Can't wrap my mind , or a GC around a 44.

[BossHoss]

LOL.

I have now tried 2 different GC for the 215gn Lyman boolit.

Each of those I have tried, fit the shank like a glove. THat's great.

But....the GC are .424......all of them...the boolit is .431 before sizing.

The Gas Check....is again...always, .424.

Hence it wont crimp, and can be pried off with a small amount of force. I HAVE shot them like this,....of course the checks are in front of the line and further up from it in various spots.

#1 Lyman checks I believe gotten from a gun show, looks like the prev owner put them in a baby food jar.....ok maybe they were not Lyman,,,,but they sure are perfect, and fit the boolit like a glove. .424

#2 Sealed box of IDEAL 44 checks, vintage...fit the 215 perfect, like glove...., but again... .424, and they are just smaller than the drive band above .....

WHAT THE HELL!!!!!

So, my question is .....

Anyone else......Have you had the same experience?? .424

Will annealing make the LARGER? LOL.

Before I buy them....Are the Hornady checks ACTUALLY .429?

[MBTcustom]

I have never actually measured a Hornady .44 GC, but I have a reference that gives the dimensions for every check they make.
It says here, in small fine print, that the Hornady GC's should measure .430 and they should crimp nicely onto a shank that measures .402-.404.
For what its worth, I traded a feller for some .35 cal GC's and and when they showed up they were too thin. I am ashamed to say that in my ignorance, I proceeded to accuse him of trading me some home-made checks that were not thick enough, the guy drove a long way to get to a store that sold Hornady GC's, boxed up the number that we agreed on and sent them to me and I sent his back. He also informed me that those were vintage Lyman GC's and not homemade at all. That was definitely one of the worst mistakes I have made since I joined castboolits. Point is, I am not surprised by your problem because I dont think that the manufacturers knew what we know now about how GC's are supposed to work. If you have a baby food jar of who knows what, then pitch them thangs and order some Hornadys from midwayusa. Last I checked they were $36.99 per thousand. That's still pretty cheap!

[TCFAN]

I just went and measured some 44 Gator and Hornady gas checks.The Gator measured .439 outside and .396 inside. The Hornady measured .436outside and .399 inside.

I have some Lyman 429215's cast out of WW and the gas check shank measures .4027. Both brands of checks slip on very easy and when they are run through my .433 Lee sizer die they crimp on tight and measure .433

Don't know how yours are measuring .424 and still fit your boolit. What does the inside measure?......Terry

[RobS]

Your two different gas checks sound like they are different thickness. They measure the same inside diameter but if the material is thinner it will have less swage onto the boolit when run through the sizing die.

[longbow]

The simple approach is buy or borrow some new gas checks and see what size they are and if they fit the boolits well.

Your checks starting out at 0.424" are too small ~ either undersize or too thin. Lyman checks should be 0.404" inside, 0.436" outside and 0.016" thick at the lip.

If new gas checks fit and crimp on then problem solved. If not, the GC shank is likely undersize.

Longbow

[BossHoss]

Yes, all my 44 checks are old gunshow finds....lol.

Ok, Hornady here i come.

THanks, I thought I was going batty.....

So, who wants a VINTAGE Unopened , still with the seal on it , box of 44 checks from Ideal , The Lyman Gunsight Corp.

Cool box with wing-type closure...lol....YMMV ....lol. size .424

Make a nice addition to a Vintage Reloading display......

[Reload3006]

how much do you want for them?

[Pigslayer]

I, too, had the same problem. It seems that the older (vintage) Lyman checks which are more of a brass color instead of copper are in fact thinner and won't "crimp" on. Hornaday should work fine.

[pistolman44]

I too had a problem with gas checks on a 44. Got some Gator checks from Blammer on here and the problem went away. Now thats all I use is Gator checks on everything I cast for.

[tjones]

I have never actually measured a Hornady .44 GC, but I have a reference that gives the dimensions for every check they make.
It says here, in small fine print, that the Hornady GC's should measure .430 and they should crimp nicely onto a shank that measures .402-.404.
For what its worth, I traded a feller for some .35 cal GC's and and when they showed up they were too thin. I am ashamed to say that in my ignorance, I proceeded to accuse him of trading me some home-made checks that were not thick enough, the guy drove a long way to get to a store that sold Hornady GC's, boxed up the number that we agreed on and sent them to me and I sent his back. He also informed me that those were vintage Lyman GC's and not homemade at all. That was definitely one of the worst mistakes I have made since I joined castboolits. Point is, I am not surprised by your problem because I dont think that the manufacturers knew what we know now about how GC's are supposed to work. If you have a baby food jar of who knows what, then pitch them thangs and order some Hornadys from midwayusa. Last I checked they were $36.99 per thousand. That's still pretty cheap!

Problem is everyone and their grandmother is designing there own boolits, I'll stick with good ole Lyman molds.

[bobthenailer]

IF memory serves me right a Hornday gas check is supposed to be crimped on and stayes on the bullet and its not abnormal for Lymans to come off in flight.
I as well as everyone i know of only use Hornday gas checks and some as well as my self aneal them

[Blammer]

I would suggest trying some Gator checks.