Cast Boolits in 416 Rigby

BrotherMaynard

BrotherMaynard

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Moscow on the Brazos
I recently developed a hankering for something 416 Rigby flavored and satiated said hankering with a Ruger M77:

IMG_1875.jpg

I commenced to gathering up the necessary accoutrements to reload and discovered that it is a different beast from the other cartridges I have been reloading. In addition to the case being too large for the Lee universal depriming die, the expanding button in the Lyman resizing die does not provide quite enough clearance for the cast boolits. I have a Redding large universal depriming die on the way and was curious to know what others are doing for a little bit of additional clearance for cast boolits (gas checked and sized to .417). The Lee universal expander is too small for the case so a Noe expander plug will not work.
 
BrotherMaynard said:
I recently developed a hankering for something 416 Rigby flavored and satiated said hankering with a Ruger M77:

View attachment 1134983

I commenced to gathering up the necessary accoutrements to reload and discovered that it is a different beast from the other cartridges I have been reloading. In addition to the case being too large for the Lee universal depriming die, the expanding button in the Lyman resizing die does not provide quite enough clearance for the cast boolits. I have a Redding large universal depriming die on the way and was curious to know what others are doing for a little bit of additional clearance for cast boolits (gas checked and sized to .417). The Lee universal expander is too small for the case so a Noe expander plug will not work.
Click to expand...
I would contact a die company, forester comes to mind that offers neck honing to see if they will adjust a die for you. If they offer the service already there is a good chance they can help.
 
Last edited:
AJC1 said:
I would contact a die company, forester comes to mind that offers neck honing to see if they will adjust a die for you. If they offer the service already there is a good chance they can help.
Click to expand...

Good idea. Thanks for the tip. I also plan to see if someone like Noe can make an oversized expander button.
 
The expander kit arrived Friday and I was able to try it out the next day. It looks as if the die body needs to be opened up a bit as the sized case stops well before it reaches the expander:

IMG_1890.jpg

Unfortunately, I was focused on the case mouth and did not realize what was happening until the case got pretty scored. I have a query out to the folks at NOE to see what they think.
 
Does the shoulder prevent the case from going into the lee universal expander ? I use this die to slightly bell .404 Jeffery cases to load .424 gas check bullets ,it seems to have plenty of clearance .
 
You can install one of the two other universal expanders on top to lower the plug and prevent damage. Might not be able to get a full stroke of the handle but it's forward progress.
 
codytrucker said:
Does the shoulder prevent the case from going into the lee universal expander ? I use this die to slightly bell .404 Jeffery cases to load .424 gas check bullets ,it seems to have plenty of clearance .
Click to expand...

It is not stopping at the shoulder but about 1" below. It does the same thing in the Lee Universal Expander. I have a .400 Jeffrey and it fits the Lee Expander as well as the powder through expander using the correct NOE plug.
 
AJC1 said:
You can install one of the two other universal expanders on top to lower the plug and prevent damage. Might not be able to get a full stroke of the handle but it's forward progress.
Click to expand...

After I realized it was hanging on the case, I put the 1" spacer that Lee ships with the expander in the die and gave it a whirl. As you observed, I did not get full extension but I could feel the step in the expander and was able get some boolits loaded.

83.3 gr of IMR-4831 pushed a 410 gr Hornady DGS about 2100 fps for power factor of 859 (according to my Labradar). It was a blast (pun intended) to shoot.
 
BrotherMaynard said:
After I realized it was hanging on the case, I put the 1" spacer that Lee ships with the expander in the die and gave it a whirl. As you observed, I did not get full extension but I could feel the step in the expander and was able get some boolits loaded.

83.3 gr of IMR-4831 pushed a 410 gr Hornady DGS about 2100 fps for power factor of 859 (according to my Labradar). It was a blast (pun intended) to shoot.
Click to expand...
Nice, sometimes it's a battle but we must figure out the path ahead.... loaded rounds are gooder....
 
AJC1 said:
Nice, sometimes it's a battle but we must figure out the path ahead.... loaded rounds are gooder....
Click to expand...

Word. It has definitely been an interesting journey thus far. I crimp separate from seating and the Lee FCD was recommended as the way to reduce the risk of shoulder collapse. It only comes in 1-1/4-12 instead of 7/8-14 so I bought a Rock Chucker Supreme as well as a handful of adapter bushings for the other dies. The Lee universal decapper is too narrow so I bought a Redding one. And then there was the Forster case trimmer and the gear to anneal. My fascination with historic big bore cartridges is getting spendy.
 
BrotherMaynard said:
Word. It has definitely been an interesting journey thus far. I crimp separate from seating and the Lee FCD was recommended as the way to reduce the risk of shoulder collapse. It only comes in 1-1/4-12 instead of 7/8-14 so I bought a Rock Chucker Supreme as well as a handful of adapter bushings for the other dies. The Lee universal decapper is too narrow so I bought a Redding one. And then there was the Forster case trimmer and the gear to anneal. My fascination with historic big bore cartridges is getting spendy.
Click to expand...
If your on a budged two washers stacked up, a decaping pin and a hammer gets it done. Just like the Lee bang and reload kit
 
AJC1 said:
If your on a budged two washers stacked up, a decaping pin and a hammer gets it done. Just like the Lee bang and reload kit
Click to expand...

I decapped the first 10 rounds this way. Stuck the case in a shell holder and used a spare decapping pin and a hammer to drive out the spent primer. It was weirdly satisfying in a Neanderthal sort of way...
 
I finally got a hold of the folks at NOE. They are going to grab the SAAMI specs for the cartridge and see if they can bore out a die to accommodate it. The concern is that there is not enough material to shave off. Fingers crossed...
 
I am scratching my head. I load cast bullets into the .416 Rigby, and do so with stock RCBS dies. Running the case into the sizing die knocks out the primer and brings the neck to a perfect size to accept the bullets. It is an utterly unremarkable process.
 
.38 Special said:
I am scratching my head. I load cast bullets into the .416 Rigby, and do so with stock RCBS dies. Running the case into the sizing die knocks out the primer and brings the neck to a perfect size to accept the bullets. It is an utterly unremarkable process.
Click to expand...

The expander in the Lyman dies I have does not open the case mouth enough to permit the ones I got from Montana Bullet Works (sized to 0.417) to start. I would have preferred to use the factory expander in my Lyman dies but it was not possible. I have some NOS Hornady 410 gr DGS that I need to try with the Lyman expander to see if they will work.
 
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