problems with 501-440 and lee sizing die

[mrsnuffleuppagus24]

Hello this is my first post on this forum. I just want to thank everyone for the wealth of knowledge I obtained from this forum.

I recently obtained a 4" s&w 500 magnum. I know casting and reloading is a must for this firearm. I recently got all my casting and reloading gear for this firearm and i am having a few problems now.

I purchased the Lee 501-440 mold and the Lee push thru sizer. I went and cast up about 50 slugs with the mold and everything went great. I was using straight wheel weight alloy. Now here is where my problem started. Down to the loading bench to lube and size my new bullets. Tumble lubed them and slipped the gas check on the shank. Send them up thru the push thru die. No resistance at all and it isn't crimping the gas check on. Now I measure the cast bullet. Measures at .4995-.5000. The push thru die is a .501. Took the die out of the press and my unsized bullet falls right thru the push thru die.

Now I have read that you don't need to be a .001 over sized for his cartridge. I see bullets sold at both .500 and .501. . I have also read about pushing the bullet thru the chamber throat. I did infact do this and like I read the bullet pushed thru the chamber throat. It took some force pushing the bullet thru the chamber throat with a sharpie marker. I read another post on another forum that some tried a .501 bullet thru the cylinder throats and had to hammer it thru. He was suggested that he size the bullet to .500.

Now this is where I am confused. I see no .500 push thru sizer being sold anywhere. Is my bullet the correct diameter at .500 or is my mold casting undersized bullet. Being the bullet slips right thru the .501 push thru die I also have no way to crimp the gas check in place. So what am I to do now? Do I have a defective mold that's casting too small? Do I need a mold that casts big enough to use my .501 push thru die? Like to hear options and your thoughts about what step I should take next

[cleah]

I have same mold and just bought the Lyman 501 push through die for my Lyman 4500 lube sizer. Haven't tried sizing yet as I can't find a top punch. Any suggestions, please?

[Dusty Bannister]

Are you measuring your cast bullet with a micrometer or a caliper? If a caliper, you may not be measuring accurately enough. Clip on Wheel Weight alloy should be good enough for now and you may want to try the bullets without gas checks and use the suggested starting loads to see how they shoot. You are assuming you are measuring a round bullet. If the blocks are not correctly aligned, you may have a bullet that is smaller one way and larger another, and that is why it does not free fall through the cylinder. Blacken a clean bullet with the magic marker and push it through a cylinder and see if you have any shiny spots to show where contact is made as the bullet passed through the cylinder. You might just be touching a few high spots and in reality the rest of the bullet is undersized. If the bullet is not completely filled out and has sharp edges, you are probably a bit on the cool side and undersized. That is not a mold issue but an operator issue.

It may also be that the bullet size die is a little bit larger than marked.

edit: Wow, talk about bring a thread back from the grave.......

[mehavey]

All of the above.... ....Also

- Suggest a trial casting at as low a temperature as you can, which will increase cast diameter
- Even with what you have -- .4995-.5000" -- the gas check "should" still crimp onto the shank even w/ a .501" sizer. What's the diameter of the gas check?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have same mold and just bought the Lyman 501 push through die for my Lyman 4500 lube sizer. Haven't tried sizing yet as I can't find a top punch. Any suggestions, please?

I used a flat top punch with my .501 Lyman.
It's easy to make one from a 1/4" bolt, but if you want to buy one, and can't find any, contact Tom at Accurate Molds, he carries them.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

All of the above.... ....Also

- Suggest a trial casting at as low a temperature as you can, which will increase cast diameter
- Even with what you have -- .4995-.5000" -- the gas check "should" still crimp onto the shank even w/ a .501" sizer. What's the diameter of the gas check?

My 440gr lee mold is slightly undersized, GC shank also slightly undersized. When I would size and crimp GC with a .501 sizer, the GC would stay on, but was loose, and could be pryed off with finger nail. The fix is to hone the mold (GC shank area) to increase the size of shank.

[mehavey]

See http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...=1#post4754466
*Note at very bottom
What gas check are you using?
And what is it's diameter ?