be further down the case.
    I had to shorten the shell holder on 9 mm brass so the brass would chamber properly.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master


    Walter Laich's Avatar
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    does your die go all the way to the shell holder?

    Looks like there may be a gap between them

    I run my sizer right now to the top of the shell holder, almost touching it

    Has this been doing it all the time on your brass or is it something new?

    also commercial or reload ammo being used?

    let us know
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  4. #4
    Boolit Master Jedman's Avatar
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    I believe you are just seeing where the solid head of the case starts. Your sizing die should touch the shell holder when sizing / depriming the brass the die does not size the head of the casing.

    Jedman

  5. #5
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    This is normal, the Lee die doesn't size all the way to the bottom of the die, so you have the thickness of the top of the shellholder and then the nose of the die has a chamfer in the bottom so this is as far down on the case that the actual sizing ring will go. It doesn't hurt anything.
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  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy iwottopq's Avatar
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    Hello.
    Thanks to all for your help.
    The loaded cartridges enter easily in the chamber but sometimes the bolt not close completely and I must to "help" it with a tap on the handle. I think that this defect is by the bulge.
    The shell holder, on the press, touch the base of the resizing die at the same manner of the other caliber that I reload...and are many...but this is the first time that it occurs to me. I screw the die til it touch the SH than I turn another half turn.
    Ciao
    Nino

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Just make sure that is not a stress ring forming around the base of the brass and getting ready to crack. How many times has this brass been fired?

  8. #8
    Boolit Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by iwottopq View Post
    Hello.
    Thanks to all for your help.
    The loaded cartridges enter easily in the chamber but sometimes the bolt not close completely and I must to "help" it with a tap on the handle. I think that this defect is by the bulge.
    The shell holder, on the press, touch the base of the resizing die at the same manner of the other caliber that I reload...and are many...but this is the first time that it occurs to me. I screw the die til it touch the SH than I turn another half turn.
    Ciao
    Nino
    You're doing the die placement correct.

    I've been known to remove the deprimer arm from the sizing die and push the shell in as far as it would go; use a couple of blocks of wood in a vice so there is no shellplate in this operation

    then punch the shell out from the top with a dowel. not a fast process but I only do 5 or so

    load up a couple and see if the chambering is any better.

    you could just have a tight chamber in your firearm unlike my Marlin that you could drive a truck through--but that's another story
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  9. #9
    Boolit Master

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    Is your resizing die carbide or steel? If carbide, you could crack the carbide sizing ring inside the die by hard contact with the shellholder. For Carbide dies, I only screw the resizer in until it just touches the shellholder. For Steel dies, I allow cam-over of the press. After contact, screw in the die and additional 1/8-1/4 turn, so that without a case in the shellholder, I feel moderate resistance from the die-shellholder contact. The amount of resistance to overcome shouldn't be heavy at the press handle.

    A half turn might still be too much cam-over of the press. That is 0.036" of travel that you are forcing the press and linkage to absorb.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master

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    Also, I find that steel dies will typically size a little bit lower on the case than carbide, at least in RCBS. There is more filet to the carbide ring on my carbide dies than taper on the entrance to the steel dies.
    Last edited by BK7saum; 09-27-2017 at 02:39 PM.

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I would suspect the original problem starts with the chamber of the rifle. Wouldn't be surprised if the semi-auto had a kind of wide opening to help feeding. If so, the discharge expands the brass to the "larger" chamber opening. Who knows if I'm on the right tract here. Anyway, the above advice is good.

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy iwottopq's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tripplebeards View Post
    Just make sure that is not a stress ring forming around the base of the brass and getting ready to crack. How many times has this brass been fired?
    The brasses are reloaded only two times with light charge...

  13. #13
    Boolit Buddy iwottopq's Avatar
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    ...I forgot...the dies are Lee...

  14. #14
    Boolit Bub
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    Lee dies also tend to have a little extra metal at the bottom. You could use a stone or a fine file and remove a little bit of material but be careful not to get into the carbide ring. Between that and removing a small amount of material from the shell holder or buying a set of Redding Shell Holders with incremental sizes. You should be able to get it to size down further, also do you notice if the Bulge is different with different brands of brass?

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy iwottopq's Avatar
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    Hello.
    No...the bulge is the same in any brass that I use. They are Fiocchi, Federal, Star Line and other.
    Today at the range the bolt, when were closing on a live ammo, remained sometimes (about 7 or 8 times on 40) a bit opened. So the striker dont hit the primer and the bolt handle was so hard to pull...
    Ciao
    Nino

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    I've had this happen with a LOT of different cartridges but it's never been a problem. Hard chambering/tight bolt can be caused by not crimping enough, OAL is too long for that boolit profile, brass is a little too long, etc. Could even be some fouling in the throat.
    Warning: I know Judo. If you force me to prove it I'll shoot you.

  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy iwottopq's Avatar
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    Hello.
    Thanks JSnover for your reply. I effectively crimp the cartridges very light. I will try to crimp more/clean better the chamber/trim the brass. The OAL is 41 millimeters and the boolit is a Lee 429-240 SWC.
    Ciao
    Nino

  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by iwottopq View Post
    Hello.
    No...the bulge is the same in any brass that I use. They are Fiocchi, Federal, Star Line and other.
    Today at the range the bolt, when were closing on a live ammo, remained sometimes (about 7 or 8 times on 40) a bit opened. So the striker dont hit the primer and the bolt handle was so hard to pull...
    Ciao
    Nino
    If I were you I'd take the rifle to a gunsmith for a check up!
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BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
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