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Morroad8
01-26-2012, 02:09 AM
Hi everyone!

So, finally started casting about two days ago and im hooked! I made a TON (ok, maybe a couple thousand) 38 Special bullets. However, I do have a problem and I think it is related to the casted boolits.

I loaded the rounds up and got a little carried away with my progressive and maybe made about 150 rounds. Turns out, some fit in my Colt Trooper cylinder, and some do not! If I try in the S&W 686, its even harder to chamber one in there.

If I size them to .356 everything runs perfect...but that is a 9mm sizer, and my boolits are casting at .358, so I do not know whats up with that. Im taking a break from being annoyed right now and just thinking where my problem is. Any ideas?

Thanks! :)

dk17hmr
01-26-2012, 02:18 AM
Are you sizing them?

Chances are if not you have some over sized bullets.

If you are belling the case mouth to much and not getting that all the way out with your crimping that could be the issue also.

runfiverun
01-26-2012, 02:30 AM
or over crimping making a bulge..
try measuring the o.d. of a fired case and the o.d of a loaded round right below the crimp.

GabbyM
01-26-2012, 11:21 AM
Probably pushed lead in front of the case mouth. Or bulged the case with your crimp die.
Sometimes a magnifying glass is handy.

Morroad8
01-26-2012, 11:29 AM
Well, i measured the OADs and this is what i found:

Reload with cast boolit: 0.378
.357 Factory round: 0.375
Boolit after Lee Alox: 0.358

The diameter of where the bullet is seated is clearly too large, but I thought a .358 boolit was a good thing for this caliber. As far as the case expansion, i barely expand them enough to seat the boolit, but not so little that it shaves off the lead. The crimping is a super light crimp, you can barely see it.

I guess I need a sizer...and a new press dedicated to sizing :(

Ohh well. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to let me know! Thanks for all the inputs so far!

Larry Gibson
01-26-2012, 11:34 AM
If you are just TLing the bullets and not sizing the bullets then you probably have some that are larger than .358 as mentioned. Get a .358 Lee sizer and run the bullets through it.

Larry Gibson

Wayne Smith
01-26-2012, 12:47 PM
Are you measuring with a mic or a caliper? A caliper will read to three or four digits but is accurate only to two.

Since you made that many you are thoroughly hooked, addicted beyond help. You may as well look at buying a lube sizer cause pretty soon one caliber, one gun, or one mold will not be enough! Like most of us you will eventually find and buy an interesting mold and then have to buy the gun to go with it. Start collecting reasons and excuses, if you are married you will need all of them and will be able to contribute to the collections of the rest of us!

You will go on desperate searches for ww's, shop for turkey fryers to melt them, interesting (cheap) ways to make ingots, etc. Available (or not) lead resources will become an obsession. This is a highly addictive pursuit and you might as well become comfortable with that fact. Self control is possible but difficult. Financial reality pushes us to finding the cheapest way to meet our current but ever expanding needs. Arguments with spouses are inevitable unless they can be coerced or motivated to join us in the obsession, an uncommon but, when it happens, happy occurrence.

Welcome to the madness!

mdi
01-26-2012, 12:58 PM
Use your micrometer on a finished round (one that won't fit) and see where it is too big...

bowfin
01-26-2012, 01:21 PM
A caliper will read to three or four digits but is accurate only to two.

A good pair of Mitutoya or Brown & Sharpe calipers (digital or dial) should measure accurately to one or two thousandths.

montana_charlie
01-26-2012, 01:40 PM
Turns out, some fit in my Colt Trooper cylinder, and some do not!
Simple solution ...
Find out how they are different.

CM

Freischütz
01-26-2012, 01:59 PM
Sometimes this can be solved by using thinner brass. For example with .452 diameter bullets R-P 45 ACP cases chamber easily in my S&W revolver. Federal and W-W are tight and require hard pushing on each individual cartridge to seat it completely.

ghh3rd
01-26-2012, 02:01 PM
I had the exact same issue with the first boolits I ever cast -- they were 148gr TL wadcutters. I read that I didn't need to size them, and loaded a couple of hundred.

Two things that I learned real fast - I did need to size them as some of them were oversize, and don't load a ton of something until you get all of the kinks worked out.

See how many wont fit, and shoot the others. If you have a lot that don't fit, rather than pulling them, you may consider using a Lee FCD die to get them to fit, and then size future boolits before loading them.

