NOE expanders are not expensive. Buy a few different sizes in the range you should need, then find what works best for you.
15 pieces of flair is the minimum, but look at Brian he has 37.....
Last edited by BigMagShooter; 01-17-2019 at 10:49 PM.
I've tried various NOE expander plugs with .314" bullets. The .313" plug is too big, .312" feels on the light side for neck tension when seating bullets, although I tried shooting them with no bullets pulling at all. I like the .315"x.311", and it seems that gives the best neck tension without sizing down soft bullets. .315" is the short section so you can start bullets, .311" is the section that actually holds the bullet, aka neck tension. Your hardened bullets will handle more neck tension than the 20-1 alloy I often play with. I cannot start .314" bullets with the .314"x.310" plug, I have to run them through a flare die separately, although it might be a good choice if sizing to .313".
I finally got back to shooting these bullets last weekend, I am narrowing in on the sweet spot. 7.5 grains Bluedot with CCI 500 primer seems to be the winner, although 12 grains H110 with CCI 550 primer is not bad. I want to try H110 with a standard primer next. I have also found 4 grains American Select to be very good, I need to sit down and do a formal group test with that. They are the Accurate 31-120K for the guy who asked.
Last edited by megasupermagnum; 01-17-2019 at 12:31 AM.
All of those numbers are for seating in the crimp groove. 1.545" OAL.
in first pic it looks like the empty ones have too much flair but with the bullet in it looks correct
My .32s look the same way
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zym, I've had a couple wrinkled cases but from other 'not paying attention' steps. One was to much lube when sizing and another was compressing BP a 'little' bit more with the boolit.
Me too ! My classic move is to thread the die the wrong direction. For example I’ll grab my 32 cal strait wall lee powder through flare die knowing it last flared 32sw long . Throw it in the press give it 8 full turns and I think anyone who hasn’t EVER wrinkled a case hasn’t pulled the handle too many times
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Your flare is fabulous.
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I suggest you look into a Lyman M-Die. Surprised no one mentioned it yet.
It works the brass MUCH less and I find a improvement in accuracy. it opens the case mouth allowing the bullet to be started SQUARE into the case.
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If the boolit will go into the case an eight on an inch or so its flared enough .
Looks about like my 44-40 brass last time I tried to make that work
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Back to the OP. Lee universal expander with NOE plugs works better then powder through die or Lee universal expander alone. Here is how you determine if you need more or less flair. Not enough and you'll scrape PC or cut ring from the bullet and too much will give you hard time going in your seating die. Edges will start catching on the die. Again NOE plugs are great and def worth less then $10 they cost. Not only will they help you seat your bullets better but also they will prevent to some degree lead bullet swaging when seating.
I hate those lee powder through dies . Allways weigh each charge and fill in loading block in seperate operation.
A little chamfer on the inside of the case mouth goes a long way in preventing PC/lead scraping, removal. just saying...
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Your brass looks pretty clean. New brass sticks a bit in my Lee die, but after I shoot it and reload, without cleaning, the soot acts as a bit of a lubricant and things smooth out.
I would try less flare. No sense in overworking the brass.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |