Swageing a .426 gas check to larger diameter

[Swagerman]

Some years back I bought box of 1K of Lyman .44 caliber gas checks, at least that was what was on the box...44 caliber.

Turned out to be brass GC cups of .426 diameter, probably suited for .44-40 caliber.

Anyway, I loaded up a few hundred in 180 grain and 245 grain with them gas checks, but it weren't easy. Naturally I thought everything was jake, but after shooting several times and getting miserable accuracy...or just so so accuracy, I decided to measure and found out they were way under size for tacking onto my .429 and bigger bullets.

So, all them bullets set in storage for a few years until recently, I begin experimenting with .432 and .437 swageing dies.

Put a 245 grain bullet with the smaller gas check (.426) set it nose first in the RN nose punch and swaged that sucker backward up into the die body.

Sure enough that small butt gas check got big butt in a hurry...to 437 diameter. Then ran it through my Doug made Lee bullet lube sizer .429 reamed to .432.

This gave new use to a lot of old cast bullets that were too undersize on their base...as swageing bumped the Lyman .426 GC back up to proper dimensions of either .429, .430, or .432 diameter.

Swageing is Great!

Jim

[Swagerman]

Quote: Sure enough that small butt gas check got big butt in a hurry...to 437 diameter. Then ran it through my Doug made Lee bullet lube sizer .429 reamed to .432.

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Well, that Doug name is wrong, it should have read Ed. Ed of Helena MT. Sorry Ed.

The old brain memory cells are fading out all too soon.

Jim

[454PB]

It's alright, Jim. I knew what you meant!