I didn't adjust my sizer die down far enough

[Tripplebeards]

So I just loaded up 50, 45 Colt bullets and put them in my cylinder to find out they stick out of the gun to 1/8 of an inch apparently I didn't set my Sizer die down far enough. Is there a way to size the last part of the loaded case without pulling all my bullets and starting over?

[Tripplebeards]

I loaded them too short anyway so they're getting pulled just curious for future reference I'm assuming there's no way to do it.

[mozeppa]

it's only 50...pull them.

and i think you mean your "bullet seater die" ...not your sizer die.

if you've used your roll crimp die to crimp the bullet in you will need to pull them down anyway.

start over and do only one ....once you are correct on the one , you'll be good to go 49 more.

[Tripplebeards]

it's only 50...pull them.

and i think you mean your "bullet seater die" ...not your sizer die.

if you've used your roll crimp die to crimp the bullet in you will need to pull them down anyway.

start over and do only one ....once you are correct on the one , you'll be good to go 49 more.


I meant my sizer die. I believe I didn’t adjust it to A flush fit with my shell holder and the base it still flaired out a hair. I seated a few about .40 longer without issues so I know there not too long. I crimped these with my sizer die and I removed the boolit seater insert before doing so. I have the lee 3 die set without a separate crimper. I can see the markings on the case where it didn’t size all the way to the base.

http://i.imgur.com/MTXDfV2.jpg

[Larry Gibson]

Are you sure it's the case? Might try pulling one bullet and then see if that empty case will chamber. Could be those long seated powder coated bullets are to large for the throat.

[Tripplebeards]

I loaded the same sized .451 boolits longer to 1.665” and they fit perfectly. These are 1.620”. I could push them through all the throats with my finger the last I checked when I sized them last year. Could they expand and grow? I still have some of the longer ones, 1.665”, I loaded last year and they still chamber flush. I will pull one and give it a try though just to make sure I didn’t forget to size these. I had them separate in a bag and more in a huge box.

[country gent]

One problem with a second full length sizing of loaded ammo will raise up when the ammo is shot. Almost all sizing dies under size the cases then the expander opens them back up a few thousandths, this allows the dies to work with cases with different neck wall thicknesses. When the second sizing of the loaded round the case is press down to this smaller dia and the bullet is swaged down in size also. ( the expand back up to size never happens with the second sizing) This can cause accuracy problems do to the now undersized bullet. also loose bullets do to case spring back away from the bullet.

[44Blam]

I meant my sizer die. I believe I didn’t adjust it to A flush fit with my shell holder and the base it still flaired out a hair. I seated a few about .40 longer without issues so I know there not too long. I crimped these with my sizer die and I removed the boolit seater insert before doing so. I have the lee 3 die set without a separate crimper. I can see the markings on the case where it didn’t size all the way to the base.

http://i.imgur.com/MTXDfV2.jpg
So, it does look like your boolits might be seated a little high. There's a crimp grove that you can see - perhaps they should be seated to that grove and crimped?

[nawagner]

So am I the only one confused by the fact that you mentioned 45 Colt but these are not 45 Colt cases? Do you mean 45 Auto? Or is just the angle in the photo that makes it look like an auto case?

[Kylongrifle32]

Do you have a good crimp on the case mouth. I did that once with 357's in my Blackhawk. After belling the case mouth to load the boolits I did not get enough crimp to close them back up around the boolit. When loaded into the cylinder they seemed to hang up on a carbon ring in the cylinder. Turned the seater die lock ring out an eighth turn and that corrected things. Just something to check before pulling them all.

[rockshooter]

I would take a round, put it in the seater die and seat it so that little band that is showing is in the case (I know, it's crimped- just push a little harder) I think that if you seated it to crimp over the top band, it would fit just fine. Just try one, in case I am wrong. As far as the suspected issue is that it's not resized close to the base, get a Lee Factory Crimp die since they size a little further down. I'm not quite clear on how you crimped them in a sizer die since there shouldn't be a crimping shoulder there.
Loren

[Dusty Bannister]

Please, just blacken the entire cartridge with a magic marker, try to chamber it in the revolver and see where the black is worn off. That will tell you exactly where it is rubbing and then you can tell what it needs to fix it.

[Conditor22]

Try miking the brass and see where the inconsistency is

[Tripplebeards]

I crimped them in the boolit seater die and removed the part that screws in the top so I wouldn't seat my boolit deeper by accident. I roll crimped them pretty good but try to crimp one a little harder to see if it chambers but I'm positive I jist didn't adjust my sizer die down enough when full lenghth sizing the brass. I am using the lee three die set. I lower the die down till it fits flush with the shell holder and do not cam over a quater turn like I would with rifle brass correct?

[JBinMN]

I crimped them in the boolit seater die and removed the part that screws in the top so I wouldn't seat my boolit deeper by accident. I roll crimped them pretty good but try to crimp one a little harder to see if it chambers but I'm positive I jist didn't adjust my sizer die down enough when full lenghth sizing the brass. I am using the lee three die set. I lower the die down till it fits flush with the shell holder and do not cam over a quater turn like I would with rifle brass correct?


