RCBS Cowboy die sets

[richhodg66]

I have a .38-55 that has been troubling getting it to shoot well to say the least. Big groups, I'd mess with it a bit, set it aside and come back to it.

Kind of figured after reading that the expander plug was the problem, so I splurged on a set of the Cowboy dies and shot a couple of groups today I loaded on the new dies. Made a world of difference, shrunk the groups I was getting by more than half. I can't remember ever having such a simple change made that dramatic a difference.

Call me a fan of these cowboy dies now. Next step is to try a set in .45-70 I think.

[metricmonkeywrench]

Sort of did the same thing for my .38 wadcutters, the expander is a bit larger in diameter and sizes further into the case to keep from swaging down the softer bullets. The other key I see is getting the case mouth bell to open enough to keep from peeling lead when seating the bullet. Straight wall cases are easy enough and there are universal belling dies that work with bottleneck cases, but have to be followed up with a crimp die to close the bell.

[Taterhead]

The nice thing about RCBS kits is that the expander plug can be retrofitted with a "Cowboy" diameter to give a little more neck expansion. The plugs are only about $7. I use them in 38, 40, 10mm and 45 Colt for cast bullets. Plus they come with a brass-colored lock ring, so I can easily tell if I have the standard expander plug or the Cowboy expander plug installed in my die plate.

[richhodg66]

The nice thing about RCBS kits is that the expander plug can be retrofitted with a "Cowboy" diameter to give a little more neck expansion. The plugs are only about $7. I use them in 38, 40, 10mm and 45 Colt for cast bullets. Plus they come with a brass-colored lock ring, so I can easily tell if I have the standard expander plug or the Cowboy expander plug installed in my die plate.

I kind of wish I had thought of that as I was using a set of old RCBS dies before, might could have saved a little money and just replaced the expander plug. Oh well.

To say I'm impressed with how much better these dies made this rifle shoot is an understatement. I can't remember when one simple change like that made a dramatic difference like this did.

[WALLNUTT]

If having trouble with expanders not expanding enough, purchase a LEE universal expander. With this expander, you can purchase expander plugs from NOE that come in a variety of sizes for the same caliber so cases can be sized large enough to not size your bullets when seating. In addition the plugs are designed like Lyman M expanders and work great.

[Taterhead]

If having trouble with expanders not expanding enough, purchase a LEE universal expander. With this expander, you can purchase expander plugs from NOE that come in a variety of sizes for the same caliber so cases can be sized large enough to not size your bullets when seating. In addition the plugs are designed like Lyman M expanders and work great.

This is also a great solution. NOE has many of the 'tweener sizes that aren't found in the Lyman or RCBS catalogues.

[richhodg66]

I had been using the Lee universal die to load .38-55, apparently, it wasn't cutting it. I do use it pretty much all the time when loading cast rifle bullets. These dies made a huge difference.

[EDG]

The Lee .45-70 expander die will accept the expanders sold by Track of the Wolf. Track of the Wolf sells expanders in .38-55, .40 cal rifle and .45 cal rifle in a number of oversizes in each caliber.
At $2.99 they are economical if you have the LEE expander die body.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/1221/1

RCBS Cow dies differ from their standard dies by having a larger expander. The seater dies are also larger in the bullets guiding section so a cast bullet about .001 to .002 oversize can be seated.