July 31, 2013, 09:00 AM | #1 |
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.35 Rem expander die
I've been reloading pistol ammo for a long time but just recently started with some bottleneck rifles. I have no problem with 22-250, 30-06, and .223. Recently I dusted off my old Marlin 336 in .35 Rem and came across an old set of RCBS dies for the caliber. SO..... I bought a box of Hornady rn 200g. bullets, #3515, resized the 50 or so rounds of factory brass I've accumulated and am waiting for some IMR 4064 to become available.
While patiently waiting and just to play with things I decided to see how the new bullets fit into the resized and expanded cases....VERY tight fit. Out came the vernier and a problem. The Hornady bullets spec out at .358, so says the box and the vernier, the expander ball in my old (1970's) RCBS "FL" .35 REM die measures .356 Did I buy the wrong bullets or is my old die set for something else? I noticed that RCBS sells the decap and expanders separately, part # 9820, about $9 for what they say is .35 but they do not give the dimensions, would I be buying another .356. Thanks for listening, |
July 31, 2013, 09:23 AM | #2 | |
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July 31, 2013, 09:28 AM | #3 |
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The expander is SUPPOSED to be smaller than the bullet.
The bullet is SUPPOSED to be a press fit into the neck of the case. That is what keeps it there until it is shot, not a crimp. |
July 31, 2013, 02:02 PM | #4 |
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Just out of curiosity, I dug out my old set of Lyman dies in .35 Rem that I've used, with no apparent problems, for the last 25 years or so. The expander ball miked at .3555. Because of the tubular magazine in my rifle (Marlin 336) I do like to crimp my reloads in this caliber, though I haven't done any testing to determine that it's actually necessary.
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July 31, 2013, 04:58 PM | #5 | |
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July 31, 2013, 05:06 PM | #6 |
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Gentlemen, thank you.
One more question if I may, in the "Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook" 4th ed. there are listed two cast bullets both sized to .358, neither is bevel based, one is gas checked. How would one start one of these into the mouth of a case .002 smaller without shaving lots of lead. Thanks again, Dogpatch |
July 31, 2013, 05:25 PM | #7 | |
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If you have a compelling interest in cast lead bullet loading, you may want to visit the Cast Lead Bullet Association's web site: http://www.castbulletassoc.org/index.shtml Look way down on the left-side, near the bottom for "CBA Forums". Note: "Bevel Bases" are not usually used for rifle cast lead bullets. |
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July 31, 2013, 06:48 PM | #8 |
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Cast rifle bullets are best loaded after neck expansion with a Lyman "M" die.
That expands most of the neck to slightly under bullet diameter for a snug fit, but the top 1/16" or so to a bit over bullet diameter. That let's the bullet seat without scraping up lead (or jacket) and with better alignment than the bugle mouth flare of a typical pistol expander. |
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