From the instructions for a Lee 3-die pistol dies set:


FULL LENGTH SIZER - Screw the full length sizer in until it touches
the shell holder and tighten the lock ring finger tight.

The decapperis retained by a collet. Should it be overstressed by
an obstruction; it simply slides up without damage.

To reset, loosen the decapper clamp and position the decapper flush with
clamp end and retighten. Considerable torque may be necessary. A 1/2" and 3/4"
wrench are necessary.

CAUTION If using a steel sizer, be
sure to lubricate your cases. Without
lubrication, your die will be damaged
and the case may become stuck in
the die.

Source:https://leeprecision.com/cgi-data/instruct/Pistol3.pdf

[Strtspdlx]

Might be worth it to full length size then take that piece and drop it in all the chambers to be certain that was your issue, but i always plan for the worst and hope for the best.

[Butler Ford]

So I just loaded up 50, 45 Colt bullets and put them in my cylinder to find out they stick out of the gun to 1/8 of an inch apparently I didn't set my Sizer die down far enough. Is there a way to size the last part of the loaded case without pulling all my bullets and starting over?

No, the seated bullet is larger than a sized case. If you try, you'll size the bullet and case mouth area to the size of a properly sized empty case.

BF

[Pb Burner]

Are you sure it's the case? Might try pulling one bullet and then see if that empty case will chamber. Could be those long seated powder coated bullets are to large for the throat.

This would be the first thing I would do.

[rking22]

shell holder covers more of the case than shown exposed above the cylinder. Slip one in the cylinder and twist it back and forth, suspect it will then show a wear ring where it is hanging up, bullet to throat usually shows the symptom you see.

[bedbugbilly]

Couple or questions . . . .

Is this new brass? Or range brass new to you? Either way - it should always be full length sized for the first loading -

What are you using it in? Did you load a dummy round first to check and since it's already loaded, have you used a black magic marker on one of them to see where the hang up is?

I only have one 45 Colt - a Uberti Cattleman and the chambers are pretty generous. 45 Colt is about one of the easiest cartridges to load IMHO - I always FL size any new brass or range brass - after that - just a neck sizing the length of the seating depth works great and a moderate roll crimp. Doesn't matter if I'm using 45 Colt or 45 Schofield casings.

The suggestion to try a sized casing in your cylinder first is an excellent one - if it doesn't fit - then magic marker one and saw where it's rubbing and the interference is - then load a dummy round and try it - if the casing fits gut the dummy round won't - then magic mark it and find out why - you may have tight throats for the boolit you're trying to use. If you are using a Ruger - check your throats - they are known to be tight. Once you get it figured out . . . and if you are just using one gun . . . . the casings should be pretty much fire formed to the chambers - and if all chambers are equal - you should be able to get by with just neck sizing - i.e. less wear and tear on the casing. Every gun is not equal - but on my Cattleman - with the load I use that gives the best accuracy - whether it be Red Dot, BE or ? with a 454-190 lead cast slug, I get very little blow back sooting and I rarely have to use the ejector rod as the cases pretty much fall out from the loading gate. YMMV

If you[re talking 45 ACP - you're talking apples and oranges.

[Larry Gibson]

I loaded the same sized .451 boolits longer to 1.665” and they fit perfectly. These are 1.620”. I could push them through all the throats with my finger the last I checked when I sized them last year. Could they expand and grow? I still have some of the longer ones, 1.665”, I loaded last year and they still chamber flush. I will pull one and give it a try though just to make sure I didn’t forget to size these. I had them separate in a bag and more in a huge box.

Appears you have one option; pull the bullets.......

[garandsrus]

The problem is probably not the sizing die. When I have a round that hangs up like that, there are a couple causes:
o the bullet needs to be seated deeper
o the case belle wasn’t removed
o it was overcrimped, expanding/collapsing the case mouth
o the cylinder has a crud ring that needs to be removed as happens when shooting 38 spec in a 357

Size a different case and see if it chambers freely. If it does, the problem is not with the sizing die setting.

[Green Frog]

A couple of suggestions... first, the PC on those bullets looks pretty heavy... I would first check to see whether the bullets of that lot are too big for the chamber mouths. Next, I would pull one bullet and dump the powder to see whether the sized brass still won’t go all the way in... if you only neck sized or only sized down part way, the problem will show up at this point. Finally, if you have brass from a lot that has been fired in a grossly oversized chamber, you might be able to salvage it by removing the decapping stem from the FL die and manually pushing each piece of brass all the way into the die. You can use a vise or an arbor press for this, then drive it back out with an appropriately sized steel rod.

Froggie

[reddog81]

The sizing die definitely could be the problem. I had my .38 Special die setup setup at about 1/4" from the shell plate for a while. This worked in most guns however some guns have a tighter chamber and the slightly wider base caused the exact problem you are having. Resizing the cases will not work. The sizing die sizes the cases so much that the lead bullets will shrink a couple .001's and loose all neck tension and fall out.

