Rifle neck bell

[Scorpius]

Wondering if you guys expand your rifle necks a bit for seating your cast boolits.
If so is there a universal expander?
Just starting and don't want to buy extra stuff I won't need.

[jcren]

The most precise way is either layman m dies or NOE dies, but these are caliber specific. Starting out, I have used the Lee universal expanding die. Cheap and effective, and the NOE dies fit into the Lee die body if you get more particular later on.

[Tom W.]

I bought an RCBS expander that I used for both my .308 and 30/06. I left a note in the box as to which cartridge I used it for last.You'd be surprised how much it would flair an '06 case when set up for a .308......

[Hamish]

Scorpius,

Yes, expand your case necks.

There are are many who use the Lee Universal Case Expander and it works well enough for their needs. I used one for a good while and was extremely frustrated by inconsistency in amount and depth. Buy one and then invest in an NOE expander plug for each caliber. Very inexpensive and worth thei weight in gold.

[Wayne Smith]

If you need to do some and don't want to spring for a die a pair of needle nose pliers will accomplish the same thing. Maybe not with consistency, but you will smooth it out when you seat the boolit anyway. If I were starting over I would get the NOE pieces for my Lee expander. I had M dies before he started making them.

[JWFilips]

If you need to do some and don't want to spring for a die a pair of needle nose pliers will accomplish the same thing. Maybe not with consistency, but you will smooth it out when you seat the boolit anyway. If I were starting over I would get the NOE pieces for my Lee expander. I had M dies before he started making them.

Wayne Hit it on the button here: I have used the Needle nose pliers trick when starting out in a caliber and shot some impressive groups...Keep in mind it is not all rocket science here!
Except for the folks that want to make it such!:D
Jim

[marvelshooter]

I have an old center punch with a nicely polished tapered section that puts a repeatable flare on cases with just hand pressure.

[turtlezx]

center punch for me also

[DonMountain]

I often just use the Hornady tapered neck expander from a larger cartridge and set it to just flair the mouth of the case. Like use a neck expander from an 8mm Mauser case to flair the mouth of a 30-06 or 308 case. Or use a 308 neck expander to flair the neck of a 7mm Mauser case.

[Landy]

If either space / weight or $$ are more important than speed, the flaring tools from Lee Loaders are sold separately for only $2; and they go unnoticed until wanted in a portable kit. They're handy enough on the bench, too.

This one fits .35 rifles:

http://leeprecision.com/flaring-tool-38.html

Other rifle calibers can be custom ordered:

http://leeprecision.com/custom-flaring-tool-for-lee-loader.html

175983

[gwpercle]

Wondering if you guys expand your rifle necks a bit for seating your cast boolits.
If so is there a universal expander?
Just starting and don't want to buy extra stuff I won't need.

The Lee Universal Case Expander will flare everything from .22 to .45 caliber , handguns and rifles . It will be useful for anything that needs a flair and it's not expensive. I use the heck out of mine
Gary

[John Boy]

The objective for lead bullet accuracy is to have 0.001 to 0.002 tension on the bullet at the full seating depth. To obtain this, a M-Die - expander die or expander plug is used. Pliers & Universal Expander Plugs only open the mouth of the case

[Yodogsandman]

If you only flare the case mouth, boolits will be resized by the case neck if the neck tension is more than about .002.

[mdi]

Normally I don't expand the case necks, but I do flare all case mouths/brass that will be used with cast bullets. I have a 30 cal. M die, but often don't use it as my cast bullets survive tight neck tension, and everything else is just flared...

[bedbugbilly]

I started with one of the Lee universal to put a slight flair to the neck. I quickly abandoned that and went with a Lyman "M" die. I currently only load 8mm Mauser and 30-30 so it required a die for each one.

That said . . . I now load both pretty much with my Lyman 310 tools. I neck size only (rounds for each are being shot in just one rifle) and then expand with the 310 expander die in which the expander stem acts just like the big brother "M" die does and puts a slight flair on the mouth to get the boolet started - I sort of refer to the as my "shoe horn" dies.

