Chambering prob. w/ .38 SWC reloads-need advice

[woodsie57]

Tried shooting some of my first ever batch of home-cast boolitz- basic Lee t/l 158 gr. swc's -nuttin fancy. Some cases [maybe one outta 20]are swelled/bulged and wont chamber; all were resized. Guessing I started them into the case crooked, or I seated them too deep [all the bands seated below the case mouth.] I've heard leaving one band outside the case, crimping in the first groove, is better; I'll do that. Plan to load more this wknd., hope to avoid a repeat. Want to avoid overworking the brass, maybe I dont expand the case mouths enough. The bullets often dont wanna sit straight on the case as they're being raised into the seating die; I figure they'll straighten out in the die. Will they?

[JMax]

I believe that you have seated the bullets too deep and should crimp into the first band. Also a problem w/148 gr wad cutters and brass selection becomes important especially for WC loads to minimize bullet base bulge in the loaded cartridge. Also check your head stamps to determine which one works best.

[BruceB]

Your SWC bullets should allow plenty of room for seating without bulges due to insufficient capacity. Definitely, seat to the foremost GROOVE and crimp into it, just as you stated.

Perfect alignment of the bullet before seating is not absolutely necessary, but try to get it as close to straight as is reasonably possible. The case should be belled or expanded enough that the base of the bullet will fit INTO the mouth maybe 1/8", not balanced on top of the case mouth before seating. When the case is belled to this extent, the bullet will sit there sufficiently securely for the seating stroke. A good flare on the mouth also helps reduce scraping of the bullet as it's seated. Ensure that the seating die applies a good crimp, removing the flare and turning the case mouth into the crimping groove.

Worrying about case life and failing to expand the mouth as a result, is false economy. Even using a decent flare on the mouth, your cases will last for many, many reloadings. Ammo that is less-than-perfect due to a failure to flare the mouths is ammo that needs some adjustments in the loading routine.

It's plain to me that you have a sufficiently-analytical mind that you won't have any difficulty solving the occasional problem that arises in handloading. I'd suggest continuing much as you are, and make SMALL trial batches of ammunition before getting into the mass quantities.
Once you've created a batch that functions and looks the way you want, have at it!

Oh....and welcome to a great hobby.

[wallenba]

woodsie57, I don't know what kind of press you are using, but I had the same problem with a new Lee turret press. It was caused by the die disks not aligning with the ram. As the case entered the die mouth it tried to slide over to enter straight, but the inner rim of the shellholder would not let it. It was not the boolit seating crooked, but the case starting up the die at an angle. It would then seat the boolit bulging to one side of the case. This was because the off centered die sized the CASE off center. If you have a Lee Turret press, PM me and I'll tell you how to fix it.

[woodsie57]

My press is a Lee, think maybe Challenger was the model name. Basic single stage. I'd thought about the off-center thing, doesn't seem likely. 'Cept maybe when I dont make sure the case is fully engaged in the shellholder slot. ''Bruce B"s explanation seems do describe/address my situation pretty well. If it was a die misalignment deal, It would likely show up pretty regularly, as opposed to the 5% I'm getting. And, Ive apparntly been flaring the case mouths way less than I should, that would explain the little lead slivers that accumulate around the shellholder,too. Thanks All!

[Ben]

+P brass has a taper inside it. If you seat a bullet like a full wadcutter in a +P case you'll get a case bulge that will affect chambering.

Check the rounds that won't chamber and see if they have +P head stamps on them ? ?

You will need enough flare on the case mouth to allow about 1/16" of an inch of the base of the bullet to enter the case mouth freely.

This question hasn't been asked yet...........What is the diameter of the cast bullets that you are attempting to seat in your cases ?



Ben

[JW6108]

+P brass has a taper inside it. If you seat a bullet like a full wadcutter in a +P case you'll get a case bulge that will affect chambering.

Check the rounds that won't chamber and see if they have +P head stamps on them ? ?

You will need enough flare on the case mouth to allow about 1/16" of an inch of the base of the bullet to enter the case mouth freely.

This question hasn't been asked yet...........What is the diameter of the cast bullets that you are attempting to seat in your cases ?



Ben

That's what has caused the bulge for me in the past.

I now segregate +P brass and use it for SWC bullets only.

[Ben]

woodsie57 states that he is using a SWC, He never mentioned if he was sizing his as cast bullets or simply taking the as cast, TL Lee bullets, coating them in alox - allowing them to dry and then loading them. Those bullets could be .360 + as they fall from the mold ? ? ?

I've seen more than 1 pistol ( espec. autoloaders ) that won't chamber a Lee Tumble lube bullet as it falls from the mold because it is just to fat and causes the case to bulge.

Take the same bullet and size it to the appropriate dia. and everything is fine.

If he is seating a .357 or .358 bullet and still can't chamber the round, the wall thickness of his brass is suspect. I have some WCC military brass that you won't load a W/C or long 158 gr. SWC in and chamber in several of my 38 spec. revolvers. Take the same WCC 38 spec. cases and load a short 110 gr. or 125 gr. jacketed bullet and it will chamber fine.

Ben

[woodsie57]

These bullets mic. at .358 to .3585. They're unsized, air cooled WW.'s from a lee tumble lube mold. Lube is Johnsons paste wax. Very low tech setup, I know. Trying to keep it simple .

[GrizzLeeBear]

Since you said only about 1 out of 20 is giving you this problem I suspect the boolits. Many times a mold (Lee's in particular) will occasionally drop a fat boolit. Several different reasons for this. Most people that use the Lee molds (including me) encounter this. The boolits are perfectly fine to shoot, but cause feeding / chambering issues. I would get a .358 Lee push thru sizer to eliminate the occasional fat boolit. Simple and cheap way to avoid this issue.
Also, as you said, seat the boolits longer. I would seat them out to and crimp them in whichever groove gets you right at or just under max. length and fits in your cylinder.

[Four Fingers of Death]

You haven't got a bit of crud in the shellholder where the rim goes have you?

[TAWILDCATT]

if you sized and loaded,did you crimp heavy and bulge the case.dont crimp so heavy.

[Ben]

TAWILDCATT:

A point well made, that will certainly cause chambering problems.

Ben

[Doug Bowser]

Wadcutter bullets that measure .358-.3585" will usually make a bump on the loaded ctg taht may be too high to let the chamber accept the loaded ctg. I have a tight bored K38 and I size mine .356". This solves the problem.

Doug