Is .225 sized boolits in .224 sized brass ok?

[powderandprimers]

I've never reloaded before so this may be an amateur question, but i don't want to start using my mold/dies only to find out they wont work together and not be able to return them. I Recently purchased everything i think i will need including a Lee .225 double cavity mold, Lee .224 Remington ultimate die set, and Lee .225 boolit sizing die. I am going to size after powder coating; I don't have any gas blocks so i guess i wont use them at first.

Will i have any issues with the .225 sized boolits being shaved or swaged and as a result not being a consistent size and shape?

[jdfoxinc]

As long as the filled cartridge chambers your good. I too size to .225.

[powderandprimers]

Ok good, thank you

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP...

Will i have any issues with the .225 sized boolits being shaved or swaged and as a result not being a consistent size and shape?

Powder,
Welcome to the forum.

The answer to your question is, YES.

But, I'd like to ask why you will have inconsistent size and shaped boolits?

[powderandprimers]

Thanks, this forum is great. Well my thought was that if the die kit is for .224 that i would need to use 224 sized boolits or they might shave off or swage when seating. I just read the following quote on another thread, so now i'm thinking the brass being undersized is normal, and shaving/swaging is a non-issue as long as i chamfer and flare the neck correctly.

"My RCBS .223 Rem die has a mandrel diameter of .222" and a sized case has an inside neck diameter of .218"-.219". Bullets of course are .224" so trying to stuff a .224" bullet into a .218" neck is not happening by hand."

[454PB]

Just make sure you bell the case mouth enough to prevent shaving.

[runfiverun]

well,, your thoughts are valid.
there is a possibility of the boolit being squished by different things throughout the loading process.
the 9mm is pretty famous for this happening, and others have had issues with several cases shaving or distorting the boolit in the loading rocess.
measure your way through the process from start to finish.
is the mold giving you enough diameter?
is the sizing die 225?
is the expanding mandrel giving you .002 neck tension?
and so on down the line.

[powderandprimers]

Thanks for the tips. The mold is .225, powder coating will add some, and the sizing die is .225. I also bought a .224 sizing die but i don't think i will need it.
I will make sure to bell the case mouth enough and check that the expanding mandrel is giving correct neck tension; and measure throughout the process.

Still reading through The ABCs of Reloading and possibly another manual before i get started, but it seems like i ordered the correct dies and mold.

[nicholst55]

Welcome to the addiction! In a perfect world, your mold would drop perfectly round boolits to spec that wouldn't grow ovr time, and your sizing die would yield .225" boolits that wouldn't spring back, or grow while in storage. Since we live in an imperfect world, you need to measure these things.

[Motor]

Nobody has mentioned neck expander yet. Yes you will definitely shave bullets if you don't use some type of neck expander that will put a mouth flare on your casing.

For the .223 I size the boolits .2255" I use a Lee universal neck expander to put the mouth flare on the casings. I also use Lyman "M" dies for other calibers and like them too.

My alloy is around 14 to 15BHN and I use powder coating. At this alloy hardness I'm not having any issues with the boolits being squeezed down when seating.

I think you will ok on neck ID size but definitely need to flare the case month.

Motor

[powderandprimers]

nocholst55 Thanks! 10-4 i will keep my dial caliper close.

Motor big thanks for mentioning that! The flaring die doesn't come up a lot and for whatever reason i didn't give it a second thought when checking which dies i need. I just ordered one off amazon.

Just to give some more information to those who are helping me out, this is the list of supplies i have:

Lyman cast bullet handbook
Lyman reloading handbook
Lee breech lock challenger kit
Lee .225 sizing die
Lee pacesetter .223 die set
Lee Universal flaring die
Lee 223 case length gauge and shell holder
Lee liquid alox
Hornady one shot case lube
Hornady 22 gas checks
Digital scale

Lee 4-20 pot
Lee ingot mold
Lee 6 cavity .225 mold
Lee 6 cavity handles
Frankford arsenal Cleancast flux
RCBS thermometer
RCBS mold mallet
Lee ladle
10 lbs. sorted lead wheel weights

Just got the lyman books today so i have a good bit of reading to do. I still need gun powder, primers, and Powder coat paint.

