How much sizing is too much? (.285 as-cast 6.8mm bullets!)

[ohland]

Holy hexavalence! On a whim, I mic'd an as-cast 280468... It is a healthy .284-.285! Wowser.

[edit!] On 2 Aug, I re-mic'd, and the actual diameter is .282, but there is a small mould line (both halves align perfectly) that adds a few thou at that point.

Sizing it with a .278 sure leaves some wider driving bands....

[edit!] 2 Aug - I have a .280 H&I inbound.

:shock:

[Garyshome]

Don't break your press!

[ohland]

Don't break your press!

It isn't sizing too difficult, BUT I believe the loobing is taking extra effort due to the significant deformation of the Louverin drive bands. I thought that the LAM II was near empty, but it is about 1/3d full. Using the heater too much lets the loob come up around the shaft of the H&I die. Grrr.

On Friday I will order the .280 H&I and we'll see what happens. I will also czech the OAL of the sized boolit, as it should be a little less, since there isn't as much lead being swaged.