Is sizing necessary?

[mtgrs737]

My quick scan of the preceeding posts revealed that no one addressed that if the cartridge loaded with an un-sized bollit will not chamber in the firearm by gravity alone then you will need to size down the boolit until it does so. The reason being that if the cartridge is so tight in the chamber that it cannot release the boolit easily upon firing then chamber pressures may increase to an unsafe level. The excellent Lee Reloading Manual answers this question. Slugging the barrel and throats will be the best place to start if you experiance leading or inaccurate ammo.

[BrianB]

Plaz,
you may never need a sizer. Like I posted earlier, I only need to size one bullet. It drops from the mold at about .360 and I got a lube-sizer so I could size to .358, lube and install a gas check all at once. If it wasn't for that one mold, I probably would have never needed a lube-sizer...but I just HAD to have that mold! So far as lubing goes, I tumble lube most of my bullets in Lee Liquid Alox. I put my bullets in a zip-lock bag, put in some LLA and roll them around. When they are coated, I remove them wearing a disposable latex glove and dry them base-down on wax paper. It works fine and I have never had a leading problem. You also have the option of pan lubing.

[geargnasher]

Some of you have suggested that I slug my barrel to determine the desired boolit diameter. My gun is a S & W 629 revolver and I have been highly criticized for trying to slug such a modern high tech weapon.

What do I do now?

I also gave this thread a quick scan and I have one thing to reiterate and one thing to add:

1. As Grey Wolf said, your reloading book(s) that you own should cover this basic concept in detail such that you can form your own conclusions. You really need to do some more research with published writ to get a better idea of what reloading with cast boolits involves. Then, the question would be something more like, "I sized to .429" with WDWW, using X powder and charge, my bbl groove dimension is X, cylinder throats are X, and am getting some leading in the first two inches of the bbl, what should I adjust next?".

2. I didn't see it mentioned, but M29s, like many Smith and Wesson revolvers, have pentagonal rifling which can make slug measurement a real pain to do accurately, someone here will be glad to expound upon this, the method I use involves an angled measuring trough that isn't widely available.

Gear

[fredj338]

Many times a mold will drop the correct size for the weapon and just as many times it will not.

Bingo! And that is the problem. Even if the mold actually throw the correct size bullet w/ a specific alloy, are you going to use that exact alloy. Bullets will also come out slightly diff size depending on the temp of the mold & alloy during the cast. So for me, a luber/sizer (not really all that expensive) gives me a uniform size I want & lubes the bullet.
Why have uniform bullet dia? It probably makes less diff during shooting but important for me during the reloading process. If the bullet dia is all over the place, your finish crimp will also be all over. THis seems like it would affect overall accuracy, I haven't tried it, just seems like it would. The more variables, the greater chance of losing accuracy.
Could you get by pan lubing, many do, I am just not one of them.
SO yes, you can make acceptable ammo w/ a die & hammer, but a reloading press makes it sooo much easier, a progressive sooo much easier still for some applications. A luber/sizer is the same thing to me.

[plaz]

I am just a kid, 71 and have been doing this casting and loading since the mid fifties.
I would think that if you loaded .429" - .430" boolits in the .44 it would be a good start. The lee moulds and Alox will work in loads up to 1300 or 1400 fps. Up to you how much recoil joy you want.
In the .45 auto you can't be far off to go with .452" diameter and the Lee system works well here also. I use .452" - .453" boolits in my .45 auto ammo and they shoot well in most any .45 auto gun.
In the 9mm gun cast boolits of .357" are a good place to start as most 9mm grooves are near .356". The Lee system works here also.
Load some medium velocity ammo and shoot them and see if you need to refine your loads as to alloy, velocity and boolit diameter. Sizing is only needed for boolits that are too big. I use a fired case to try a boolit in. If it will push in with little effort it can be loaded and fired in that gun.
You have some very good guns to start loading for.
Don't be afraid to ask here if things don't go as you think they should.

Life is good

Thank you so much for your recommendations.

I just casted a large batch of 44 mag bullets. I took a sampling out of the batch and tried to push them into a case to see how they fit and measured them with my calipers. To my surprise I found that a few of them just slipped all the way into the case while some were too tight. The majority were just right. When you have a large batch of bullets like this you have to assume that the size of the bullets will be similar to the samples. That being the case, now what do I do with the whole batch of bullets?

[lonnydk]

I use tumble lube exclusively. I shoot 219 zipper, 30-30, 30 carbine, 7.62x39, 6.5x55, 8mm, and pistol calibers from 32 acp to 45 colt. I cast all my bullets and do not size any. Period.

Also, I use the LLA and JPW 45-45-10 mix. (JPW will ignite above 350 degrees even on a hotplate so keep that temp down and a wet towel handy.)

I cut a one gallon milk jug off three inches from the bottom and this makes a great bowl to tumble lube in because it is square, and has groves in the bottom. This shape encourages the bullets to tumble.

Don't quit reading yet!

I also made a drying rack from 1/4 inch wire mesh so I wouldn't have to stand the bullets on end. I just tumble and dump on the rack overnight.

With this method I can tumble and dump approximately 150 in under a minute and fit up to 500 on the rack. (450 in less than 3 minutes)

Now I don't shoot 600 yard targets but I do shoot USPSA/IDPA which means I shoot a lot. I load for under 1200 fps in my pistols AND rifles with lead.

1. FAST
2. NOT MESSY
3. CHEAP
4. EASY

I have found no reason to do anything else. It works very well for the type of shooting I do.