Gas Checks

[Ray Z]

I've been casting for a lot of years. I use gas checks on my 44 magnum pistol and 30cal rifle boolets. When I cast, I usually like to cast 800-1000 at a time. It's always been a pain in the butt to seat the checks. I don't know anyone else that casts around me to ask this to. How do you seat gas checks?

Cra
Z
Ray

[Calehedron]

I seat mine as I size in the Lyman 4500.

[docone31]

I use the Lee Push Thru Sizers.
I put the check on the base of the casting, then push it through the die. It comes out sized, and crimped.
Simple as that.

[GP100man]

i use the GC seater spacer on my 450s .
set the gc on the die nice & square then insert boolit & squeeze it into the die about 1/16 or so to crimp the gc on .
this way i can pan lube or alox em to shoot as cast with gc boolits!!

GP100man

[runfiverun]

put them on and shove through the star and lube at the same time.
if it is for a few lovern or other molds sometimes i size/check first to get more bearing surface then i lube.
other times i check in a larger[as poured] die, then dip lube, then size to final size. if i need more lube capacity.

[crabo]

I have a small set of channel locks that I have ground off the grooves. If I can't seat them by hand, I use the channel locks before I run them through the star. The idea of running them through the sizer with the checks starting out crooked, bothers me.

I'm not sure if this is what you are asking or not.

[Bret4207]

I seat them by hand first. They darn things are too expensive to waste. On some of my moulds I have to snap fit them, others' just drop on and a few I have to scrape the edge of the GC heel and/or anneal and open the GC a bit. All this to get an accurate load at the speed I want.

I briefly tried setting the GC in the sizer an going from there. Lotsa bent GC's and crooked bases is what I got.

[MtJerry]

I use my bench vise to seat them if I am going to load then as-cast.

[cajun shooter]

All the lube sizers will work. I think that the Lyman has to have a special gas check seating tool. The later RCBS and Star and Lee push dies all will seat. I've also read that only Lyman and then Hornaday will work on some bullets.

[Lloyd Smale]

same thing i did.
I have a small set of channel locks that I have ground off the grooves. If I can't seat them by hand, I use the channel locks before I run them through the star. The idea of running them through the sizer with the checks starting out crooked, bothers me.

I'm not sure if this is what you are asking or not.

[dromia]

I seat them by hand first. They darn things are too expensive to waste. On some of my moulds I have to snap fit them, others' just drop on and a few I have to scrape the edge of the GC heel and/or anneal and open the GC a bit. All this to get an accurate load at the speed I want.

I briefly tried setting the GC in the sizer an going from there. Lotsa bent GC's and crooked bases is what I got.


I seat as Bret does for the same reasons. Then through the lubsizer.

If for any reason I'm not lubing on the Lube sizer then I use Lymans gas check seater thingy around the ejection pin.

[Larry Gibson]

On loose fitting GCs the Lee push through sizers or seating them when sizing/lubing works fine.

For tighter fitting ones that should be seated before sizing/lubing the following methods have all worked well for me;

Lee push through sizers with the base/GC being pushed through first.

Lyman 450 with stop screw adjusted all the was up so GC is seated and crimped only.

Use Lyman GC seater on 450.

Use an H die a couple sizes smaller so base of GC sits on top and shank is seated into GC with lever.

Stop on 450 adjusted out so bullet enters H die nose first. The nose punch pushes on GC seating it as bullet is sized before it enters the H die and is crimped. This also is an excellet way to size and seat/crimp GC on softer alloyed bullets to prevent bending them. They are then run back through the same H die the regualr way to just lube them.

The channel locks as Lloyd and crabo use work very well to seat the GCs also but do not crimp them on.

I've used all the above methods with complete satisfaction. Which method I use mostly depends on how much "force" is needed to seat a GC on a particular bullet and the alloy of the bullet.

Larry Gibson

[Dale53]

I much prefer to use the Lyman gas check seater, seating all of the gas checks, THEN I run the assembled bullets through my sizer of choice (sometimes Lyman, sometimes RCBS, and sometimes the Star depending on bullet type.

Dale53

[Ray Z]

The method I've been using is to put the check on top of a piece of 1/4" aluminum that I get from work and push the boolet into it with my star sizer. Do you think that works as well?

[crabo]

same thing i did.

I got the idea from one of your posts. Thanks,

[Bret4207]

The method I've been using is to put the check on top of a piece of 1/4" aluminum that I get from work and push the boolet into it with my star sizer. Do you think that works as well?

I had a nice hunk of 1/4" bronze about the size of a Silver Dollar once that fit on top of the H die nut just right and worked fine for seat most checks to make sure they were on and square. Then they went in the die for crimping. Your aluminum should work the same.

[Jon K]

Like the old saying measure twice cut once................it's the same for gas checks GET THE RIGHT SIZE, then there's no headache, or fiddling with it.

Jon