Can my lead 452-230 grain boolits be sized to .436"

[PBaholic]

A buddy of mine asked me if I could size my Lee TL452-230-2R lead boolits, which typically drop at .452" down to .436".

[cwtebay]

Holy schmoley that seems like a big reduction! But I am definitely interested in hearing the answers from the experience here.

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[Harter66]

I have sized that far in a conventional lube groove but among other things you'll have a slick when you're done .

I need an excuse to run some bullets I have a 429421 that has been opened to drop .448 that would be better .

A conventional groove mould is a better choice unless you're going to PC . The lube will hold most of the lube groove during the sizing .

[megasupermagnum]

It can be done, but it will wipe the sides of that bullet smooth. Lube them up good with at least tumble lube, sizing wax might be better. You will definitely need at least 1 intermediate step, and likely two.

[Sasquatch-1]

I would lube the bullet up with whatever bullet lube you are going to use and then get some swage lube (1 pound lanolin to 4 oz of castor oil) to slick the bullet up before sizing. The bullet lube might preserve enough of the groves to be able to recoat with tumble lube after sizing.

[Dusty Bannister]

I would not consider attempting this with an in/out lube sizer. You will likely stick a bullet in the die or even break linkage. Even with the push through dies, you are going to have a distorted base of the bullet to deal with after such radical resizing. If he really wants to know, let him use his stuff to do it.

How hard is the alloy of the bullet he wants to work with?

[mehavey]

Notwithstanding the above observations....

Can my lead 452-230 grain boolits be sized to .436"

Uuuuuhh . . . . .
"NO"

[gwpercle]

You would be much better served by buying a mould that drops them .436" ...
sizing down .016 will be hard on the machine used ... I wouldn't try it with my Lyman 450 too much strain on the linkage .
How will you size them down and the grooves will be gone ... are you powder coating ?
I have discovered the closer a mould drops to the desired as sized diameter the easier your sizing life will be ... the harder the boolit ... the harder it is to size down .
I would find or custom order a .436" mould ... tell your friend , if he buys the mould you will cast , size and lube them for him ... That might solve the problem .
Can I ask ...why the need for .436" dia. boolits ?
Gary

[Char-Gar]

Can it be done? Probably, but not likely you would like the results. Should it be done? Nope, much better ways to get at the problem.

[Old Caster]

I also say no because you will have a tail at the bottom of the bullet where some of the lead peels back.

[45DUDE]

I have a Lee mold that dropped at .429 and I happened to have a .436 bit. I drilled it to the first lube groove but now I can size to .431 and can still lube it with a 450. I would post a photo but I got a newer computer and having trouble posting. We shoot these in a Freedom arms sized to .430 and .431 in my Ruger. I can email a photo of before and after if someone can post it. What shoots a .436?

[Winger Ed.]

I wouldn't do it. I'd be shopping for a new mold.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Maybe he wants to shoot them in a 43 Spanish.
I personally would not attempt to size down that much, it will be very hard on a luber sizer and may even break it. A new mold would be the solution.

[PBaholic]

What shoots a .436?

It's a .442 Webley.

I didn't think it would fly either, but I thought I'd ask before I wasted any time at it.

[David2011]

A commercial caster I know accidentally ran at least one .429 through his .401 die in an automated, air powered Star. They sized down and nothing broke but a 240 grain .40 cal boolit sure is long.

The lube grooves would likely be flattened and the boolit would get noticeably longer if you were successful in sizing down that far.

[mehavey]

More that merely "longer," the sides would be drawn into a "skirt' of displaced lead down from the sides.
(ask me how I know)

[45DUDE]

There is interesting info about this on this forum from about 12 years ago. I just did a search.

[mdi]

I believe this fits the "Could I/Should I?" file. Yes, you could, but, I'm pretty sure the bullet would end up a smooth sided round nose (like a NLG). When lead bullets are sized, no metal is removed, it is just moved so if you sized the bullet it would come out much longer with a lot of flashing on the base. Sizing a bullet down .016" (min.) it would probably become out of balance and inaccutate. Could you? Sure. Should you? Not if the resulting slug is meant to be used as a bullet...

[cwtebay]

More that merely "longer," the sides would be drawn into a "skirt' of displaced lead down from the sides.
(ask me how I know)

^^gotta love a little experience!!


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[Jhopson]

We had a 45/200 swc go through a .430 sizing die for 44’s. The sizing machine didn’t like it, but by the time I got to it the bullet was already through the die. It smoothed out the sides and made it a lot longer. The weird thing was the Hitek coating stayed completely intact.


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