Originally Posted by
martin
Country,
Your comment about swaging bullets as an indicator is right on the money. The correct bullet size is ultimately the final desired result. I generally do bullets when I get down to the last thousands or so. Make a couple of bullets, measure, lap a little more, make a couple more bullets, meaure, lap a little more etc. until I reach final desired dimension.
My experience with point forming dies is that .002 undersize based on reaming did not work out well for me. I found that a .004 or .005 margin worked out better. I agree with you that you can get away with .002 on a squirt die or a core seating die if you have a really good/sharp reamer. My fear with point forming dies is to run out of dimension prior to getting a polished finish. If this happens, I have a lot of work in the die that becomes scrap.
Oh, by the way, I usually heat treat at the point where I am at about .002. My thought is that I don't want to heat treat when I am down too close to final dimension as the die material may change dimensions due to being heat treated.
Martin