One caution, though. With shotshells, you've got to pay attention to the recipe. If you change one thing, you've changed everything. Pay attention to your primer, your powder, your wad, everything that you load into the hull. If you change wads, for example, you might get into an overpressure situation fairly rapidly.
Alliant offers a slideshow tutorial, but nothing will take the place of a good manual, like the Lyman Manual.
Here's a picture:
image (75).jpg
You may be able to tell that the hammer and trigger have been "jeweled", which I could take or leave. Here's the video of the issue which should explain the problem pretty well, but I'll add more afterwards.
http://youtu.be/f6Y5P76ucro
I hope it's clear enough, and what I REALLY hope is that I didn't get taken by the guy that sold this gun to me. It's in overall excellent visual condition, it was a little carboned-up at the front of the cylinder etc but nothing out of the ordinary, just looked like someone took it shooting and didn't clean it afterwards.
So is this issue most likely due to whoever took the hammer and trigger out to polish them screwing something up, or is this a common issue with these guns? I have NEVER had a Smith revolver do that to me in ANY configuration OR caliber.
It seems to me that the "catch" happens just when the cylinder is about to rotate, but it's hung up for some reason. isn't it weird though that I can pull it into SA no problem when this happens?
Oh, it may also be helpful to know that when I took it to the range for the first time it seemed to run well, no case bulging issues or anything like you can watch folks have on YouTube. There was one FTF but I chalked that up to using old ammo.
__________________"Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." - John Wayne
Yesterday, 03:03 PM Originally Posted by bsn 
The Lee collet die takes some practice to get the correct "feel" it takes a lot of pressure rotate it at least 120 degrees and repeat if you go over 25lbs it wont make a difference but you do want to pull forcefully on the handle of the press. After you get the hang of it it goes pretty quickly. Personally I thing the Lee collet dies are the best neck size dies available even though they cost a fraction of the cost of other manufacturers. As far as seating depth seat a dummy round long and mark the bullet with a magic marker chamber it and look for any marks, keep seating it deeper until the marks no longer appear then seat just a little futher, use that as a starting point and go from there.Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.
Also, are there any "stickies" or "blogs" on this forum for .22 Hornet tried and tested best loads?
I have done a search, but may not be putting the right info in as it hasn't brought up anything as of yet?
Cheers
Jamie
Yesterday, 05:13 PM 
The Hog Whisperer (Administrator)There's two types of Lee collet dies, and I think that is part of the confusion. One is for resizing cases. The other is the factory crimp die. I think you have the factory crimp die, and no, you don't need to rotate the case for it to work correctly. Let's suggest backing up a bit. While the crimp may be beneficial, if you are new to reloading, I would suggest doing your load development without it just yet. Get a little experience under your belt before you put too many variables into the mix.
Later when you have a good load, go back and experiment with crimping and see if it helps. It might, at the slight cost to brass life (the case mouths will wear out faster). Only you can decide if it's worth it.
By the way, it's probably catching on the case mouth for one of several reasons: either the case mouths are flared too much, they are rough from being trimmed but not deburred, or the inside of the crimp collet is a little rough and needs to be polished out further. I have actually had to run a case into a regular crimping die first, then the collet-type crimper, to avoid the same problem. To be fair it was a collet I made myself, so Lee can't get blamed for that instance.
Anyway - you might find that after you use the brass a few times, it goes into the collet die easier. By the way the Lee Factory Crimp die is not adjustable for position on the case, unless you have a lathe and want to shorten the collet a tiny bit.
Some folks do rotate the case a time or two while seating bullets. It may help bullets seat straighter - but in my experience, if bullets aren't seating straight, you have a problem that needs to be solved first. I don't use any of the collet-type resizing dies, so I don't know if rotating it and running it in the die again makes any difference.
__________________ -Vihtavuori 3N37
-Alliant Power Pistol (this is probably the best single choice for 9x19)
-Winchester WAP (discontinued; available from Ramshot as 'Silhouette')
-AA5
-HS6
-others
My reccomendation is Power Pistol (maybe more accurate) or Silhouette (lower flash signature).
Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2012LocationBethlehem, PAPosts8
I got a pretty good deal on a NOE 4 cavity 225 55gr FN. I initially thought I would use this gas checked in my AR15, but I'm having second thoughts as to that working in a gas gun. Anybody use this in an AR? If not, what cartridge and model rifle would you suggest for this bullet. I'm thinking 22 Hornet, 218 Bee. What other cartridges use .224-.225 and 55gr successfully?Thanks,
Craig
it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.
Works great in my AR. IMR4064 is showing progress for an accuracy load and as yet I have not seen any leading.
I know this answer ! You get an ol' rattle trap Carcano and a bbl blank and set it up in 224 Weatherby Varmit Master.Here's mine in 7RWH. A 7mm 6.8 Rem neckup .
"Gentlemen we MUST all hang together lest we shall most certainly hang separately" Ben FranklinYou may not post new threadsYou may not post repliesYou may not post attachmentsYou may not edit your postsForum RulesIn the time of darkest defeat,our victory may be nearest. Wm. McKinley.
I was young and stupid then I'm older now. Me 1992
Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"
Boolit Mold Join DateNov 2011Locationnear Horicon Marsh in southern WiPosts12
I picked up a mold in a trade deal. It is a Lyman #429251. I was figuring on selling it. What is a fair price and what caliber was this for?
It is a great bullet for the 44 special. It throws a a boolit that weighs 255 grains. As far as the pricing goes it would depend on how many cavities it has, what kind of shape it is in, etc.
It's the standard pointed roundnose for the .44 S&W Russian and Special. I got mine for $25 or so a while back, well before the current insanity. Mine is the hollow point version.You may not post new threadsYou may not post repliesYou may not post attachmentsYou may not edit your postsForum RulesA traditionalist would probably be your most likely buyer. Target shooters would want wadcutters, hunters Keith or LBT designs, and Cowboy Action speed shooters something lighter. Look through Swapping and Selling to get a ballpark figure per cavity for traditional designs like the 454190; that should get you close.
Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"
Goodsteel put this 20" bbl on an ol' Carcano I've had kicking around for too long. The bbl is 7mm so it is a wildcat sorta , .007 over. The 6.8 data is skinny out there . There's data for 10-15 powders and 50 bullets but next to nothing for boolits. I have dabbled out in nomans land for 1 cartridge but but there was some guidance there for it. It also was not in a platform that I had anywhere near this investment in. I know I could max out the case w/4350 and about any weight boolit fairly safely. I have at the moment 285-130 2R Lee plain based and checked and a 27-130 FN to PP. I've tried 3 loads w/RL 10x under the PP. The top load was very erratic,23gr 2304/2345/2397 the load at 21gr posted 2158,2145,2124.What I have for powder ,
IMR4350
RL 10x
IMR3031
IMR4895
IMR4756
800x
Unique
Red Dot
Primers in LR standard from CCI and Win.
I really want to shoot this 1 up on the top end w/PP as that is why it was built taking all suggestions though.I've had success in a couple of 30s w/PP and my technique is sound as far as PP'ing goes . I've also had good luck w/PB boolits in 30s up into the legal big game levels ,1000ftlbs @100yds . This 1 has has been a pleasent suprise so far giving me 2" 50 yd groups right off w/a Reading #070 140 a TC/SIL sort of boolit.
I have Muddy Creek Sams star sizer & this lube came with it .I know he shot 45acp & black powder rifle.
The lube is kinda soft & slik ! Not squishy soft though.
It`s purple in color & solid stiks.
Ben's Red!!!You'll never need anything else. I've pan lubed thousands with it. I've never seen leading.
Gen 2 Glock 17 seller is asking $450. Claims to have less than 1 mag fired through it. Comes with 2 mags and box, stock configuration.
Gen 3 Glock 22 different seller is asking $450. Says it's "bone stock", 2 mags, "low round count".
Neither have pictures, supposedly undamaged. I'd have to drive 45 min for either for a FTF transaction. Would you bite if you were interested in Glocks and didn't have one yet?