[Conditor22]

I agree with garandsrus

o the bullet needs to be seated deeper -- you said they were seated too deep anyway so not this
o the case belle wasn’t removed
o it was overcrimped, expanding/collapsing the case mouth
o the cylinder has a crud ring that needs to be removed as happens when shooting 38 spec in a 357 -- 45 colt doesn't have a "baby brother ie 45 special) not this

Size a different case and see if it chambers freely. If it does, the problem is not with the sizing die setting. -- do this

[Tripplebeards]

I took one of unloaded boolits I was using and dropped it into one of the cylinders and tried to push it through. It was stuck and wasn't going anywhere. I remembered when I sized them to .451 I could push them through the throats with little effort. I sized that boolit and dropped it into the same cylinder. I then took a ball point pen and pushed it through with a little resistance...WALA!!! Larry was right as usual I never sized My Bullets after I powder coated them I believe I did this because I run .452 diameter in my Bushmaster and .451 in my Colt and didn't want to size them that day because i was debating on trying them in both my rifle and my pistol. Boolits pulled, casings resized, flaired, powder remeasured, bullets seate to 1.662"...longer length right before it touches the forcing cone, and waiting to be crimped.

Good part is I put a piece of styrofoam inside the bottom of my inertia hammer type boolit puller so there wasn't any damage to the boolits or witness marks where I lightly crimped. There was some static electricity build up so sone of my powder stayed in the puller after each boolit was released so I dumped what ever was in my puller back into chargemaster lite and re weighed each charge. I'll be sizing the pulled boolits and save save for another day. Figured I'd ding them all up, I got lucky.

[Tripplebeards]

Here's a loose, unloaded, .451 sized boolit I dropped into the cylinder and stops right on the edge of the forcing cone so it won't slide through without force.

http://i.imgur.com/0bgNaTT.jpg

And my loaded ammo in the cycinder. I loaded them long at 1.662" they are just right off the forcing cones or barely touching them and drop right in completely flush with the cylinder.

http://i.imgur.com/YvnOeRF.jpg

[Conditor22]

I'm glad you got it to work. I always size after I PC.

[Tripplebeards]

I'm glad you got it to work. I always size after I PC.

Lol, thought I did too. From now on I'll be sizing them all and marking the diameter sized on the container their in. What through me off is its my first non GC boolit so I'm use to sizing in my Lee sizer when Intalling a GC at the same time.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

If the empty cases came from the same gun, they should re-chamber without any sizing at all. So unless you have multiple .45s the sizing die should not be the problem.

I actually did have the very problem you described, but I have a two lever actions and a revolver chambered in .357. I also loaded with a Lyman 310-tool which will not full length re-size by design. I had to get a Lee hand press so I could have interchangeable ammo.

[Tripplebeards]

The one time shot casings came from another member here so need to resize them. I would assume I still need to size them or the bullets won't have enough neck pressure to hold the boolit in place with consistency even with crimping. Still haven't shot any cast out of it yet but was told by posters to load right off the forcing cone for best accuracy and to size where boolits push threw the forcing cones with little pressure. Guess we will see.

[mdi]

A couple thoughts; do your sized cases fit in the cylinder? Just size a few, drop them in the cylinder. Fit? Another idea, crimping too much will bulge the cases. Will an uncrimped, or lightly crimped round chamber?

Whenever there is a fit problem, measure. Measure the diameter of the case in a few places, measure the bullet diameter, slug/measure the cylinder throats (may or may not be an issue unless OAL is long and bullet diameter is big), measure the OAL (but in a revolver OAL is "no longer than the cylinder")...

Hint; for a newer reloader, for your revolver handloads just seat the bullets to the crimp groove/cannalure and disregard book OAL and what "they" said.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Yes. You need to size a fired case at least to the seating depth of the bullet in order to grip the bullet. I'm just saying that if the case was fired from the same gun, it should fit back into the same gun if you only size it part of the length.

[Dusty Bannister]

BJ is mostly correct if one is only working with single shot or semi-auto pistols. In revolvers, there is some variation between cylinders just as there is in Cylinder throats. The individual revolver will show whether this partial resizing will work or not.

[RogerDat]

Neck tension you might want to look into an NOE expander plug. It does a precise and minimal straight sided flare of case mouth and sizes neck to a set diameter appropriate to your cast bullet size. http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=89

This expander plug fits in the Lee Universal Expander and makes it much better. Consistent neck tension and straight sided flare. I think straight sided mouth sizing crimps better and doesn't work the brass as far as a tapered flared out back to crimp. While providing the clearance so the bullet doesn't shave lead going in.

There is also the Lyman M die which does the same job. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/340927/lyman-neck-expander-m-die

I like the ability to get specific size expander plugs from NOE where the Lyman has a "45" expander. Giving a case neck that is .001 under MY CAST bullet size. Many people like and use the Lyman M die which was around first to accomplish the same task.

All I can say is you can feel the consistency of effort when seating bullets in a case neck sized with the NOE expander plug and I would imagine the same is true of the Lyman M die. Much better match to cast bullet size than the sizing "ball" of a regular die in my opinion. Zero swaging of lead to fit brass sized for J word bullet by regular die.