GabbyM
01-26-2012, 02:25 PM
If it's case bulging then look at the ones that do not fit to see if the bullets are seated crooked. seating die stems that do not fit the bullet profile can easily cause issues with crooked bullets. Your case will be bulged out more on one side than another.

Mohavedog
01-26-2012, 02:26 PM
Instead of pulling the boolits out of the rounds that are too big take the decapping stem out of the sizer die and partially resize the loaded round. If you resize only where the boolit is seated you should then be able to chamber it. This will undoubtedly swage down the boolit somewhat so accuracy may suffer, but at least you can shoot it. Good luck, Dog

montana_charlie
01-26-2012, 03:25 PM
Turns out, some fit in my Colt Trooper cylinder, and some do not!
Take one that does fit and try it in all six chambers. Does it fit an all of them?

CM

462
01-26-2012, 05:08 PM
Morroad8,
Think of the experience and knowledge you will have gained, by the time you solve this problem. You will have learned the many remedies that can cure non-chambering problems. Also, will have learned to always make up a few dummy rounds and determine that they will chamber properly. Next, you will have learned to load up only a dozen or so live rounds, then shooting them to determine that the load doesn't lead and meets your accuracy and velocity expectations. Finally, when it comes to anything boolit related, you will have learned that no small amounts of patience and persistance are usually required.

By the way, there is no end to equipment buying.

stubshaft
01-26-2012, 06:37 PM
Bigger is not always better.

Morroad8
01-27-2012, 01:58 AM
Finally, im back!

Well, I measured it with an RCBS caliper. I was hoping to not have to size since I enjoy the casting part, but can see how sizing can easily seem like a "chore". The "ok" finished round fits in all six chambers in the Colt, so I doubt its a problem with the weapon. Definitely taking this as a learning experience; I try to keep everything on a positive outlook :)

As far as the wife thing, naw im not married...just 23 yrs old and trying to become debt free first. However, my girlfriend loves seeing how much happiness I get from shooting, brass hunting, casting, and reloading. She thinks it's "cute" on how excited I get lol. I already have her brainwashed haha ;)

hicard
01-27-2012, 01:15 PM
Ya, watch how all of that changes once you say, "I do". "You're spending the kids college money, inheritance, money on guns instead of tile for the kitchen, etc.

HangFireW8
01-28-2012, 01:53 AM
Are you measuring with a mic or a caliper? A caliper will read to three or four digits but is accurate only to two.

Really? That's not my experience.

I don't know about the digital ones, or your calipers, but my two cheap chinese dial calipers are accurate to their thousandths graduations, and then some- with proper technique. The two also agree with each other, my Dad's Starrett 1" micrometer, my Starrett 2/3/4" micrometer set, and a smattering of other micrometers I inherited from my Grandfather, a tool & die maker.


A good pair of Mitutoya or Brown & Sharpe calipers (digital or dial) should measure accurately to one or two thousandths.

Yes, they will. I have a Mitutoyo blade ten-thousandths micrometer that cost me a small fortune. I hardly use it because I can interpolate with my cheap chinese dial calipers to well under one-thousandths- with proper technique.

I love fine tools, and I pull out the Mitutoyo when I have some really critical measurements to do. But it remains a toolbox queen because I'm afraid to drop it, like I have my primary pair of cheap chinese calipers, several times. I had to pull it apart and recalibrate it, and it soldiers on, and still agrees with the expensive stuff.

-HF

Von Dingo
01-28-2012, 12:47 PM
"my girlfriend loves seeing how much happiness I get from shooting, brass hunting, casting, and reloading. She thinks it's "cute" on how excited I get lol. I already have her brainwashed haha"

Then she discovers how much fun lead slingers are, and you are loading for two.....

Morroad8
02-03-2012, 02:06 PM
Well, I did what Mohavedog said and used the sizer without the mandrel. It worked very well! I am holding off on reloading these for now until I get the single stage press, and .358 sizer. I really do not like the idea of creating an extra step for a simple round, but ohh well. I assume the .356 sizer wont work because its for the 9mm?

My gf is soo OK with my reloading and now casting addictions, she just bought me the Lee 6 cavity BATOR mold today for my late bday gift!

Mohavedog
02-03-2012, 07:01 PM
Morroad8, thanks for the feedback. It's always nice to hear that some advice was helpful to someone. You're off to a good start here, keep it up. Dog