How to tell what caliber dies are?

[Utah Shooter]

So I have a couple of dies made by Ted Holmes Gunshop. They look nice but are not marked as to what caliber they are. Is there a way to tell by meassuring something inside the die?

I know sounds stupid.

[Chicken Thief]

Cerrosafe cast will give you 100% answer.

[MtGun44]

Cerrosafe is the really correct answer - but you can start to narrow it down by measuring
the wide end accurately - this should give you a hint. Does it have a shell holder? If so,
this can help a lot, too. Then measure the narrow end, as best you can, and this can
help narrow it down.

Not easy unless you cast it. Pretty dumb not to have it marked.

Bill

[1hole]

That's an uncommon question. I suppose you're down to calling ol' Ted Holmes at his Gunshop or making a cast of the FL die. Cerrosafe is the 'best' material but commonly available Flowers of Sulpher can be bought much cheaper and faster at your local drug store. Carefully melt a tablespoon full of that in a small can and pour it into a (neck plugged) die. You can draw the casting out in maybe 30 seconds and it will be exactly the same as the die. From that casting it will be easy to look for a match in a loading manual and a few caliper measurements will confirm it. The total case length will be .125" longer than the cast so the actual case can fit into a standard shell holder.

Use low/slow heat if you try it. I use a large candle as a heat source for my limited casts. Melted/flaming sulpher is HOT - aka, 'brimstone' - and flammable; it WILL stick to flesh and clothing if you spill it.

[Janoosh]

I lightly lube the inside of the FL sizer and use a melted crayon. Unless a custom Wildcat caliber, the. Crayon cast will be close. AND I use Cartridges of the World. This gets me close enough.