Conversation with lee tech service about resizing.

[tackstrp]

I asked teck service the question, when using the lee bulge buster set up, will the factory crimp die resize the case? His answer was no, only near the base if has a bulge. Remember with the lee bulge buster the case runs completey throught the die. He went on to say best to leave cases dirty rather than bright and shiny. ( I have always cleaned my cases first) He went on to say can not avoid resizing, which does first part of case and the factory crimp die does the bottom part when using the lee bulge buster.

Just reporting what i was told. I will continue to use my clean, resize and run through bulge buster. Extra work i am sure, and sure others will disagree, just reporting. Do what works for you.

[flashhole]

He is correct on the Bulge Buster not sizing the entire case. You still need to run it through your regular sizing die. No idea why he is telling you to leave the cases dirty. I always clean mine, either in the tumbler or washing with a detergent that contains citric acid. Clean brass in a clean die works. Dirty brass is begging for trouble.

[462]

I don't own anything that requires a bulge buster, though I do understand its purpose. However, dirty brass causes early die wear, and since Lee makes and sells dies, perhaps there was a reason the tech gave such bad advise.

[UNIQUEDOT]

The instructions that come with Lee carbide sizing dies state that the dirt and grit on your cases act as a lubricant and goes on to say that none of the dirt/grit is able to damage the carbide sizer ring. Only thing hard enough to damage it is diamonds. They also state that using very clean cases will cause the brass to wear off on the hard carbide ring.

[Russ in WY]

Well seems to me that the dirt /grit could very well scratch the Brass .. Think I will still keep my brass on the clean end of the scale ... My 2¢ Russ.

[Char-Gar]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a "bulge buster. I have never needed such a gizmo. How do you load ammo that needs a bulge buster. Is this the case of making and selling something for which there is no real need?

[flashhole]

If you ever pick up range brass you will come across some that have abnormally fat bulges at the base. Glocks w/o fully supported chambers produce the bulge. There are other guns besides Glocks that do it too but it is generally referred to as the Glock Bulge. It is quite real and will keep brass from chambering in a snug chamber.

The Bulge Buster simply pushes the bulge back to the normal case dimensions. Some refer to it as a push-through die. It is simple to use and I run all range pick up brass through it. Brass fired in my gun only needs FL sizing.

[Colorado4wheel]

FCD (ie bulge buster) sizes to MAX sammi size. It's not meant to size below sammi spec like a real sizing die. Take a case size it in a fcd. Measure the case at the mouth. Resize the case in the sizing die and measure it again. It's pretty obvious.

[Char-Gar]

I have never had a case that was so bulged it could not be sized in a regular FL sizing die. Maybe I have just been lucky.

[David2011]

Bulged cases will resize in my dies. I’ve used both RCBS and Dillon for .40 S&W. Visually the bulge appears to be gone but they often fail the Dillon case gage. While the ones that stick in the case gage usually chamber OK in a barrel I don't care to chance a FTF in a USPSA match because I didn't iron the bulges out. A chamber can get pretty dirty in a 300 round match. It’s not worth taking avoidable risks and ending up with a FTF due to an oversized case. Those are tough to clear in match conditions.

All of my newly acquired range brass goes through a Magma CaseMaster Jr. to iron out the bulge. All of my match ammo gets marked with a Sharpie so I try to only pick up what came out of my gun so I don't have to push through size again.

David

[milprileb]

Running dirty cases in a carbide sizing die? That does not compute and I have never seen Pacific, Hornady, RCBS ever say that. If Lee says it, then I am not signing up for that procedure.

[UNIQUEDOT]

Running dirty cases in a carbide sizing die? That does not compute and I have never seen Pacific, Hornady, RCBS ever say that. If Lee says it, then I am not signing up for that procedure.

I wash my range brass before loading, but don't polish it. The instructions also say the carbide ring will do the burnishing for you... Perhaps a little, but not enough to call it a polish.

[noylj]

If the brass has not rolled on the ground and picked up mud/dirt, then, yes, you can use the ash as a lube.
However, I doubt that many of us will...