Long shot - has anyone formed 429 DE from 50 AE?

[Ken73]

Pun fully intended... I know it's a stretch since the cartridge is fairly new and dies are just now becoming available but figured I'd at least ask. I'm considering a 429 DE barrel for my DE but not really keen on $30 for a box of 20. I don't mind buying a few boxes to get me started obviously but ideally I'd have a source of brass. I have some once-fired 50AE that I don't mind trying it on and Lee appears to have dies coming very soon as well.

Edit: I ordered the dies from Lee (says backorder, due Friday but we'll see) and the most reasonable price for ammo is $37/box of 20. Probably get 3 boxes and a barrel to start with.

[376Steyr]

I suspect brass formed from 50 AE cases will wind up being shorter than 429 DE cases, plus the necks might even need to be reamed. I recommend starting with just a few pieces of test brass, using lots of lube, and making lots of short passes instead of one continuous push.
Leafing through my loading manual, it looks like the 348 Winchester would make a sort-of intermediate form die, reducing the case diameter at the case mouth from 0.529 to around 0.506. Maybe. Better yet would be to grab your spare 450/400 Nitro Express 3" sizing die and grind an inch or so off the bottom of it. Good Luck!

[Ken73]

Thanks for the replies guys, I got the barrel and some ammo in on Friday; you're right about the 50AE and 429DE being the same length (and probably making the formed 429DE ammo short.) I went ahead and got 100 rounds so I'm okay for now but when the dies come in I may give it a try.

[WinchesterM1]

I love my 429DE I just bought 3 boxes from cheaper then dirt for like 128. Mins is the stainless one that will be in the Gandgunner Magazine!! Some perks of the job

[WinchesterM1]

I love my 429DE I just bought 3 boxes from cheaper then dirt for like 128. Mins is the stainless one that will be in the Gandgunner Magazine!! Some perks of the job

[Ken73]

Just a few reloading notes:

I ordered Lee dies which consist of a full-length-sizing/decapper die, a powder-through-expanding die and a bullet seating/taper crimping die.

I've fired two rounds (actually I fired one, and let a buddy fire one.) So I have a couple of fired rounds to play with and examine. I would have shot more but my grass is really tall and I had a hard enough time finding the two pieces of brass. Once I mow and clean up my range I'll probably put targets up and fire more.

Factory rounds appear to have been crimped with a *collet* crimper rather than a taper crimp (as evidenced by the four pinch marks around the neck.) Neither is necessarily better than the other in this case as the cartridge headspaces off of the shoulder rather than the mouth (like a straight walled cartridge.) However the taper crimps work better for bullets with cannelures on them - for me, I'll be powder coating cast bullets that have crimp rings so it might not be an issue. For the short term I have some cast/plated bullets (240 gn) to run in it as a comparison. In case it is an issue, I bought a 44 Magnum collet crimp die that I'm going to see about modifying - which brings me to my next point:

Case is 1.275" long - both fired and unfired. SAAMI specs for 50 AE and 44 Mag are 1.285" - no SAAMI specs are available that I've seen for the 429 DE. So everyone's thoughts about forming 429 DE from 50 AE sounds spot on. Considering the 429 DE is .010" shorter than 50 AE specs, it might be very possible to form it; I have some once-fired 50 AE to try this.

I called Lee Precision and talked to a super nice guy (Jim) who chatted with me for a good 1/2 hour about the cartridge and seeing about getting a collet crimp die; he said if the cartridge was under 1.285" then they couldn't make a die for it. I think this is more of Lee's production standards than it is an actual limitation; i.e. they produce the collet die bodies en mass and would have to custom make me one since it falls outside of their tolerances. (Keep in mind the factory ammo is made with that type of crimp.) As mentioned above, I'm going to attempt to make (modify) my own since a 44 Mag die is only $13. It looks like I'll need to remove some diameter (obviously) as well as about .010" of length from both the body and collet to make one.

Primers were FLATTENED big time in the fired rounds. That tells me they're at the top end of things. I didn't chrono the two rounds I fired; I need to dig out my chrono still. After taking a picture (below) I noticed the primer in the unfired round appears to be somewhat recessed. I'll have to check the other rounds I have to see if that one is just a fluke or if that's the norm. I have 100 rounds from two different retailers (Palmetto and Natchez) and I already combined them so I don't know which came from where (there's no lot numbers on the boxes.) That big of a recess makes me wonder if they were cut for Large Rifle primers rather than Large Pistol. When I decap the two fired rounds I should be able to tell which it is.

Not sure if you can tell in the photo, but the fired round has a fairly clear ejector mark on it, too. The gun didn't bang up the brass too bad where I wouldn't re-use it, but it is noticeable.

I have 440 Corbon loading data as a starting point, obviously you load 10% less to start with and work your way up but I see no reason not to use that data (it's almost an identical cartridge.)


USPS says my dies will be here Saturday (3/16) and my shop is up and running (minus compressed air lines and a sink) so I'll be able to reload the couple of rounds I have and compare once I get everything cleaned up around here. Same buddy that came over and fired a round also was kind enough to give me his gently-used Lee LoadMaster press (minus some of the parts, which should arrive today) so once I get it figured out, I can pump out quite a few rounds in one sitting. My other presses are single stage or turret so that'll make a nice addition.

Side note: Boxes of ammo are cheapest at Palmetto at $32.99 a box + shipping. Natchez had them for $36.99 when Palmetto was out of stock.

[Ken73]

Dies came today:



Smeared some sizing wax on a once-fired 50AE and presto!



It's actually LONGER than a factory round oddly enough at 1.282" - which is the "max trim to" length shown in the die instructions.

Now to make a handful of home-rolled ones to play with....

[CPC24]

That is one cool looking round. It looks like a 357 Sig and a .50 Beowulf had a baby!