I have been reloading for several years now but am really starting to get serious about accuracy. I recently read the BTB cast bullet manual and it opened my eyes about alot of things. One that bugs me and have not seen much about is case resizing final size. My lee carbide sizing die sizes to .475 on the money. The hornady loading manual list .480 as the case dimension. When loaded with .451 jacket hornady's(or cast bullets for that matter) the case measures .481(.482 with cast) where the bullet is and has a noticeable bulge from the rest of the case. Fired cases mike out at .479-481 and the eject/load just fine without sticking. So, is my dies excessively sizing? Could I lap out the sizing die a few thousands by chucking a sized cartridge and applying fire lapping compound and final polishing with flitz? Or does it really matter? I am guessing it does about case life(which I haven't had but 1 or 2 fail in 7-8 reloads) but what about accuracy?
Thank you
Jay Moyer
I wouldn't worry too much about your sizer die. The .475 is to insure that the case grips the bullet adequately. Reloaded rounds in straight wall cases all seem to display that "hour glass" look with carbide dies and so long as they chamber and eject properly, everything is working as it should. Getting around 15 reloads with the .45 Colt is no big accomplishment either especially if the cartridge is not loaded to max all the time. Usually the first indication of trouble is when the casemouth develops a split. Cases tend to last a little longer when not excessively belled. Hope this answers your question.
The .45 Colt dates from the black-powder days and dimensions are generous, to say the least.
Accuracy? Make sure that the cylinder throats are just a bit above groove diameter, and size your bullets accordingly. Example, if you have a 0.451" groove on the barrel, then conventional wisdom is that a 0.452" or so cylinder throat would be right.
For a handheld firearm, ultimate accuracy is a bit different than say a bench-rest rifle.
This topic has been addressed from time to time in the Rifle / Handloader magazines, and the solution of neck sizing has been proposed. However.... I think that the average shooter would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
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