Revolver throats, sizing and lubing

[Mixed Nuts]

So, as some of you know I have recently reamed a revolver’s cylinder throats to .358. I’ve been pleased with the results and, so far, the only cast bullets I’ve shot were themselves .358 and quite hardcast at 22BHN.

This fall I intend to cast some bullets. In preparation for this project I’ve been reading different things and people's opinions on bullet lube and sizing have led me to a few questions.

I’ve been thinking about maybe making one of these soap lubes that seem to be popular. They look a little tricky as the soap melts at something like 450 F and the beeswax can’t take that heat. But after getting some good pointers from online shooters I think I can work the bugs out.

The soap lubes I'm considering are used in the lube sizer machines and they are also finger lubed. If finger lubed they are, after lubing, run through the Lee sizer to help fill the bullet lube groove and clean up the bullet.

So after all that lead-in, here are my questions.

Lee sizer kits for the .357 magnum come in only .357 and .358 – but don’t I really want a .358.5 or bigger for revolver throats reamed to .358?

Is there some way to imitate or hybridize the Lee sizer system with a sizer die from someone else? I ask this because other companies make .359 sizer dies.

 

[.308 Norma]

but don’t I really want a .358.5 or bigger for revolver throats reamed to .358?

Not necessarily. I started a thread last August asking about my then new Freedom Arms 357 Magnum revolver. It has .358" cylinder throats, and I was having a problem using "Keith" style, SWCs in it that were sized to .358". After shooting one cylinder full, the crud that was built up in the cylinder throats wouldn't allow me to reload because the .358" diameter front driving bands on those "Keith" style SWCs wouldn't go into the cylinder no matter how hard I tried to shove them.
However, I switched to cast, gas-checked 170gr. RNFPs from Rimrock Bullets out of Montana, and they work great. The RNFPs are still sized to .358", but their front driving band are inside the cases - they don't stick out to get hung up on the crud in the .358" diameter cylinder throats.
BTW, the barrel of my Freedom Arms 357 Magnum slugs at .357" diameter groove to groove, and like I said, those gas-checked .358" RNFPs work great - no leading, and more accurate than I am by a long ways.

 

[Varminterror]

I prefer my bullet size to slip fit, with finger pressure, into the throat - but not fall through of their own weight (gotta be kinda careful there to not let a sticky lube tell you lies). Never have seen a benefit to shaving my bullets into the throat.

 

[Mixed Nuts]

I prefer my bullet size to slip fit, with finger pressure, into the throat - but not fall through of their own weight (gotta be kinda careful there to not let a sticky lube tell you lies). Never have seen a benefit to shaving my bullets into the throat.

It sounds like you are recommending an exact or nearly exact fit. My, very limited, cast shooting so far seems to agree with this. I was wondering though. If I did something like this guys does here:



Not to the same degree but just a touch, I'd be assured of being a touch larger behind the throat.

 

[Walkalong]

.358 will be just fine in your .358 throats, unless you go crazy hard on the alloy, and even then you'll likely be OK. A good 12 BHN .358 bullet will probably be hard enough, but if not, 16/18 should be fine. 22 BHN is simply not needed IMHO, and a waste of antimony and tin.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

First thing I would say is, ask the gun. Try shooting bullets sized to .358 and see how they shoot. If they don't shoot well, try using powder coating rather than a traditional lubricant. Powder coating can bump up bullet diameter by .001 to .002, or even more with multiple coatings.

 

[Mixed Nuts]

.358 will be just fine in your .358 throats, unless you go crazy hard on the alloy, and even then you'll likely be OK. A good 12 BHN .358 bullet will probably be hard enough, but if not, 16/18 should be fine. 22 BHN is simply not needed IMHO, and a waste of antimony and tin.

I think I get this. The idea is that if I've got my throats bigger than the bore, then obturation is on my side - even behind the throats. And a softer bullet will tend to obturate more easily. So, if I'm not currently having trouble with 22 BHN .358s, then that's a pretty good test of whether I would need a sizer larger than .358.

Sold. One Lee Sizer kit in .358

 

[reddog81]

You can open up the .358 sizer with some valve lapping compound.

How many different rounds do you reload? If you reload for a bunch of rounds and like to experiment with various sizes of bullets it might be worth looking into the NOE sizing setup. They have all the popular sizing dies and various .001 increments around them. The sizing die bishings cost 9.75 vs. over $20 for the Lee ones however you have to spend $40 on the sizing body in order to use the NOE setup.

 

[Walkalong]

First thing I would say is, ask the gun. Try shooting bullets sized to .358 and see how they shoot.

Always good advise.

 

[dbmjr1]

I'm no expert in the subject matter at hand, but I have opened up a Lee sizing die, with ease.

I split a wood dowel, and put a piece of fine Emory cloth in it. I then chucked the dowel in my drill press and proceeded to spin the abrasive cloth in the die, checking it often.

To check it, I simply sized a fresh cast boolit, and measured it.

I did this until I got the result I was looking for.

 

[Varminterror]

@Mixed Nuts - I don’t care for the sanding method used in the video. Most guys don’t shoot well enough to notice the difference, but I’m one of the types which would have the, “I’ll always know...” symptom.

He’s applying relatively random pressure radially and axially with an arbitrarily sized “lapping” spindle. There’s no control over radial diameter or axial concentricity - both for angular dispersion and radial dispersion.

You’ll never catch me lapping a sizing die like that. Lee used to - I assume still does - offer service to hone custom diameters in their bullet sizing does. I don’t care to have egg shaped bullets.

 

[Mixed Nuts]

@Mixed Nuts - I don’t care for the sanding method used in the video. Most guys don’t shoot well enough to notice the difference, but I’m one of the types which would have the, “I’ll always know...” symptom.

He’s applying relatively random pressure radially and axially with an arbitrarily sized “lapping” spindle. There’s no control over radial diameter or axial concentricity - both for angular dispersion and radial dispersion.

You’ll never catch me lapping a sizing die like that. Lee used to - I assume still does - offer service to hone custom diameters in their bullet sizing does. I don’t care to have egg shaped bullets.

I think this is good advice. I'm not sure how much use the Lee sizer will get anyway. I just tried another pan lube experiment today and it was a sloppy mess in .358. I think it would work better with bigger bullets. Maybe I should just buy a lube sizer machine and do it right.