I recently purchased a Puma Model 92 Bounty Hunter in .44-40 caliber. This is a replica of a cut down Winchester 1892 rifle and called a Mare's Leg. I would like to learn to cast my own bullets for Cowboy Loads. I have not slugged the bore but I did call Puma for the barrel specs. It is a pistol barrel 12 inches long, bore .423 and grooves .430 according to Puma.My questions are, companies like RCBS offer two bullet molds for .44-40 CB. They are .428 and .430. They then offer two bullet sizers, one for .427 and another for .428. What advice can you give regarding selection of bullet molds and sizers? I am using 6.2 grains of Trail Boss powder and getting 952 fps muzzle velocity through my chronograph. RCBS also offer two different bullet lubes. Any advice on which one would be best? Thanks for the help!
My questions are, companies like RCBS offer two bullet molds for .44-40 CB. They are .428 and .430. They then offer two bullet sizers, one for .427 and another for .428. What advice can you give regarding selection of bullet molds and sizers? I am using 6.2 grains of Trail Boss powder and getting 952 fps muzzle velocity through my chronograph. RCBS also offer two different bullet lubes. Any advice on which one would be best? Thanks for the help!
To the poster that throws dies away, PLEASE tell us where your trash can is located and immediately when you throw these fine dies out. At least give us the oppurtunity to put back into service what would not "work" for you. Start a thread in the Trading Post. SInce you were going to "throw them away", maybe you wouldn;t want to sell them, but might settle for the cost of shipping paid by the recipient. Reloaders are tinkers. As such, they can usually understand how things work and make them do just that. Remember when we tried to put things together on Christmas eve, only to find we wished we'd paid more attention to the instructions before we started? Read and follow Lee's instructions.
I'm reloading for 12 calibers right now (13 when I can find the right 260Rem rifle). The only other-than-lee dies I own is a Redding neck sizer for 300 Savage. Yes it's handsome and it works as it should. Unfortunately, I paid twice or three times what its worth. And....since I understand" how the die works, I am confident that its design is probably not near as accurate as the result when using a Lee collet die. Should I throw it out? Not a chance and I won;t bash it and say I did.
Now, I do understand that the high cost goes into Redding's account as "insurance", in case I call someday and say" Listen, I was throwing some Lee dies away yesterday, and I didn;t see my Redding neck sizer among them. Can I please have another?" They'll send a new one. I already paid for it so they should. Or "I was using my RCBS die as a lure last month, and the line broke. By the time I could dive around and find it, it had rusted up on the inside and elsewhere. Can I have another?" They'll send you a brand new one, because you paid for it when you first bought the die!
Originally Posted by jaguarxk120 A box of 20 Remington cases from Midway is $15 and you have squashed how many cases with the junk dies? Won't take long to pay for a set of good dies at that rate.
Jaguar, did you read Ccctennis' first post? During the seating process, what mangles the case neck. The dies or...... the operator?Ccctennis: By reading your first post, there were two problems:
- the collet die wouldn't sufficiently reduce the diameter of the case necks;
- a bullet seating die mangled a couple of cases
The bullet seating die, as every one of these experienced reloaders know (which makes it strange that it would be overlooked after so many posts!!), is NOT going to mangle your cases, not Lee, Redding, RCBS, Lyman, or any of them. What does that is improper bullet placement during operation of the die, and/or innsufficient or too much flaring of the case mouth on cases that require flaring.
The reason the Lee collet wouldn't squeeze the neck down is one or a combination of these factors:
- THey are adjusted improperly,
- The collet die is stuck (as I explained earlier),
- The cases have been fired to the point that annealing is necessary. (My bottleneck cases are annealed and full-length sized after every fifth firing).
- the reloader is not raising the ram with enough pressure (as Lee explains in the instructions)
Stick with your dies. They're fine. What's not fine is being talked into buying dies with insurance policies that work no better than the Lees. Lee sells reloading equipment, not insurance. I can understand guys wanting you to buy what they have. What I can;t understand is the dogging of Lee equipment and the constant reference to "throing things in the trash". This makes me doubt the reloaders experience or..... willingness to follow instructions.
It's ok to buy other brands - if you want to pay the price of die and insurance. They're fine. Just please don;t fall into the trap of, in the furture, blaming Lee dies when some other reloader asks a question about his Lee dies. You will cause that reloader to doubt his otherwise fine equipment, run to the shop for something more expensive, and probably never answer his question in the first place. There will be cases where a specialty die (for an operation that the Lee dies will not perform) is recommended. It is for this legitimate reason that I own the Reddng neck sizer. Lee didn;t have one, it was cost prohibitive to have them make one special, and I wanted it quickly. There are other circumstances that guys will run into that require the purchase of a Redding, or RCBS, or whatever, but none that have applied to my reloading needs.
