Am I in trouble? .40=.403 now what?

[bbogue1]

I just slugged my son-in-laws .40 S&W Glock and found out it is actually .4012 with a recommendation to size CB at .403. I do not find a .403 mold nor do I find a .403 sizing die. I have a Lee .401 push through sizing die and a 401-145swc mold. At this time I am planning to powder coat the bullets to increase their size. I understand Glocks are notorious for barrel leading when an undersized bullet is fired. so, I still do not know what to do about sizing them to .403. I've read about using a very fine sand paper on a dowel and enlarging the sizing die and I suppose I could send the die off to have it reamed, what other options do I have? Am I in trouble?

[TexasGrunt]

NOE makes a push though sizing system that uses bushing. They have a .403 bushing. Most NOE molds drop at .403, my Arsenal drops at .403

Get out of the Lee room and take a look at the rest of the world.

Also I'm betting that Lee mold drops close to .403

[Larry Gibson]

Cast some bullets with that mould with your alloy and see what the "as cast" diameter actually is. More than likely with a Lee mould the bullets will be larger than .401.

The .401 sizer can easily be honed out to .403. Run a "search" on this forum and you'll find lots of how to info.

[gwpercle]

Like Larry said, cast some and measure , size some and measure.
Mould is marked .413 , boolits as cast = .4125
Boolits sized in Lyman sizing die marked .410 come out .41175 .
Boolits sized in Lyman sizing die marked .413 come out .41245 .

There is only a .0007 difference the two....in real world usage both sized boolits can be considered to be .412
Don't bet money that a diameter marked on a mould or sizer die is going to be exactly what the boolit ends up being.....it can fool you.
All these years I was using the .410 die and my boolits were really .412 !
Gary

[Grmps]

You have the option of powder-coating or Hi-Tek coating to increase the diameter of the boolit. With PC you can gain up to 2 thou + per coat (normally around 1 thou) depending on the power and around 1 thou with 2 coats of HT.

"I've read about using a very fine sand paper on a dowel and enlarging the sizing die "
this is correct and quite simple to do. I start with 600 grit wrapped around a dowel, slid through the die and roll it on my leg. Put it back on the press, size a boolit and check the size frequently. when you get close switch to 800 or 1000 grit and polish to your desired diamiter

[popper]

Actual boolit size depends on alloy. You also have to see what size the glock chamber will take plus getting an expander for the proper size. One advantage to the NOE system is that size inserts are only $6 ea. so get several and hone them out to what you need.

[Smk SHoe]

Does anyone use the NOE sizers that can get a full ram swing on the press. I love his system but can only get about 30% swing on the press arm. just isn't natural. Wonder if a press with a larger opening would work. Was trying on a RCBS Turrent press. I use the Lee sizers and just use some emery paper with a dowel and water to hone it out. Takes awhile ( fine paper), but smoooooth when done

[TexasGrunt]

Actual boolit size depends on alloy. You also have to see what size the glock chamber will take plus getting an expander for the proper size. One advantage to the NOE system is that size inserts are only $6 ea. so get several and hone them out to what you need.

Last I checked they were $9.75 each.


Does anyone use the NOE sizers that can get a full ram swing on the press. I love his system but can only get about 30% swing on the press arm. just isn't natural. Wonder if a press with a larger opening would work. Was trying on a RCBS Turrent press. I use the Lee sizers and just use some emery paper with a dowel and water to hone it out. Takes awhile ( fine paper), but smoooooth when done

Due to the die body hanging below the press I doubt any press would be able to have a full swing.

[dragon813gt]

Does anyone use the NOE sizers that can get a full ram swing on the press. I love his system but can only get about 30% swing on the press arm. just isn't natural. Wonder if a press with a larger opening would work.

You should be able to get a lot more than 30% on any press. Since the die screws in from the bottom you won't get a full stroke out of any press. I use a Lee Classic Cast for sizing w/ their system. You can adjust the handle to get it where it's comfortable. I haven't had to move it from the position it's set at for reloading. A press that allows the handle to be adjusted may help you out. You don't need full leverage from any press to size bullets.

