Silhouette shooters were right - .277 H&I to nose size 7mm-145-SIL

[ohland]

I have been to the mountaintop. And it is good.

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First is an RCBS 7mm-145-SIL as-cast. Nose averages @ .278+. Second is a nose sized 7mm-145-SIL at .277+. All the way down to the first band.

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Simple setup, I chose to use a common case lube pad to apply a little lub to the noses.

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Don't forget that the top punch driving the train needs to match the boolit base. Using a rounded Loverin style TP will cause trouble. After I switched to a SWC profile TP, the bases were good. This boolit is melt pot bait.

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A boolit to depth. The 7mm-145-SIL made a little "bump" that I could feel during sizing right before reaching the first band. Take it a bit slow.

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Darned Lub Monkey. Anyways, you can see the sizing pattern. It varies from boolit to boolit.

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The boolit tip does not widen much. If anything, I would say it mostly flattens the rounded edges of the cast boolit. This will not make your boolit a WFN by any means.

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A box of plumbous love.

:drinks:

[Larry Gibson]

I've sized a lot of noses using a modified H&I die to take Redding bushings. I find GCing the bullets first before sizing the nose better protects the shank and also really does squarely seat the GC on the bullet.

Larry Gibson

[ohland]

I've sized a lot of noses using a modified H&I die to take Redding bushings. I find GCing the bullets first before sizing the nose better protects the shank and also really does squarely seat the GC on the bullet.Larry Gibson

If the GCs have issues with seating or holding on, I'll whip out the (unused) Lyman GC seater...

I measured the GC shank before and after nose sizing the RCBS 7mm-145-SIL and didn't see any noticeable swelling of the GC shank on the boolit. BUT... the proof of the pudding is sizing and GCing them.

Working up to mounting the Redding 73270 neck bushing in my Lyman .501 H&I die. Bushing fits just-so (so good, I could cry!). Might have to lower my standards and use 1/8 inch roll-pins to mount the bushing in the top of the bore. Should work.

Although the .277 H&I die works fairly well, IMHO using a neck bushing will allow one to size closer to the bands. Also, using the stock .277 bore and stock plunger results in no specific alignment of the boolit until it's almost halfway into the H&I die. I will pick up a .265 neck bushing to be the collar that the ejection top punch will sit on inside the H&I die. That should result in very close alignment very quickly.