!!!
ON EDIT: Ccctennis - you do NOT need to "rework" Lee dies before they'll perform for you. Just follow the instructions. On the collet neck sizers, polishing and lubing the collet can help, but is not usually necesarry. When they get stuck, it is usually what the reloader did that I described in the previous post. Also, after using it on many cases, you may find that it will require some lubrication in the collet, whether you want to or not. The symptoms are a "clicking" sound when crushing the neck, and....the die will show signs that it wants to stick.
__________________"If you are a reloader and you don't know Lee, you don't know Jack" - Floydster
DON'T BE SCARED?
I picked up most of my casting equipment in a lot. Just found out I have been using the wrong top punch some times on accident. Hoping some one can help me match up my molds to my top punches and sizing dies. Any help with grouping these together would be appreciated!HERE ARE MY MOLDS
Lyman
358311-751 =158 gr. - 38 sp. / .357"
321297-78 =184 gr. - 32 win sp. / 32 Rem .321"
375449-713 E6 = 267 gr. - 375HH .375"
287405-523 hollow point = 150 gr. - 7mm .284"
311413-255 = 169gr - Spitzer .308 / 7.62 / 30-06 / 30-30 / 340
323471-421 = 214gr. - 8mm .323"
457122-348 hollow point =322gr. - 45/70 .457"Ideal (Lyman)
358429-A890 Hollow Point= 38 sp./.357" - Predecessor to the Lyman 358429Lee
90376 = 45-70 caliber, .457" diameter, 500 grain, flat nose, solid base BPCR mold, double cavity
90351DL = 452-228-1R, 45ACP, .452 diameter, 228 grain, Round Nose, Double cavity
90457 = 9MM RN, 6 cavityNOE
453 - 196 grain - 4 cavity PB - SWC
454 - 230 grain - 5 cavity pb - RNHere are top punches
98
190
191
291
295
311
346
366
374
413
421
429
449
460Here are my Size dies
.284
.308
.309
.311
.321
.323
.357
.358
.375
.379
.429
.452
.454
.456
.457
I purchased, from a gun auction, what I thought was a 9mm 124gr RN mold. What I got was a gas check version of that mold. I only discovered this after my first casting session with this mold. Now I remember a thread back when that told of a service one of our members provides to eliminate the GS feature from molds. I tried the search feature and came up with nothing. Can someone steer me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated.
Try Eric he does a great job.
Try 'em out first. Unless you've already had success with cast 9mm, you may just find the gc bullets to be a blessing.
+ to trying them out first.
Also, try a few with no GC. In soft lead, they may surprise you.
Boolit Master Join DateJan 2010LocationTom, in Gloucester, VAPosts733I just got three six-cavity molds back from Eric. He removed all 18 gas check shanks, and the workmanship is beautiful.You may not post new threadsYou may not post repliesYou may not post attachmentsYou may not edit your postsForum Rules
Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"
Hi, I poured a bunch of 45-200SWC's yesterday and plan on loading up a few this weekend. I found a Green Dot recipe in the Lee book, but it seems a bit off. The starting and max load weights are the same. Odd. Are any of you loading this bullet with Green Dot? Will the OAL be the same as the HG 68(1.25)?Thanks,
Rob
I have 4 of these corbin dies. The boxes are labeled point form die for .224, 22 hornet pt form die, 224 core seat, and 243. These are handwritten labels on the original corbin box so I am unsure if thats what they really are.The 2 point form dies are fairly easy to ID. But I have these two and I can't figure out what they are. They both apear to be core seat dies, but I am a newb and know very little. The die on the right has a stem that measure .201" and has what appears to be 3 vent holes. The one on the left has a stem that measure .219" and no vent holes. My first inkling is that they are the .224 and .243 core seat dies or maybe even a squirt die??? Can I get a confirmation? Thanks in advance!
Thanks!
Last edited by IllinoisCoyoteHunter; Yesterday at 07:40 PM.
