Lube-sizers max length bullets?

[RMerkel]

Howdy,

I just received a NEI mold for some long, heavy (160g) gas-check 6.5mm boolits with a matching top-punch for my SAECO lube-sizer. My plan was to size to near as cast and use the sizer to crimp the gas checks and lube (LBT blue). Boolits cast nicely but would not fit in the SAECO! It would appear that with a normal length top-punch installed, the maximum length bullet the SAECO will accept is about 1 1/8" - my boolits are about 0.15" longer. I've ordered a custom (shorter) top-punch... but was thinking there must be a better way. Looking for suggestions...

My first thought was that maybe there's a popular lub-sizer that can handle longer boolits, but I can't find any infomation on maximum boolit lengths for the Lyman, SAECO, etc... So it seems that I either need to get custom top punchs, or to go with a nose first/straight through sizer such as the Lee or Star.

The price of the Lee is good, to say the least. It would appear that I'd have to order custom sizer-dies for my old m/96... but that's a given. I assume that the Lee crimps the gas checks but I'd have to tumble or pan lub my bullets. Is that correct?

The new Star looks good, but is very expensive and I've heard requires quite a bit of fiddling when changing boolits. So for the moment, I'm going to put the Star at the bottom of my list.

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Randy

[Crash_Corrigan]

I had the same problem with my Saeco sizer. I bought a Star and I have not looked back. It is the Cadillac of sizers. Much faster and easier than any other sizer. As far as the fiddling with the sizer that is not true. You need to fiddle only one time for each style or different bullet. Once you have it working to your satisfaction you take a measurement with your calipers of the size of the the length of the punch and write it down or make a wooden dowel duplicating the proper length and mark the dowel.

i have a custom dowel of all the boolits which I use on the Star. I write the name of the boolit on the side of the dowel with a magic marker and I keep them all in a small plastic box. No muss. No Fuss. No fiddling.

The inital fiddling should take about a whole 5 minutes for a new boolit.

[crawfobj]

I was wondering about this same issue last night. My Lyman 450 handles the LONG NOE 311247 just fine, but it made me wonder how guys size projectiles for 50 BMG.

I just got a Star, but I'm waiting patiently for Lathesmith to make me some dies and other goodies. So far, I've only ordered dies for my higher volume calibers, but hope to move more to the Star over time. I have a good set of Lyman dies in the mean time.

[RMerkel]

Looking closer to photos of the Magma Star... it appears that it too has a maximum boolit length, which I'm just assuming is longer that the SAECO. What is the max length for the Star?

[MT Chambers]

The Star is diff. and can do any bullet as far as length goes.....height/length of the lube grooves is the only limitation, but I've not run into a bullet like that. The Star uses a dif. principle as does the Lee, but of course the Lee does not lube.

[kitsap]

I use a RCBS LAM-2 to size and lube 40 cal bullets for BPCR Silhouette. These bullets are 1.365 inches long and clear easily. I would estimate the maximum bullet length to approach 1.5 inches for this sizer.

DougF

[theperfessor]

The Lyman and RCBS sizing dies are about 1.56" long, so with the right top punch a 1.5" bullet would seem to be about the max. Much longer and you'll push the ejection pin out of the die.