PC Boolits sized to 0.225 ,What size expander ?

[Case Stuffer]

During the past several weeks I have read hundreds of post on Powder Coating and have decided o give if a go. I ordered the SUPER DURABLE WET BLACK from Powder by the pound and will be doing the swirl and bake routine. I have a .225 Lee Bullet sizer ordered as this seems to be he size most use. My concern is that my 0.222 neck expander may lead to shaving of the PC.

Should I go ahead and order a Lyman type M or are there any oversized expander / decapes available fot the Lee 223 dies?
Rife is a Colt LE6920 M4.

Thanks in advance

[ipijohn]

During the past several weeks I have read hundreds of post on Powder Coating and have decided o give if a go. I ordered the SUPER DURABLE WET BLACK from Powder by the pound and will be doing the swirl and bake routine. I have a .225 Lee Bullet sizer ordered as this seems to be he size most use. My concern is that my 0.222 neck expander may lead to shaving of the PC.

Should I go ahead and order a Lyman type M or are there any oversized expander / decapes available fot the Lee 223 dies?
Rife is a Colt LE6920 M4.

Thanks in advance


I found that I needed a larger expander or the boolit would be swaged down, so I took some drill rod and made one .002 larger.

[fcvan]

I purchased a 6mm expander from Lee with the intent to chuck it up and sand it down to be bigger than the standard expander for my .223 dies. Before it came in I chamfered the case mouths to where there is a good bevel. That 'funnels' the boolit into the neck with no scraping. Problem solved. I have not loaded and jacketed bullets for rifle in 25 years so I don't know if the brass modification would affect performance. At any rate, I keep my brass for cast separate from the brass designated for jacketed, and that brass is same lot, same head stamp. I just cast and blast from my Mini 14 and my AR and those loads are only 2250 fps. PC'd with home made gas checks, my loads are holding 1" - 1 1/2" at 100 yards, so I can't complain. Tin cans are dispatched efficiently!

[cstrickland]

During the past several weeks I have read hundreds of post on Powder Coating and have decided o give if a go. I ordered the SUPER DURABLE WET BLACK from Powder by the pound and will be doing the swirl and bake routine. I have a .225 Lee Bullet sizer ordered as this seems to be he size most use. My concern is that my 0.222 neck expander may lead to shaving of the PC.

Should I go ahead and order a Lyman type M or are there any oversized expander / decapes available fot the Lee 223 dies?
Rife is a Colt LE6920 M4.

Thanks in advance

I have the Lyman M for my 300 BLK and I really like the way it works. I will be moving to 5.56 loads next to PC , and will be ordering the same Lyman M die for those. I just personally think it works well . I keep it set where it needs to be and swap it out on the press as needed when loading cast versus jacketed

I have read you can also use a lee powder through / expanded die I believe it is as well.

[just_shooter]

In my opinion Lyman M die is absolutely must when use cast bullets. I use it in any caliber I reload with boolits (pistol and rifle).

[bangerjim]

I use the Lee Universal Expander for all my bottlemouth cases with excellent success. NEVER a shaved PC boolit......ever.

You can use a (correct size) Starrett taper punch but it has no repeatability.

The LEE thing works for any size boolit I have ever loaded. And not expensive at all.

I rely on the Lee Powder Thru-Expander die for ALL pistol boolit cases. Once adjusted, it gives perfect results and eliminates a step in loading.

banger

[Case Stuffer]

i picked up a Lee Universal Expander and t does work rather well, it adds another step but I can live with that for now anyway. I have a RCBS combination expander / flare die on back order and it may or may not be any better.

[gpidaho]

I use the Lee Universal expander a lot and often use it as an extra step (I got time) after expanding the necks of rifle cases with the M-Die. M-Dies work great but do leave a sharp edge that can cut off some powder coat if your using a larger than usual boolit . I use this extra step on "Fat Thirtys" Another expander that works well for me on rifle cases is the expanding mandrel for my Sinclair neck turning tool, this and the universal Lee tool to flare works pretty well for boolits GP

[sparky45]

Banger's got it right; cheap to buy and will work with everything I reload that's cast.



I use the Lee Universal Expander for all my bottlemouth cases with excellent success. NEVER a shaved PC boolit......ever.

You can use a (correct size) Starrett taper punch but it has no repeatability.

The LEE thing works for any size boolit I have ever loaded. And not expensive at all.

I rely on the Lee Powder Thru-Expander die for ALL pistol boolit cases. Once adjusted, it gives perfect results and eliminates a step in loading.

banger