[tucumcari_kid]

Arsenal makes a couple .403 dies. Lyman's .40 and 38-40 dies are all over the place from 401 to 406, so there are probably some options. I saw some .403 jacketed HPs designed for the .401 herters mag. The dies are out there. Would be nice to size them, but if you can get them to drop at .403 with your alloy of choice, that might be a good start. Arsenal 403 - 200 gr (http://arsenalmolds.com/products?limit=99999999999&product_id=67)

[bbogue1]

Looked up NOE. That is a nice system. I like the variety of sizes and the space savings is substantial. Very quickly (after 3 sizes) it sure has Lee beat in price. It's reputation is stellar. I'm going to look up Lyman and Arsenal. I think first I will see how they drop, thanks to you guys I may find I am not in trouble. Any other suggestions?

[TexasGrunt]

I've got the Arsenal 180 WFN. I'll measure some boolits today to see what they are dropping at. I use 50/50 COWW/pure with a bit of tin added. I know they are dropping at at least .403 as I can feel them going through my .403 bushing and with a .402 it requires a bit of push to get them through.

[DougGuy]

All this talk of sizing larger and no one suggested you may want to find out what throat diameter is? Awfully hard to seat a .403" boolit into a .4015" or .402" throat!

I size 40 throats to .4025" for use with .402" boolits and it works really well. I don't recommend going over .402" because it's unnecessary and presents more problems pushing the case out so that if the chamber itself is tight, they won't chamber, and it runs the risk of raising pressure on an already high pressure cartridge that is well known for not having any headroom under the pressure ceiling. The 40 S&W is perhaps the likeliest caliber made to experience an over pressure event that may blow out a case, there is no room for error.

[Outpost75]

DougGuy,

Have you any experience with .40 S&W in a Ruger Blackhawk? I'm thinking about have one made up, along with another cylinder for the .44 Special case necked to .40 and shortened to 1".

200813
200812

[bbogue1]

Two questions RE: Post 13 Does that apply when the barrel was slugged and found to be .4012 on a pistol? Glocks are notorious for leading the barrel with undersized boolits, so, .402 or .403 should reduce the leading, right? They also have the reputation of blowing up so lighter powder loads are in order, correct?

[DougGuy]

Two questions RE: Post 13 Does that apply when the barrel was slugged and found to be .4012 on a pistol? Glocks are notorious for leading the barrel with undersized boolits, so, .402 or .403 should reduce the leading, right? They also have the reputation of blowing up so lighter powder loads are in order, correct?

.402" should work in any 40 S&W pistol not just Glock. AS LONG as the throat is large enough to chamber it. Two things that need to be avoided with this caliber, the first is seating deeper in the case because you have a boolit larger than the throat and it won't "plunk" and the second thing is having a boolit pushed back into the case when cycling because it is too large to go into the throat. The first scenario can be compensated for at the loading bench, although this is a poor workaround for it, just have the barrel throated so you can use the .402" seated out ever how long you want to, the second scenario can be DISASTROUS as boolit setback of only .010" can send pressure through the roof!


DougGuy,

Have you any experience with .40 S&W in a Ruger Blackhawk? I'm thinking about have one made up, along with another cylinder for the .44 Special case necked to .40 and shortened to 1".


I think someone sent in the 40 cylinder from their Vaquero convertible for throat reaming a couple years ago, afaik Ruger has not made a BH in 40 S&W.

Personally, I can't see the gain from a wildcat pushing a 40 caliber boolit, Colt did it over 100yrs ago with the 38-40 and I can't see where it would be an improvement on the original unless you are wanting to take this into +P or +P+ territory and the 41 magnum has had that spot sewed up for how many years now? Plus you wouldn't need a wildcat to load 38-40 brass to +P+ in a Ruger revolver so I don't see the point in this at all. Maybe I am missing something I just don't see it being practical.

I will take this space to answer your question but let's not steer the thread away from the OP's original concerns about boolit diameter.

[David2011]

Your real issue is getting a boolit at least .404" before sizing to .403", if you really need boolits that big. If they're smaller than the die obviously they won't size. I was sizing and loading .40 earlier today. Out of curiosity I measured a few unsized boolits and they were consistently .403" before sizing. The mold is a Lee 401-175-TC. The alloy is 20 pounds of COWW plus 1/2 pound of Monotype. The alloy will affect the size of the boolit. The Lee mold could probably be "Lee-mented" with valve grinding compound large enough to fill the bore. There are lots of threads here discussing Lee-menting.

Good luck!
David