[runfiverun]

I see a couple of things there I wouldn't use, you may or may not like them as you go along.
your gonna want a bit more alloy.
but I think your on the right track.
I would probably start out by practicing the casting part, you can throw them back in the pot [no harm no foul] and gain experience with your equipment.

[dkf]

For .225" bullets I find I can get along with the neck ID after it comes out of my RCBS sizer. My bullets are pretty hard though at over 20bhn. I do ad a fair amount of flare to the mouth though with a Lee universal expanding die, this prevents shaving. If you want to know for sure your neck is the right size pick up some NOE expander plugs in the applicable sizes.

[powderandprimers]

Yeah casting will be a learning curve, practice makes perfect though. Yeah you're right about needing more alloy, i'll have to pick some up. I watched quite a few videos about casting and common mistakes people make, so as soon as my melting pot arrives i can get started.

[powderandprimers]

dkf Thank you. Those expander plugs are perfect for oversize cast boolits. Though if you and jdfoxinc don't have problems with shaving then i might not need one for 223, but if i do its nice to know they're available and at that price.

Edit: I'm casting for an AR-15 so i think i'll need to get the hardness up so it will cycle without the barrel leading. I'll be using quenched WW but i'm thinking i might need to get Tin or Antimony to bring the hardness up. Still researching that part.

[runfiverun]

for my bolt guns I just use a LEE collet neck sizer on the cases.
then I bump the case mouth against my 243 button to put the flair on the case mouth.
I don't even bother trying to remove the flair i just use it how it comes from the seating die.

[powderandprimers]

I should've mentioned i'm reloading for a semi-auto, otherwise i would do exactly the same. I know i'll need to full length resize, but i'm not sure if i'll really need to use the crimp die. Guess ill find out when i seat a couple boolits.

[dkf]

I only load .223 for ARs. I use the crimp die (using a Lee collet crimp die) to remove the flare. The NOE expander plugs do not do any angular flare but they do open the neck up more at the top to prevent shaving. So I do a small amount of crimp when using the NOEexpander plugs too to remove that step up.

[RogerDat]

+1 on the NOE expander plugs that fit in the Lee Universal Expander body. They are purchased at a size that will put a small flare at the mouth AND expand the case neck so it doesn't squeeze your cast lead down. http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product...oducts_id=1111

A normal die will size the neck to a diameter that will be tight on a copper jacket which won't compress in size from the neck pressure. Lead bullet can be swaged (squeezed) to be undersized by the case neck. I crimp just enough to remove the flare, and maybe a tiny touch more to prevent recoil moving the bullet. Have to use reading glasses or magnifying glass to see the turn in of the crimp. Really just a nudge of the die past removing the flare.

I use Lyman #2 which is BHN of around 15 - 16 and it works well. I prefer using alloy of certain hardness to water dropping the bullets to quench harden but either one will work.

You might want to replace that Lee ladle with a Lyman Little Dipper but with a bottom pour pot like the 4-20 you may not care as much about the ladle. I ladle cast everything so I went with the Lyman. https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Casting.../dp/B001OPLJUU

[powderandprimers]

sorry i didnt reply, ive been a bit busy. thanks for the tips. i like the lyman little dipper and the noe plugs; i plan to get both as soon as my wallet allows.
i loaded a few cartriges but im not %100 on a couple things. Mainly what overall length to use for my ar15. ive read everything from 2.150 to 2.260 for various reasons, wont cycle, nose gets dented, overpressure, accuracy ect ect. What do those of you who cast for ARs use?
The second thing is what do you think would be a starting load with h335? im thinking 16 gn. I only want it to cycle, at the lowest velocity possible.