An armed society is a polite society.the BB knows
Boolit Master Join DateMar 2011LocationWoods Cross UTPosts641The one with the holes is a bleed or squirt die. Based off your diameter I would say for a .224 core. The other based off your measurement would be a core seat die for .224 jackets.Try measuring the holes in the dies and I think it will make more sense to you.
Oh yeah. You should also have some rods for these with knurled nobs on the top. Those are used for the ejection process.
Yes I have those ejection rods. The holes in the dies are very close to the same diameter as the pins as they are machined to extremely close tolerances. Thanks for the info!
An armed society is a polite society.the BB knows
Boolit Master Join DateMar 2011LocationWoods Cross UTPosts641Yes they should be very close but take for instance the core seat die should be right at .223 and the squirt die should be about .207 enough for the lead core to fit inside of a jacket.
Yes sir! Thanks for the info. I am slowly learning. Now I just have to figure out the difference between the 224 standard pt form die and the "22 hornet" pt form die. Probably subtle differences in the ogive figuring the hornet usually shoot lighter bullets. I will just have to swage some and see for myself. Thanks!
An armed society is a polite society.the BB knows
Boolit Master Join DateMar 2011LocationWoods Cross UTPosts641I would definitely be interested. Let me know, if you would please, what you come up with. Just some more learning!
I doubt that Corbin called them hornet dies. I would hazard a guess that the previous owner just put that in there so he knew what die he was using to make bullets for what rifle. Since a 22 hornet uses fairly light bullets my guess would be that its probably a 6s or blunter Ogive radius. I would also almost bet my life that it is marked with an ogive such as 1E 3/4E 4s 5s 6s ETC. when you get to spitzer shaped bullets the higher the "S" number the pointer the ogive is and usually heavier the bullet is.
Reload, kinda what I was thinking... Thanks for all the help! These are handwritten labels on the original corbin box so I am unsure if thats what they really are.
An armed society is a polite society.You may not post new threadsYou may not post repliesYou may not post attachmentsYou may not edit your postsForum Rulesthe BB knows
Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"
Hi folks. I've got one for you to mull over, if you don't mind.I bought a used Magma Lubemaster that I'm having some irritating problems with. I hope y'all can offer a couple of angles that I may not have thought of to try.
I'm having bullet lube seep UP around the sizing die. I have the PID heater for the heated base set at 118 degrees. The pre-heating band in the lube reservoir is "warm to the touch" as per the manual. It's actually pretty warm but not to where I can't keep my hand on it. Air pressure is set at 60psi and I have the knob that regulates how much lube gets pumped into the lube groove set to be enough to just fill the groove and no more.
This lube seeping to the top of the sizing die is getting on the bottom of my bullet transfer bar and slowing my transfer bar down which really screws up the timing of the whole thing, not good. I also get little pieces of the seeped lube on the bullets as they pass down into the die and I have to clean them all off after I get finished. I have to stop and clean lube off about every 300-500 bullets or things get messy, bullets have lube spots and smears all over them.
I've tried all combinations of adjustments; air pressure, PID temp, pre-heat temp, amount of lube pumped in per bullet. I may have just not gotten the right combination yet, I guess. This is happening of 9mm bullets. I don't remember having this trouble with the 45s.
I called and talked to Magma about some other problems I was having with the caster (this is old, used equipment), mentioned the lube seepage and asked it I was supposed to be using an O ring on the die (Magma dies and there was a package of O rings, that would fit the dies, in with all of the "stuff" that came with the machines when I bought them. Guy from Magma says no O ring necessary, they're press fit dies.
I understand that. When I have to take my die out to adjust the bullet punch depth for different weight/profile (same caliber) bullets, the die is a tight fit, I have to give some pretty good taps with the die removal punch to get it out. That's one reason I'm stumped on this. The die fits good and tight, no scratches or scarring on the outside of it.
I have this all set up in an enclosed room in my pole barn. Room is insulated and sealed up pretty good. I can control the temp. and humidity of the room pretty well. I keep it at about 70 degrees right now. Just threw that in there so you could get an idea of bullet/lube/ambient air temp.
The machine works fine other than this annoyance. I won't get into the troubles I've had with the collator. I must be REALLY dumb to not be able to get that thing to work like I think it should.
Any body got any ideas?
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Hoss
