For those running .455 dia boolits in a .45 Colt

[Sakoluvr]

Are you getting swagging when using an M die? The charts say that you can use .454 - .456 boolits. Yeah, I am sure there is adequate neck tension but I wonder if a .455 boolit is exiting the case and entering the throat at .455 diameter. Will pulling a seated boolit tell me all I need to know? Does Lyman sell plugs that are "oversize" for the M die?

[RobS]

No they do not make custom spuds. You can have a forum member here name buckshot to help you out.

[RobS]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?67-Buckshot

[Outpost75]

Expander plug should be 0.0015-0.002" less than bullet diameter, so a .454 spud works perfectly for .455 with soft alloy, but you can use a .4525" IF the bullet is harder than 10 BHN, so that it is not deformed from seating in a tight case.

Way to check if your expander is too snug for your bullet diameter and alloy is to pull a few rounds using an inertia-type pullet and then measure diameter of the bullets with a micrometer and compare the before and after. If bullet diameter is not reduced more than 1/2 thousandth (0.0005") in seating and crimping you are OK, but if reduced more than that you want a larger expander plug.

[Sakoluvr]

Awesome. Thanks.

[USSR]

I cast and shoot .455" sized bullets in my 25-5. I bought one of the larger diameter RCBS "Cowboy" expander plugs for my steel RCBS .45 Colt die and it works well.

Don

[Nueces]

I use some of Buffalo Arms custom made expanders: https://www.buffaloarms.com/reloading-supplies/custom-bullet-expander-balls

They're sort of steep, but you can get exactly what you want. Note that, as brass work hardens, neck spring back will give you a smaller neck than you get with soft brass.

[Sakoluvr]

I cast and shoot .455" sized bullets in my 25-5. I bought one of the larger diameter RCBS "Cowboy" expander plugs for my steel RCBS .45 Colt die and it works well.

Don

Can a RCBS expander work in an M die?

[Sakoluvr]

I see that NOE has exactly what I want here:

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?products_id=1614


Will it work in this Lee die:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/140461/lee-universal-neck-expanding-die

[DougGuy]

Unless you guys got .456" throats, all you are doing is causing excess pressure because there is no way in hades that the boolit you seat in the case is going to exit the front of the cylinder any larger than throat diameter, whatever that may be. Take one of those .455" boolits and see how much trouble it is to beat it through the cylinder throat from the front. THIS is how much more effort you are adding to the powder in the case to cause it to have to shove it through the throat.

[Outpost75]

All of the S&W .455 and .45 Hand Ejectors I have measured, and a great many of the later Model 25s, have huge cylinder throats of .455-.459". My US M1917 had .456 throats before it was recylindered. My .45 Hand Ejector Model of 1950 Military has .4555" throats, my S&W Model 25-2 and a 25-5, both of which I no longer own, both had .459" throats, which is why I sold them...

[USSR]

Unless you guys got .456" throats, all you are doing is causing excess pressure because there is no way in hades that the boolit you seat in the case is going to exit the front of the cylinder any larger than throat diameter, whatever that may be. Take one of those .455" boolits and see how much trouble it is to beat it through the cylinder throat from the front. THIS is how much more effort you are adding to the powder in the case to cause it to have to shove it through the throat.

Doug,

My throats measure about .4545", so the .455" bullets work like a charm.

Don

[Sakoluvr]

Unless you guys got .456" throats, all you are doing is causing excess pressure because there is no way in hades that the boolit you seat in the case is going to exit the front of the cylinder any larger than throat diameter, whatever that may be. Take one of those .455" boolits and see how much trouble it is to beat it through the cylinder throat from the front. THIS is how much more effort you are adding to the powder in the case to cause it to have to shove it through the throat.

LOL Doug, you must have forgotten that this is the semi-custom Ruger that you worked on for me, the one with the uneven throats that were opened up to .455. I am using a .455 boolit. Did you get the reamer for my S&W forcing cone yet

[Sakoluvr]

All of the S&W .455 and .45 Hand Ejectors I have measured, and a great many of the later Model 25s, have huge cylinder throats of .455-.459". My US M1917 had .456 throats before it was recylindered. My .45 Hand Ejector Model of 1950 Military has .4555" throats, my S&W Model 25-2 and a 25-5, both of which I no longer own, both had .459" throats, which is why I sold them...

Any of the P&R model 25's have oversize throats. It is hit and miss starting with the 25-5's. My later 625 Mountain gun had .4515 throats until
l Doug opened them to .452 This is one case where the internal lock is a good thing because all those guns are sized right.

[Sakoluvr]

I see that NOE has exactly what I want here:

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?products_id=1614


Will it work in this Lee die:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/140461/lee-universal-neck-expanding-die

So will that Lee die work with the custom plug? I have never used anything but Redding and the M die.

[DougGuy]

LOL Doug, you must have forgotten that this is the semi-custom Ruger that you worked on for me, the one with the uneven throats that were opened up to .455. I am using a .455 boolit. Did you get the reamer for my S&W forcing cone yet

Yes I admit, I didn't remember the throats in the "custom" Ruger cylinder but then again so many go through the shop here I can't keep track of them.. Still looking for the reamer!

[smkummer]

All my Colts (SAA, New Frontier, Anaconda and New Service) in 45 Colt shoot Lyman's 454190 sized at 454 very accurate. I tried the Keith bullet 452424 and it wasn't near as accurate in my Colts but in my buddy's Smith 25 it was very accurate. I just picked up the older 454424 mold but have not tried it yet. I am sizing with hornandy dies that are for both 45 Colt and 45 acp. So my neck is probably sized to accept a 451 bullet. I have not crushed a case yet.

[Sakoluvr]

My dummy rounds worked out well and I am not worried about crushing a case, but more concerned about swagging down a .455 to something less.

[rintinglen]

All of the S&W .455 and .45 Hand Ejectors I have measured, and a great many of the later Model 25s, have huge cylinder throats of .455-.459". My US M1917 had .456 throats before it was recylindered. My .45 Hand Ejector Model of 1950 Military has .4555" throats, my S&W Model 25-2 and a 25-5, both of which I no longer own, both had .459" throats, which is why I sold them...

That is my experience as well. Smith 45's ran large back in the 70's thru the 90's., The 25-2 I had had .455+throats, my friend's 4 inch 25-5 also had huge throats.

[Ken in Iowa]

So will that Lee die work with the custom plug? I have never used anything but Redding and the M die.

Yes it does. I use that setup for 45 Colt using .454 boolits.