Same for the break-opens - "not supposed to work."I'm actually quite happy with the Lee collet neck- sizer in my 30/30 levergun as well. It's not supposed to work, but with relatively mild cast loads, I can get maybe 5-7 cycles of neck-sizing before I feel the need for a FL sizing. It's a good solution for making range fodder.
What do you think it was about them that made such a dramatic difference? I've followed whatever I could find and read about the cowboy dies, wondering if I should try them in the 357 and 44 Special. Every set of carbide dies I've ever owned sized brass down way more than necessary, but the LEE dies were the least offensive. If there's one which isn't so radical, I'd be open to trying them.Switching from a set of standard RCBS dies to Cowboy dies cut the groups from my .38-55 in half without doing anything else. It was that dramatic. I've since picked up sets in .30-30 and .32 Special. Haven't seen that dramatic a difference in those, but for things I shoot exclusively cast in (most things) I plan to eventually have a set in every caliber they make them in that I shoot.
The expander. When I looked at the regular dies, the expander ball is clearly for .375 jacketed bullets. My rifle likes a fat bullet, at least .379 and it'll take bigger no problem. I am convinced those cases were sized to the point where they were sizing the bullets to be under sized for the rifle.
You could probably acomplish the same thing by getting an appropriate Lyman M Die. I have loaded .30-30 and .32 Special with them and didn't see a real big difference, but in the case of that one rifle, it made a big difference.
That right there is a my nominee for this months "Post of Fame!" or whatever you wish to call it. More information in there, and stated more clearly, than in any post I've seen in some time. Should be required reading. Well done Ian!I was going to ask what Jeff did, thanks for explaining.
I'm of the opinion that when sizing brass, the less the better. One of the things often missed by people trying to shoot cast bullets fast in more modern rifle cartridges is that there is a very generous chamber neck dimension compared to cartridge dimension, the chamber neck is tapered to boot, and sizing die dimensions are made by lawyers and not handloaders. The ID of most commercial .308 Winchester case necks comes out about .303-4" after being run through just about anyone's FL sizing die. Then we want to stuff a cast bullet in there and have to expand the neck back up to something like a .308-.309" ID so it doesn't smush our bullets. The rub is that when you blow that neck up that much with an expanding mandrel without supporting the case body in-line with it, the neck will stretch off center several thousandths because necks are NEVER equal thickness or equal hardness exactly all the way around and will "fade" toward the path of least resistance when drawn over the expander. Off-center ammunition equals larger groups with any projectile type but particularly so with cast bullets of larger than nominal diameter and lack of a sturdy jacket to control non-concentric deformation of the bullet as it is fired through the rifle's throat.
Using standard, off the shelf dies and cast bullet expanding spuds is a recipe for short case life and poor groups with cast bullets. Needing and having the ability to resize a case and neck to the exact dimensions I want for cast bullets without going through the excessive sizing step first is why I'm such a fan of the RCBS or similar full-length dies having selectable neck bushings. I go about a thousandth under final and bring the cases back to desired neck ID with an expander made just for the purpose to ensure dimensional uniformity and find that this process maintains neck/body concentricity very well.
If you want a carbide revolver case die that doesn't overwork the brass, pull out your checkbook and invest in the Redding dual-ring carbide sizing dies.