RogerT Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 Hi all. I've started to develop a practice load for my 625, and I use lead round nose bullets. I load to 1.220 OAL (to get the taper crimp in line with of the ridge of the bullet). The thing that nags me is that the bullet OD is .452 and my barrel is .450 and cases seem even smaller, there is a big bulge on the case where the bullet is seated and some of them don't drop freely in the chamber. Is there a cure (is it operator error?) or is drop testing every cartridge the only solution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 should not be a problem. I size all my lead to .452. You will have some bulging but with a taper crimp it should not be a problem feeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 Sounds like a classic case of overbelling the case mouth to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wide45 Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 You can cure it with the Lee Carbide Crimp Die. For more information, do a search. It has been discussed quite a bit. Cases may still look slightly bulged, but not excessively, and all rounds will drop into the cylinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 I also size my bullets to .452 (who doesn't?) and find that the very minor bulge disappears after using the Lee FCD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonub Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 when i was shooting 45 i emailed bar sto, they said to use 452 lead heads. i also use it on my usp which has a polygonal bore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronson7 Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 What is your crimp diameter? What do you mean by "ridge"? Are you currently crimping in a separat operation? If they don't chamber check then something in your process is wrong. Using the FCD is only curing the symptom. Bronson7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerT Posted December 12, 2004 Author Share Posted December 12, 2004 Bronson7, I use the Dillon SDB and crimping is separate from seating the bullet. I seat the bullet deep enough to get the crimp just in line with the forward end of the cylindrical part of the bullet where the lube grove is. I don't think I'm over belling the case, I was reading another post about lead shavings where the cure was to bell the case more, and I have the same symptoms, the press was set for loading jacketed bullets and I have not changed the settings yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 This is a very common problem with lead. If you're going to stuff a .452 bullet into a case and bulge it, then remove the bulge with the Lee FCD, why not simply buy a .451 sized bullet and not debulgify anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 Most people will not size lead to .451 myself included. On the .45 you need a slightly larger diameter to reduce leading. With lead the tighter the bullet remains in the barrel the less heat can hit the sides of the bullet and therefore the less melting will occur. Lead starts melting a little over 400 degrees or so depending on the alloy. Any firearm chamber quickly has at least this much temperature occur during firing. So the trick is to keep the melting and therefore the leading to a minimum. BTW if you would like some to test I do have a .451 size die also. I just won't sell them sized like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 Bob, My point was that using the FCD is effectively reducing the bullet's diameter. I've got five bucks that says a bullet that goes through the FCD process is at least 1/2 thou smaller than before it was de-bulged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronson7 Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Rodger, what is your crimp diameter? Bronson7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wide45 Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 You normally see a variation in the bulging. Some have a lot, some not so much. If all bulge excessively, you have a problem beyond what the FCD is designed for. With the normal occaisional bulging, the FCD does nothing but crimp most rounds. It only comes into play to fix the worst offenders. Accuracy is very acceptable for my use. If I wanted the ultimate accuracy, I'd be sorting brass by manufacturer, using premium bullets, and there would be no bulging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wide45 Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 There is another possibility that I have seen using heavy bullets loaded short. Some brass has an internal taper greater than others. RP and Starline come to mind. Round nose 230's are usually loaded 1.250-1.275 or so, I think. If the case is only bulging where the bottom end of the bullet is, this may be the cause. You could try loading longer, or switch brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Ecic you would be correct on that. But it reducses the diameter by smushing it so to speak rather than shaving off that .001 of an inch of lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revchuck Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Roger - A couple of recommendations...first, go through your brass and pull all the Federal and Starline brass out and use them for bottomfeeders only. They seem to be thicker than Winchester and R-P, in my experience. Also, try seating your bullets out to about 1.25". When you line up the edge of the bearing surface of the bullet and the case mouth, you make a relatively big hump. Seating the bullet out farther makes two smaller humps, smoothing the reload. Third, get the Lee FCD. It's definitely the hot setup Set it up to give you a .470" measurement at the case mouth. Alternately, if you don't have a micrometer or a dial caliper, and want to keep using the die that came with the SDB, just insert a round of factory ammo in the crimp station, unscrew the die a few turns, raise the shell plate all the way up, and screw the crimp die down onto the round of factory ammo BY HAND until it gets hard to turn the die. That'll put you within shouting distance of .470". Try these - I think the last recommendation will probably take care of your problem independent of the others - and see what happens. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerT Posted December 14, 2004 Author Share Posted December 14, 2004 Thank you wide45 and revchuck, I'll increase the OAL. It makes sense to have two small "humps" when reloading than one large, and yes, the bulging is where the bullet ends in the case, that's where I get bright spots on the brass when I force the cartridge in to the cylinder..... I have a micrometer and will check the OD at the case mouth, thanks for all advice and input to all of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerT Posted December 14, 2004 Author Share Posted December 14, 2004 Hi revchuck and wide45 and all others as well. UPDATE: I increased OAL to 1.260, I set the case mouth in the middle of the forward bearing surface of the bullet. Now the bulge is less noticeable in my Armscor (AP headstamp) brass and almost gone in all other brands I have (S&B, RP, W-W). I have also checked the crimp OD. Measured at the case mouth the OD is 0.468, so I guess the crimp is OK too. Thanks again all for your input. I'll stay with my SDB setup and get a case gauge to check suspicious looking ammo . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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