Reloading riddle

[beezapilot]

Yeah- took me a while to figure it out. The old timers will have no problems with this one.

Finally set up my new (well second hand) Dillon press rigged for .38 Special. Seemed like such a well designed and smooth running press. Rummaged around on the shelf and found an old coffee can full of my fathers brass, blew the dust off the lid and popped it open-this stuff hasn't seen the light of day in 25 years. The old man took good care of stuff though, the brass all clean and ready to go.

Loaded up a hundred rounds and thought I better take a trip to the range to proof the them. Took my old Colt Official Police (yep, nothing runs like them ol' Colt's)... BUT about half the rounds did not chamber! Hung up about 1/16th of an inch before they fully chambered! Dang. That Colt has always been a picky eater anyway.

Back home to break out the manual for that Dillon... step one... step two...

(any old timers solve this one yet???)

Press seemed to be set up just fine...



Hmmmm.................. You know what? All them non chambering rounds have the same head stamps.....

W.R.A. Co. .38 Colt SPL
U.S.C. Co. 38 S&W SPL



(ALL the old timers have solved it now)





Balloon head brass. The brass is expanded just above the rim and the sizer die does not contact that portion of the brass. Dang...

I don't know how old this brass is, but is in otherwise very good condition....

Always the simple stuff that trips you up.

[dudel]

Using Dillon dies? Others have a less generous radius, and size further down.

Or, roll size them. http://www.wolfbullets.com/rollsize.htm

[Hardcast416taylor]

About 20 odd years back I had a similar thing happen with WRA .45 Colt balloon head cases. A friend had given them to me from all the stuff he had from his Dad`s reloading room. The cases were fairly old and had`nt been loaded in probably 15 years he said. I kept a few for the sake of being a balloon head case and trashed the rest.Robert

[beezapilot]

Yeah- Been sorting brass this morning... these are heading to the scrap yard.

[fguffey]

" BUT about half the rounds did not chamber! Hung up about 1/16th of an inch before they fully chambered! "

Not the answer to your riddle.

http://www.saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Pistol/38%20Special_38%20Special%20+P.pdf

1/16" is .0625", the shell holder deck height is .125" or 1/8", when head space/rim thickness (.060") is added to your 1/16" you are close to the deck height of the shell holder, nothing below the top of the shell holder gets sized, when the radius at the opening of the die is added the amount of the case that can not be sized is greater than .125".

I would suggest checking to see if the die is screwed down to the shell holder.

F. Guffey

[beezapilot]

That sounds reasonable as well and appreciate the input. I mic'ed out samples from the two piles of brass on the solid head (with the anvil touching the rim) the median was .376 with a visable die mark in the area that you're describing. The ballon head median is .384 (a couple at .387!!), perhaps the bases are "powder sweaged" into expansion as they don't have the support of the sold base. That Colt is the pickiest eater in the .38 family that I've ever had (the reason I use it to proof out rounds), they all drop into my Blackhawk and K-38 with no problem. The link shows the max diameter of the case at .379, but shows it in the middle of the case, not at the base- I assume that there is no taper on the .38.
Another thought was that these cases are older, and perhaps the old revolvers had braoder tolerances.

I've never seen Roll Sizing before- that is pretty interesting, I've seen the Lee "Bulge Busters" but the roll seems a little more together.

[dudel]

Here's a roll sized in operation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK91X83ZsS0

Very slick.