Partial sizing for soft 38 cal HBWC's

[Inthealders]

I'd like to only partially size my 38/357 cases for those times when I want to load softer target HBWC's. Using my standard die set, the carbide ring sizes the brass too much and by swaging these bullets down, I lose the benefit of the soft lead upsetting nicely and filling the cylinder throats and bore. I would like to size only enough to hold the bullet. Do the older steel dies work better for this?

[Petrol & Powder]

I think you may be coming at this from the wrong direction. Instead of concerning yourself with the sizing operation, I think you need to be thinking about the expanding operation.

The sizing operation affects most of the casing from the mouth to the rim and the brass rebounds a bit after being resized. The expander then acts on the forward section of the casing that will hold the bullet. It would be difficult to size the casing near the base (so that the casing would easily chamber) without also sizing the casing near the mouth. The solution is to size the entire casing and then go back with the expander and expand just the forward portion of the casing.

I will say that most 38 Special expanders are a bit short for HBWC's. There are some that do a better job than others. And of course, wadcutter brass is your friend with HBWC's.

I think that battle is better fought at the expander die than at the sizing die.

[Guesser]

One thing you can watch for is the thickness of the walls in your selected cartridge case. I shoot a lot of Remington HBWC in 38 Special cases. I only use R-P cases, they are the thinnest, lightest (by weight) of all the cases I've encountered. I weigh my cases, the lightest are the thinnest. That results in the least bullet deformation. I use a Lee carbide sizing die and a Lyman "M" die and a very old RCBS seating die that just touches the case mouth to put it back in line with the case wall. I spot check my finished rounds with a 0-1" micrometer. My Colt Officers Models all love this procedure and they make me look like I know what I'm doing at the range....

[country gent]

I would look for a steel die and polish it out to where it sizes the thinnest brass to what you want, then a expander to remove the thicker cases extra. In this way you wont be over sizing your brass and opening it back up again. Benefits will be longer brass life, a case that is a better fit in the chamber, and bullets that arnt being sized down seating. Another plus is the steel die can be polished to size just the case where the bullet is leaving the rest only slightly sized. The major draw back is even with a polished steel die cases will need to be lubed lightly. A carbide die can be opened up but with the ring at the bottom of the die you cant adjust sizing depth on the case.

An expander can be used to open the brass back up with no problems and a custom expander isn't real expensive. If you don't go the depth of the bullet with it then part of the bullet may still be swaged down seating. Another issue with this may be that the case body may be smaller than where the bullet is seated ( coke bottle effect) Normally no a problem but works brass more and leaves play in the chambered round.

If you decide to polish a steel die out go slow and check often. use fine grits to avoid poor finishes and or to much removal. Work low rpms and high feeds so polish lines cross over like a figure 8. Final finish with very fine lapping compound, flitz polish tooth paste or simichrome paste. Diamond paste works very well, but few have it sitting around. If you go the carbide route then diamond is required and its a much slower process.

[Walkingwolf]

Use the correct size valve guide reamer to ream your cases to the correct depth for HBWC. You should be able to find one at a machine supply. OR just use DEWC.

I have found that powder coated DEWC perform as well as HBWC. They are the first load in my revolvers for SD.

[mdi]

Not to pee on your parade, but the small difference in case size, partially sized vs, full length sized won't make any difference. The soft HBWC is designed to swell to fit any chamber throat/barrels. I once saw a pic of a HBWC fired from a gun with no barrel, just the cylinder. The bullet looked like a pyramid, the base opened up to well over 1/2"...

[gpidaho]

NOE sizing bushings and case expanders are your friend. You can get your cases exactly where you want them size wise. Gp

[RogerDat]

NOE sizing bushings and case expanders are your friend. You can get your cases exactly where you want them size wise. Gp
This is the approach I would use also. NOE expander plugs will insure the ID of your case isn't swaging your cast bullet down. http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=89

Performs similar function to the Lyman M dies. With mixed brass I can feel the consistency of bullet seating when I use the NOE expanders.

[Inthealders]

Those NOE plugs look perfect. Never knew these existed. I also have saved up the Remington brass that their factory HBWC's are loaded in; I just buy a box every month or so to spread out the pain. They are much lighter and by my measurements are thinner in the wall by .0005 inch so that would just about take care of the issue but when I want to use magnum brass, I will be using that NOE plug. Great news. Thanks guys.