When should I size and lube fresh cast boolets?

[Martin Luber]

I used to think it was within 3 days but something in my mind says they may shrink a tad over that timeframe and if you already sized them, now they're too small.

Is that correct? When do you do it?

I'm not using pc , just old fashioned wax lube in a star sizer.

Thanks

[nhyrum]

I don't know about shrinking, so I can't speak on that, but I do know some alloys harden over time, so I generally like to have them sized and ready to load about a month in advance of intended use, so I try to get to them as soon after casting as possible

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[ShooterAZ]

You can size and lube them as soon as they are cool enough to touch. They may age harden over time, but shrinkage if it occurs will likely be minimal. I've even seen some reports of them increasing slightly in size. In either case, I don't think it's anything to worry about.

[Whole Bunches]

Ignorance is bliss? Never paid any attention. Some I don’t lube and size for a couple of years. Some I’ve left sized and lubed for a few years. All covered to keep them clean.

[David2011]

Some alloys age harden significantly. I usually size as soon as they cool or the next day. One time I waited about 3 weeks and the effort required and resistance encountered were much greater than with fresh boolits. I was concerned about how much force I was applying to the Star sizer.

[elmacgyver0]

I PC and size these days, screw the lube.

[243winxb]

Air cooled- lube/size, load & shoot.

Water dropped- lube/size, wait 2 weeks to harden, load shoot.

EDIT/ADD -I have not seen 44 cal 240 gr bullets change diameter after sizing. I tested it for years on a small batch.
Started at .430" Years later same .430" When loaded/fired did ok.

Air cooled, tin alloys will get softer over time. Oven heat treated, water dropped stay hard with antimony/tin.

[GregLaROCHE]

They may be a little softer and therefore easier to size right after casting, but you can certainly size them later.

[gwpercle]

I size and lube ( Lyman 450 & Lithium-Beeswax Lube) whenever I have more free time .
It might be the next day , next week , next month or 6 months later .
When sizing and lubing handgun boolits I do not size boolits down too much at a time .
My goal is to size down as little as possible . I have discovered that using a mould that drops the cast boolits right at the size you want to size them works best ...
My theory is the less you have to size a boolit down down ...the easier the sizing job.
When it gets done is whenever you get the free time .
Gary

[tazman]

Some alloys age harden significantly. I usually size as soon as they cool or the next day. One time I waited about 3 weeks and the effort required and resistance encountered were much greater than with fresh boolits. I was concerned about how much force I was applying to the Star sizer.

This^^^^^^^^
I water quench. If I don't resize withing two days after casting, the process is difficult.
If I am forced to wait, I run them through a push through sizer(Lee) on my press before using my lubrisizer. Most lubrisizers are not built heavily enough to withstand much sizing of hard boolits.

[DougGuy]

It depends on the caliber as well, comparatively speaking, a heavy for caliber boolit is usually longer than the lighter boolits, so a larger caliber such as 460, 480, 475L, 500 S&W often uses a boolit that is longer than the diameter. IMO, these are very susceptible to growth while age hardening, more so than a shorter lighter boolit of the same caliber.

These are big bore hand cannons with tremendous power and high pressures so alloys are often fairly hard, meaning a good bit of antimony is in the mix, so the growth while age hardening might be noticed a lot more than typical 44, 45 caliber boolits.

In honing cylinder throats for these beasts, I don't like to go over about .001" over groove diameter, and suggest shooting the loads before they grow enough to not want to chamber. These are definitely not your "Ruger Only" loads, and all that extra energy they produce exerts a LOT more energy against the frame, barrel and forcing cone than a 44 magnum or Ruger Only 45 Colt will do. For this reason I don't hone throats with .0005" more "wiggle room" to allow for expansion from age hardening or PC coatings like I do with lesser calibers.

Edit: And I have heard both ways with these heavies, some say they still load and chamber just fine after a couple years, one guy sent some boolits for 500 S&W that wouldn't go through the throats at all, they had gained .0015" in 6mo, so it's really up to the alloy I guess.

[bangerjim]

As soon as they are cool enough to handle. I size them within an hour of casting.

I may not get around to PC'ing them for months, but that is irrellevant.....you can lube/coat them right after sizing if you want. I generally size again after PC to give me EXACT sizes of boolits for my barrels.


banger

[Walter Laich]

cast, size and PC: all in same day

usual batches are 18 lbs as that's how much I get out of my Pro-Melt (original) before lead level is below PID sensor

[Green Frog]

I usually wait until the bullets cool off enough so the lube doesn’t run off. :kidding:

Truthfully I’ve waited anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of years. In fact, I have some big bullets for Black Powder that I cast up pre-Covid. Now that I’m getting to use them, I’ll be pulling them out this week and send them down range so I guess I’ll see. Many’s the time I’ve shot 10-15 year old bullets and even shot some at feast 25-30 years old, but they had been sized and lubed with the old black Ideal lube before storage.
Froggie