Slugged the barrel now which resizer from lee?

[DontBlink]

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to the sport of boolit casting but I'm catching on quickly. I have a question that most of you have probably heard before. I slugged my SBHH barrel today and my diameter came out at .425. I was looking at buying a lee lube and sizer kit, but I'm not sure what size to get. They make a .427 and a .429. I'm casting bullets with lyman #15 in a lee 310 gr mold. Should I get the .427 or the .429?

Any advice would be great. Thanks

[Blammer]

what cartridge is this?

[x101airborne]

Well, if your 44 mag/special barrel is miking out slugged at .425, then I would just send it back. That simply cannot be within tolerance. Check your measurments again, slugging the barrel a couple times. Maybe it was a fluke? Anyhow, not that big a deal with lead boolits, but shooting jacketed can put BIG-TIME stress on the frame where it is weakest when using max loads. You should never have that trouble, but there is that ONE time......

[fredj338]

SLug it again & remwasure. I can't imagine a 44mag being that small. IF it is a 44-40, could be, but I think you need to reslug & measure. Then measure the cyl throats. You want to be 0.001" larger than groove dia & want the cyl throats ideally to match that or slighly larger.

[stubshaft]

Could be restriction where the barrel screws into the frame. I've found many revolvers with this problem including 3 of my BH and 2 SBH. Now don't start flaming me because it is not only the domain of Ruger also found it in Smiths and Colts.

[NSP64]

Stub has the right idea. First drive a soft lead slug all the way through the barrel. Then drive one only into the muzzle. Pull the one in the muzzle back out. Compare. Ideally they will be the same. More often the one driven through will be smaller. This will indicate a restriction where the barrel threads through the frame.
Also drive a soft lead slug through each chamber. Measure. This size should be same or bigger then the bore size. The boolits you cast and size should be the same size or slightly larger then your chamber throats.
If your numbers (sizes) are off then post results and we can help.
Remember this is supposed to be fun.

[Bret4207]

.425 in a 44? Uh huh. What are you measuring with? Dial calipers I'll bet. Chances are your measurements are off. Use a standard to check the measuring tool. If you don't have one measure a brand name jacklted bullet, they're usually within a thou. DO NOT bear down on the boolit when you measure and measure several spots around the boolits circumference.

BTW- you did expand the slug into the barrel, right? If you start slugging with an undersized slug and don't expand it enough you'll never get an accurate idea of the size.

[DontBlink]

so I re-slugged the barrel last night. My diameter came out .429 at the muzzle. So would I pick the resizer that does .429 or .430?

[polara426sh]

What size are your boolits as cast? You might be just fine shooting them as they are.

[runfiverun]

i was thinking he had an old 44-40 many of them only needed a 427 sized boolit for proper fit.
and in my rossi 44-40 levergun i can only chamber a 428 sized boolit.

anyways just go with 430 and you'll be fine.

[Char-Gar]

Size you bullets .431 and don't look back. .432 if you can find or have made a sizer in that size.

[Wayne Smith]

You still need to know what your chamber mouths measure. And you haven't found out if your first measurement was wrong or if it is right and you have a constriction in your barrel. You are less than half done and we consequently cannot give you accurate advice.

[MtGun44]

Throat diam or throat diam +.001 for starters, assuming throats are equal or larger than
groove diam.

Bill

[C.F.Plinker]

Does your latest barrel slug pass through your cylinder throats freely?

[mike in co]

in a revolter...size for the chambers when the bbl is that small.....

do what the man said go for 431.....

mine worked out to 4316 in the clyinders and i size at 4312...and yes my bbl throat started at 429...typical thread crush from the frame...
but nothing that starts with a 42x in a 44 mag
mike in co

[mpmarty]

I've even had "tight spots" in barrels under the roll stamps warning you to read the book first. Sent my first Marlin '95 back due to that in 1977 and they rebarreled it god bless 'em.

[Bret4207]

so I re-slugged the barrel last night. My diameter came out .429 at the muzzle. So would I pick the resizer that does .429 or .430?

You've gotten 2 widely varying numbers so far. I'd slug it a third time to get a better guess.

[RobS]

As been stated make sure your third slug (or second one if you don't slug again) passes through your cylinder throats so you know at a minimum that your bore is smaller than the cylinder throats. This is important because if your throats are smaller than your bore you'll play like hell getting your revolver to shoot accurately and without leading since each boolit that hits the bore will be undersized once it passes the cylinder.

Assuming your cylinder throats are ok, I would size to their diameter and many individuals actually size .001 over. I size to the cylinder throat diameter and do not size over since I use boolit designs where the front drive band sits in the cylinder throats; an oversized boolit in which I shoot will not chamber.