installing gc

[wayne h]

if you are not sizing a bullet-such as w/the lee molds that claim sizing is not necessary- how do you install the gc. wayne h

[Ben]

1st of all, I own several Lee molds, there isn't a single one of them that can cast 25 bullets and them all be EXACTLY the same diameter. Tension on the handles, mold temps, alloy temps and a variety of other factors contribute to minor variations in the outside diameters of your " as cast " bullets.

With that said, no harm will come from pushing them through a sizer ( don't pick a sizer dia. smaller than the diameters of the mouths of your cylinders ) to crimp on a gas check.

By doing this you'll have some assurance that all your bullets are very close in their final sized diameters prior to loading in your brass.

[dragonrider]

Believe you mean the Lee tumble lube molds, these molds are not cut for gaschecks.

[wayne h]

In looking at the lee linked web sight mold #ctl-309-160-2r listed in the close out section is both tumble lube and cut for a gas check. wayne h

[DLCTEX]

All my TL Lee moulds are gas check. I seat the gas checks in my RCBS Lubesizer by onlt pushing the boolit in enough to seat the check. Some use a Lee FCD (rifle,collet type) and place the boolit in the top of the die far enough to crimp the check. I haven't tried it, but it sounds good. I will try it on the next boolits I have a FCD for the cal.

[dragonrider]

Obviously I am wrong, BUT, at Lee's website there are 13 TL molds listed, only one is GC'ed, the CTL312-160-2R. Where others available in the past and no longer listed? I haven't used TL molds in years, I dislike tumble lubing and finaly sold off my last one not long ago.

[Viper225]

Question

Does anyone seat the gas checks in a vice or some other way before running them through the lubricator/sizer?

I was not warm and fuzzy that the lubricator/sizer was going to seat them flat with the base of the bullet as hard as they were going on by hand. I made up a set of smooth steel inserts for my vice to press the gas check on before running them through the lubricator/sizer.

Might be overkill, but I am happy anyway. I probably will not shoot that many .429 - 310 grain bullets for this to be a big deal time wise.

[waksupi]

Question

Does anyone seat the gas checks in a vice or some other way before running them through the lubricator/sizer?

I was not warm and fuzzy that the lubricator/sizer was going to seat them falt with the base of the bullet as hard as they were going on. I made up a set of smooth steel inserts for my vice to press the gas check on before running them through the lubricator/sizer.

Might be overkill, but I am happy anyway.

The lubrisizer is the standard method. If you are having problems, try annealing the gas checks first.