Lyman vs Hornady Gas Checks.

[RBak]

I have never used a "Lyman" gas check for whatever reason, and I don't know anything about them.
How do they compare to Hornady?
What is the difference, if any, in how they are applied?
will my regular tools, ie Lee sizer, and an old 45 Lyman seat them? (I prefer the Lee.)

The reason I ask is I got a Cabella's Gift Certificate and was ordering some other stuff from 'em, but I don't see where they have anything but Lyman gas checks.

My goodness!..... A $100 sure don't go very far in this hobby, does it?
2 moulds, a pair of handles, and possibly a box of gas checks, and I'm scratching in my little "happy hour" stash to see if I can cover the difference along with the shipping....there ought'be a law!

Russ...

[Larry Gibson]

New Lyman crimp on GCs are supposed to be Hornady's.

Larry Gibson

[grumpy one]

When Lyman had their own gas checks the design concept was somewhat different from the Hornady ones. The Lyman ones slipped on: they had to be a press fit onto the shank to work properly, and then it was best if they didn't get sized down much, if at all, because spring-back would then make them loose. It was essential that the Lyman checks not be annealed, since annealing caused the press fit feature to not work. The Hornady ones crimp on, so they can be loose initially but it is essential that they are sized down by the sizing die, so that the crimping operation will occur. Annealing Hornady checks is probably a good thing, since it eliminates spring-back after sizing, and they are held on by the crimping feature, not by any press fit.
Several years ago Lyman discontinued their own gas checks and now only sell Hornady-style crimp-on gas checks. It is very common to find slip-on Lyman checks as old stock, especially on ebay. Each type has advantages and disadvantages - the main point is that you need to take a different approach to fitting them. However since the slip-on ones are now history, for most purposes it is best to just use the Hornady-type crimp-on checks and develop your techniques to suit.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
Used both, both work fine, I seat with a lyman 450 lube sizer.

[RBak]

Before posting this I did a quick search here on the forum using key word(s) "Lyman Gas Checks" and found a lot of postings but nothing identified the difference in Lyman and Hornady....

After posting, I tried several other combination of key words in the search feature and found some posts going back to 2005 that mentioned the discontinuance of .338 checks along with a few other goodies that made for some really interesting reading on gas checks...but still nothing on how / why the two were different.

Now, it seems the three of you have put this whole thing in a nut-shell for me....except for one small bit of trivia.
If they are the same, and if they are all made by Hornady, why is the Lyman several bucks cheaper? Any thoughts on this?
It's not all that important, more currosity than anything else.

Thanks guys!

Russ...

[Ricochet]

A decade or so ago when I bought a Mercury Villager minivan, it was $2000 cheaper than a Nissan Quest comparably equipped. They are identical vehicles, designed by a California firm, built in a Ford plant (I believe in Lima, Ohio) with a Nissan drivetrain shipped from Japan. The only difference is the nametag and a few minor styling cues stuck on the outside. When they go down the line, the order for each vehicle tells whether it ends up with Mercury or Nissan on it. But you paid $2000 extra for that "Japanese Quality" if you wanted the Nissan name on it.

Might be the same thing with Lyman checks. I've always avoided them because they didn't crimp on. I accidentally bought some a while back and discovered to my delight that they were Hornady checks in a Lyman box.

[grumpy one]

I would be suspicious if they were the same price - the default outcome would be different prices. The ex-factory cost of gas checks is probably less than ten per cent of their retail price, and Lyman is probably buying them in bulk for say 1.4 times their ex-factory cost, so the retail price would then be just a matter of how Lyman and RCBS chose to price-position themselves in the market. They may not even both have the same distributor and retailer mark-ups - I wouldn't know.

[dale2242]

Tell me about Gator Checks. Do they crimp on? What do they cost? How do I get some? Missed a chance on the swapping and selling forum. DANG it.

[Ricochet]

Yeah, they're crimp-ons, pretty much like the Hornadies. Good quality.

[dromia]

Interestingly here in the UK Lyman is more expensive than Hornady, although they are both expensive at $40-70US a thousand depending on size.

Here's the link to Midway UK:

http://www.midwayuk.com/apps/ebrowse...string=685+***

[Bass Ackward]

[QUOTE=dromia;262519]Interestingly here in the UK Lyman is more expensive than Hornady, although they are both expensive at $40-70US a thousand depending on size.

Yikes! I figured with the strength of the dollar being what it is, you guys were getting them for what they cost us.

[weakhand luke]

Why hasn't "soft" gas checks caught on? I've recently read in an 1991 article on leading that a company once offered wax gas checks for sale. These were placed in straight wall cases, then the bullet seated on top. It was advertised to eliminate leading and also, get this, remove leading in gunked up barrels.

Anyone have experience with this?

[WBH]

Wax wads......or grease cookies as they are known to BPCR shooters have been around forever. Much more suited to the low pressure and velocity of BP than smokeless.

[RBak]

I have "heard" of soft gas checks, but that's about where it ended. I always envisoned a small piece of whatever, which would be about the same size as a normal gas check, and worked something similar to a grease cookie....but, I've never seen one.

Russ...

That price for gas checks in the UK just blows me away!

[Shiloh]

Maybe it's just common knowledge or assumption, but from what I hear from several in the know, (supposedly) is that Hornady makes the gas checks that lyman sell.

I'd like to know more about these gator checks!

Shiloh

[hammerhead357]

I thought that Hornady bought their gas checks from the gator gas check manufacture. Perhaps I was misinformed....Wes