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Thread: PC and sizing

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy 59sharps's Avatar
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    PC and sizing

    Not sure where this belongs so ill ask here. Mod move if need be plese.
    when sizing PC do you size to the Jacketed size suggestion say.429 or the lead size suggestion of say .430. oh I'll size after coating is applied.
    Thanks
    14th VA. CAV.
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master Wheelguns 1961's Avatar
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    Are these for revolvers, lever guns, semi auto?
    Due to the price of primers, warning shots will no longer be given!

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy PJEagle's Avatar
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    They should be sized .001" to .002" over the diameter your barrel slugs. For example I load for .357's; one requires .359 and the others require .358.

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy 59sharps's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheelguns 1961 View Post
    Are these for revolvers, lever guns, semi auto?
    lever action rifle. 44 mag. marlin 94.
    also j-bullets shoot very well at .429.
    I cast for other levers and shoot .429 lubed for BP. no PC.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    14th VA. CAV.
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  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy 59sharps's Avatar
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    guess my question is why recommendation of .001 difference between lead and J-bullets. never thought about it before only casted for my BP guns and
    sluged barrel for them first.
    now im getting into PC for other guns. so its J-bullets VS lead Vs PC dia. in a given firearm. hence my ?? what's the reasoning behind different dia. for the same barrel.
    14th VA. CAV.
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  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master
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    pc and size your boolits to the size the gun wants
    can't put on a blanket and say it has to be .001 over because each gun is a law on to itself
    what works in one may not be optimal for another only by shooting can you tell what yours likes
    Hit em'hard
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  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    I'd start by sizing same as lubed cast bullets. That is sizing after PC. My .308Win has .309 grooves. I size to .310.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master pmer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 59sharps View Post
    guess my question is why recommendation of .001 difference between lead and J-bullets. never thought about it before only casted for my BP guns and
    sluged barrel for them first.
    now im getting into PC for other guns. so its J-bullets VS lead Vs PC dia. in a given firearm. hence my ?? what's the reasoning behind different dia. for the same barrel.
    I'm not sure of the terminology but I'd say it's because of a difference in surface tension. Copper has a harder surface than lead and doesn't need as tight of a grip in the rifling of a barrel to get up in revolutions per minute.
    Oh great, another thread that makes me spend money.

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy
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    Black powder bumps the boolit up to barrel size when it is fired, smokeless does not. Smokeless loads need to be a thousand or 2 over groove size to prevent gas blow by and boolit gas cutting. I size my cast boolits for handguns before I pc and shoot them without sizing after pc. For rifles I size before and after pc.

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master


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    You need to slug your barrel to know where to start. You can find a lot of posts on how to do it if you use the search engine.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by GregLaROCHE View Post
    You need to slug your barrel to know where to start. You can find a lot of posts on how to do it if you use the search engine.
    Absolutely correct! Any other information is worthless without a starting point.

    But I will say this: would you buy and shoot jacketed bullets that are .002+" over what's needed to provide a gas seal? What do you think is gained by increasing pressure and forcing the barrel to swage a chunk metal to a smaller size? Because a PC bullet, is a jacketed bullet.

    If anyone says "improved accuracy" I am going to reply, Prove it! Because in my testing, which was limited, using identical loads group size increased with oversized bullets.

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I just cast PC & shoot whatever size my dies make, usually right on or .001 over barrel actual size. PC is very forgiving and will take care of any (minor) sizing problems


    But.........................slug 1st before buying molds or dies. Just do not use PC as a "crutch" for poor craftsmanship in casting, sizing, and loading!

    And I size after casting AND after PC to insure the perfect size every time.

    PC works very well for many thousands of shooters!

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    This is an excellent question and one I've been mulling over. In my 35 Whelen the bore slugs at .3585". For the powder coat boolits I can size them with either the .359 or the .360 die and the driving band will catch in the camber when the bolt is locked into place, scraping a spot of coating off in that one spot. I have to turn the boolits over in the Lyman 450 and size the front driving band with the .358 die, which mics out at .3585" on the boolit. These camber flawlessly. But, what if I just size the whole boolit to .3585" instead of the traditional .001 or .002" over bore diameter? If PC is akin to a jacketed bullet, whereas lube is only a grease smear that needs the projectile oversized, then maybe the PC can be sized to the bore diameter, too.?.

    This calls for some testing on target to find out.

    If anyone else has any real world insights any and all input is welcomed.

  14. #14
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    I have always used the slug barrel first then .001 to .002 over the bore size.
    Some shooting tells me which size each gun will like the best
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check