Is sizing a must?

[vader]

Ok fellas, long time lurker, new member and i have to admit an addict. :)

I own a RIA 45 1911a1, slugged at .451 and i'm curous, is sizing needed? I have lee six cavity 230 grain tumble lube mold that throws from .452 to .456 ( i know my inconsistencys are heat problems) but is it ok to use them as is? is 3 to 4 thousands over ok to shoot if they go into battery well? Will they "slug up" to the barrel or will my pressures get out of control?

Any help would be appreciated,

[odfairfaxsub]

oh yes, esp in a semi auto pistol. they jam up due to the bullet will engauge the lands or what not if too large.

[357 Voodoo]

They will work if they will chamber in your gun. Male up a dummy round with one of the fattest ones and drop it into your chamber if the case is flush with the hood your good to go. All mine are sized to the largest that will chamber.

I would recommend working on your casting cadence so they all come out the same size

Welcome to the site and happy casting

[MikeS]

If they're very out of round, then they should probably be sized. If they're not out of round, just getting some that are larger than others, and the gun can go into battery with one of them in the chamber, than no, it's not 100% necessary to size them. Shoot them as cast and see how they work for you. If you have access to a sizer, try sizing some, and see if they shoot any better.

[vader]

Thanks for the responses guys,

I kinda used my barrel as a "go, no go" gauge on a few of the largest and they all fell into place fine. I just wanted to make sure my presure would be alright.

P.S. a lead temp gauge is on order
Thanks guys!

[zuke]

Have you LEE-mented the mold yet?

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=654

[462]

Have you LEE-mented the mold yet?

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=654

Indeed!

If you haven't, read and follow the sticky's procedure, then toss Lee's instructions. I seriously doubt that pot temperature is the reason your boolits vary by .004". There may be burrs on some of the cavities, or occasionally you are not completely closing the mould.

[Char-Gar]

Bullets for the 45 ACP round in 1911 pistols should measure .451 or .452. Go larger or smaller and you will have problems sooner or later.

[Old Caster]

I'm going to bet that you had some sort of residue between your molds and didn't notice it, meaning as mentiioned above, that the mold didn't close completely. It is a lot easier with aluminum molds because if it is a speck of lead, it is the same color and difficult to see. With a 6 cavity it is easier to have a speck of foreign material holding it open without seeing it also. Varying temperature will make the bullet larger and smaller but no where near that much. Sometimes you can hold your mold up to a light and see if there is a gap and correct it.

[blikseme300]

I size all of my semi-auto boolits as failing to go into battery blows.

Sizing prevents any boolits that are out of spec from finding their way into the reloader or pistol. The lubing that a lube sizer adds is just icing on the cake. My road to reloading nirvana passes through a Star luber.

Bliksem

[leftiye]

Nothing's necessary. Some thangs jest make whatever you're trying to accomplish accomplish better. I take it back, some things when not done make accomplishing impossible. Sizing can be one of them, but not always. I consider it a fluke when this is the case. Sized boolits aren't jest the right size, they're rounder too. I hear that some people think unsized is better. Might be, but not very often.

[got_lead?]

Boolits don't always need to be sized, I've had guns that shot unsized boolits just fine. However, in the case of the autoloader, sizing them is kind of like an insurance policy for the one that does cast big.

My most common cause of oversize boolits is spatter that gets between the mold halves. I usually take a quick look at the inside halves every couple of throws.

[MikeS]

I see that some folks have mentioned lee-menting your mould. I wouldn't do that just yet. That's generally for moulds that are casting boolits too small, and if your mould is casting at .452 and your bore is .451 there's no reason to lee-ment it. Are you having trouble getting the boolits to drop from the mould? Are you having trouble with mould fillout? If you answered NO to both of these questions, and it's casting boolits large enough for your gun, then there's no reason to do the lee-menting. There's no sense in doing extra work if you don't need to. Once you have your temp under control, and can get the boolits to all cast about the same size, then check the size, and if they're still .452 or larger, are well filled out, and drop easily from the mould, then just keep on casting!

The issue of sizing or not is one that will get lots of answers both ways. There are some people that think any sizing makes the boolit less accurate, there are some that think sizing is always needed. I would say try both ways, and go with whichever you're happy with, and gives you the best accuracy.

[Bret4207]

Mike, Leementing is for cleaning up and "finishing" the rough edges so to speak on a Lee. It's not for size issues. That's Beagling.

As far as sizing, in a bottom feeder steekin' peestol it may be necessary to ensure proper function. But if the mould drops properly sized boolits for your gun, then it's not needed from that standpoint. As an aid to uniformity, especially if you have problems with a particular multi-cavity mould dropping similar boolits, then it may be needed. So, it's another one of those "it depends" answers.

[fredj338]

A must, no, but as you note, w/ bullets all over the place, tight chambers may have issues w/ the occasional bullet going over 0.453". So me, I like to lube & size, the Star/Magma is the way to go IMO.