Bullet resizing question

[critter]

I shoot a FA .454 and it shoots really, really well. Bullets I reload are marked .452.

I have a great many bullets I bought and shot in my Ruger .45 Colt and they shot well. When loaded in the .454 cases, they will not chamber. Case + bullet is too wide. Bullets mike 2-3 thousandths too big and are not very round as they may measure differently if turned.

I want to get a resizing die and resize them. Do I need a .452 die or will they 'spring back' some when resized? Or should I be more conservative and get a .451 die OR will they be too small and not shoot well? Or will they 'slug up' when fired and likely be just fine in the accuracy department?

As you can see, I have ZERO experience casting/sizing lead bullets, so thanks for any input you have.

 

[ReloaderFred]

The older standard bullet size for .45 Colt was .454" +/-, but almost all newer barrels are .452". The cheapest and easiest way for you to resize your .454" bullets is probably one of the Lee Bullet Sizing kits, which is simply a die of the proper diameter, and a push rod that fits in your shell holder on the loading press. The push rod pushes the bullet through the die and out the top, where it's collected in a plastic hopper. I'm assuming your bullets are already lubed, so they would be ready to resize.

If your barrel is .452" in diameter, then this should work fine for your plinking rounds.

Another option would be the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die, but I'm not a big fan of "fixing" after the fact. The Factory Crimp die would reduce the size of the case and bullet, but the bullets would be sized according to the thickness of the case walls, which can vary. The proper bullet size is what you really need in this case.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[BP44]

the lee sizing kit work pretty good and are cheap $15, also are you crimping a little to much?

 

[rcmodel]

Your Freedom Arms revolver has very tight chambers on purpose. That's part of what makes it so darned accurate.
In a revolver, barrel diameter is not as important as having the bullets perfectly fit the cylinder throats.

As such, I would try to measure the cylinder throats (Or see if a .452" jacketed bullet is a slip-fit in the throats) and order a Lee bullet sizing set-up to exactly match that.

For lead bullet plinking loads, have you tried just loading them in .45 Colt cases and see if that works? The Colt cases are most likely thinner then the .454 cases and might work.


rcmodel

 

[hawkeye1]

I also shoot 45 Colt and 454 Casull. I size both of my cast bullets at .452. This seems to work fine and chambers well. I like the RCBS lube a matic, but have used the Lee sizer also and it works fine. Also, it is cheaper to set up and use. Give the Lee a try and see if the .452 help your problem

good shooting

 

[critter]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to give the Lee sizer a try and see what happens.