Example: I neck size my 30-30 and since I'm using several different designs of boolits for the 30-30, I then expand with a .308 expander stem. My rifle likes .309 and the .308 expander stem seems to give me good "neck tension" - I then put a slight roll crimp on the casing.

All that said . . . good advice has been given. Needle nose pliers, taper punch, etc. will still do the job and "get 'er done". In fact, if you had access to a metal lathe, it would be an easy task to make expanders out of bolts that would do the same thing.

On my 8mm Mauser . . . it wants a .323 cast boolit. I think the expander I am using is a .321 if I remember correctly. When I first got started loading those, I use the needle nose plier method and it worked just fine.

A person can spend bookoo bucks on a lot of dance equipment . . and sometimes you have to get something "special" . . but if a person has a "problem" and thinks about it, you'll usually come up with a way to do what you need to.

I'm not sure and maybe someone here can answer it . . . I have a couple of the Lee Classic "whack a mole" reloader but have never used them. If I remember correctly, I think my 38/357 has a tap in expander plug that puts a slight flair on on the case mouth. Does Lee still make these? If reasonably priced, that might be a "solution" for someone that wants to reload and keep it simple.

[gwpercle]

There is always more than one way to skin a monkey....some high tech and expensive and some low tech and cheap....you pays your money and you makes your choice.

Lee still makes the Whack-A-Mole loader , they call it the "Classic Lee Loader" If you've never loaded a few hundred rounds with one , it will give you a great appreciation for any press. All that pounding will get you sent out of the house too . My mom was more than glad to finance my first single stage press and get me out into the work room where the bench was , but that was just exactly what I was hoping for !

[JWFilips]

When A person starts out loading cast with a new caliber If he doesn't have all the tools up front there is aways a way to start out !
When I gained calibers..... darn right the needle nose ( or cold punch) was my friend until I could get better tools! and you know what? I shot some pretty impressive targets ....enough of them to have faith in the caliber and the loads I came up with. It also gave me time to understand just how much expander tension I wanted. I had a lyman expander body but I didn't waste my time buying their stock expanders for that caliber which are always too small and work the brass too much: but I had custom expander nibs made to open the case to what I wanted to; So I didn't waste money up front buying the stock junk.
Needle nose and Cold chisels gave me the oppertunity to think and shoot so I knew what I needed.
So For those guys just starting out do not be overwhelmed by a lot of these post. Simple tools will get you shooting ! From there you can figure out what you need and what you can afford!
Jim

[Scorpius]

Yea I'm already finding out molds may not be ones I want simply because I want my semi autos to cycle
7.62x54r svt40
7.62x39 SKS
8mm hakim, g43 and fn49

Looks like I need to find heavy grain molds. Maybe even just ask to buy 20 rounds from each mold and do my own testing see what works.
Anyhow point being, I'll likely start with the punch advice and as I gain experience my tool needs will become apparent. Lots of great input thanks all!

[ukrifleman]

The Lee Universal Case Expander works well if your brass is trimmed to a consistent length.

I use mine across 16 calibres and have no complaints.

ukrifleman.

[EDG]

You either use the right tool or live with the results. If you try to seat a soft bullet without proper expansion of the case the bullet base will be damaged some.

Using a plastic hammer and a .50 BMG bullet you can expand many cases. You will get similar results with the Lee universal expander die.
I would only recommend these with gas check bullets after expanding with a normal expander ball.
I use the Lee die a lot but only with the Jay word bullets to protect the heel from being damaged.
For BPCR and other typical soft bullets with NO gas checks I use a Lyman M die or a similar custom expander that is the same diameter of the bullet. The only case neck grip I get is provided by spring back of the case. This is for use only in single shot or single loading only and protects the base of the bullet from being damaged by the case.