reloading .44 mag with lead bullets. crunch!!

[mingansr]

my best fishing/hunting bud has started to reload 44 magnum shells. he bought 500 SWC 240 gr. lead bullets from friendswoodsbullet.com, and hasn't started reloading those yet.

but, when he ordered cases from affordablebrassandbullets.com, the guy offered him some sample lead SWC 240 gr. bullets in order to win over his business. so he reloaded 7 shells of the 10 bullets provided, and gave up, because of the 7, five of them buckled the cases, rendering them useless. he sized his cases with Lee dies, then ran them through the case expander die to allow for the seating of the bullets.

he's reloaded shells with jacketed bullets, and no problems. perhaps he should call the dude and tell him what happened, and maybe get some more samples.

any ideas offhand? thanks

 

[FROGO207]

I would see if the bullets were really oversized or if the case expander was not opening up the case mouths enough. If the expander was set up for jacketed bullets then lead bullets would be too big. Just need a bigger expander plug probably. With lead bullets I expand enough that the bullet can be set into the case mouth by hand pressure and you can lift the whole thing back up off the table by the bullet without it coming apart. You/he can easily find the answer with a set of calipers and the SAMMI specs. I hope you have a set of calipers as I think they are as important/necessary to have as a good scale.

You could also try seating without crimping and see if the bullet buckles the brass that way first. I would use an unprimed casing to experiment with.

 

[blarby]

In a seconding of frogo...lee offers a useful tool for seating lead :

http://leeprecision.com/universal-case-expanding-die.html

 

[Walkalong]

Not enough flare to get the bullet started, or the crimp die is adjusted too far down.

 

[Galil5.56]

Assuming the bullets are starting correctly, and you are doing seat and crimp in a single operation, is there any chance a heavy crimp is being applied outside of a crimp groove, and continuing seating is then crushing the case? Even if the crimp is fully within the groove, it can cause problems.

I have found that using two steps for seating and crimping helps stop this. First I seat to the crimp groove level (can also get heavy powder compression/bullet deformation depending on propellant use), then apply a heavy crimp in a separate step/last hole in my 550B. Trying to do both results in the crimp biting hard, and the seater plug continuing to seat the bullet and causing distortion. Seeing pictures of the problem would be nice if you can.

 

[edfardos]

I have to reduce the crimp if I use brand new brass. After a couple firings, the brass hardens and won't buckle. Was it new brass?

edfardos

 

[JLDickmon]

I'd venture a guess his seat/crimp die is not adjusted properly.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Not enough flaring of the case mouth, aka belling. Open up the case mouth enough to be able to set the bullet on the mouth and it will stay there without holding it. Also seat and crimp in two separate steps.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[murf]

have your buddy measure the bullet diameter. if he is using a lee seating die, the die will swage the bullet to a .430 diameter if over-sized. or, maybe in your case, crush the case instead.

switch to another brand of seater die to fix the problem. oh, and don't crimp while seating. do that in a separate step. fwiw

murf

 

[jack44]

I never had any problems loading .44 mag with 240SWC are you flaring the cases all the way?.

 

[Old Grumpy]

Sounds to me to be underexpanded cases. If the reloader has only experienced loading jacketed bullets and did not readjust the expander die he may be trying to stuff a xtra large into a medimum.

 

[Hondo 60]

I would seriously doubt that the cause is the bullets.

As other have already posted, the leading cause is incorrectly adjusted dies.

 

[41 Mag]

Most jacketed bullets will run .429" verses most cast running .430-.432" depending on the sizing done. It might not seem like much difference but if the case mouth isn't belled a bit more than normal, the lead bullet base will easily catch the lip and squash your cases.

 

[mingansr]

thanks, guys, my buddy solved the problem.
Fredj, his bullets were proper size.

i'm a little foggy, but he said the crimp setter in die was way too low or something. he straightened it out. he told me to tell you all that he appreciates all the tips, and that he'll keep them in mind in the future. thanks all.

and don't worry, oh sage highroaders, i'll be coming to you with my problems when i start loading .40sw on my Loadmaster. you'll get sick of my stupidity, i'm sure. ha.

 

[FROGO207]

40 S&W has a reputation as a touchy round unless you really pay attention to things. Also I would not start reloading with any used brass that has that guppy bulge in it at first. Get your feet under you with a good recipe first IMHO.

 

[mingansr]

good advice. i'll watch my first 40 sw loads when i crank up my Loadmaster tomorrow.