San Diego Star & H&G 68

[shooterg]

Thought I finally had the best of the best - an H&G 68 4C mold and a Star .
Only problem is the boolits take mucho force to size, so I'm sizing (.452)in a Lee push through first, then running through the Star. Still faster/neater than tumbling. May try some more .45 boolits, but I love the 68's ! A different alloy may cast a bit smaller, try that when I run out of this one.

[chloe123]

Excuse my bad etiquette of asking a question(s) to your original question.

Is the mold an original, or a later-made copy?

When the boolits drops, with the lead or alloy your using, what's the diameter to the 1/100?

Does your Star die measure .451?

It's smart that you backed off the handle when you noticed tension. For me, quenched bullets--despite them being cast only ~.001-002" greater than the die--often result in stuck bullets. The last time I cast, the BHN tested at ~16, air cooled. And, that particular 45LC mold drops under .454

in your case, it would seem odd, if your .45 ACP boolit would drop at or above .454. But, a simple measurement would probably help

[ReloaderFred]

Be sure to run a lubed bullet through the sizing die about every 5th dry bullet, and that should make things easier. I've run thousands and thousands of the H&G 68's through my Star machines and they run smooth, as long as you drop a lubed bullet through every so often.

I also size all my .45 bullets .452".

Hope this helps.

Fred

[bobthenailer]

Try spraying a few pumps of some liquid case lube on a empty cookie sheet and putting a batch of bullets on there sides and rolling them around until dry, this will pre lube the bullet bearing surface for sizing.

As above don't forget to put a previously lubed bullet in to lube the die when it gets hard to size this can be as often as every other one to as many as 10 or more in between , its depends on caliber , bearing surface , as cast size & sizing dia , what alloy used and air cooled or water dropped.

also if the mould blocks halves are not seated correctly or consistantly while casting, varing boolet dia.

[shooterg]

Original H&G mold, .452 size die by Lathesmith. Boolits from this batch of alloy dropping closer to .455 than .454. I'll try some of the above, but heck, even with the extra step, I have purty boolits that all the 1911's like !

[chloe123]

That's great you're happy with it.

I dunno because it was before my time, but I heard the H&G were often custom. That would explain the .455 size. I bet the driving bands really glean after the thorough sizing. From an appearance standpoint, I like the way boolits look when there sized sev thous. above--gleaming driving bands just look more professional, imo

[CBH]

Sizing soon after casting can result in less effort. Spray a light mist of silicone on the boolits. Works great.