Powder-coated bullet nose too big? No problem!

Ian

Notorious member
H&I set:

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As-cast and powder coated Lee 312-155 on the right, bullet on left has been nose-first sized in the form die to make the nose a parallel .3005" tapering at 1.5⁰ per side to .3095". The idea for bullets with tapered noses as this one has is only push the bullet into the die far enough to size the amount of nose needed to chamber easily. The taper that is bumped behind the nose will match many throat angles such as 300 BLK and .30-'06 and also will shoot well in most .308s.

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I'm going to be making these dies soon on a limited basis as my health and time allows, so if you have a need shoot me a PM and I'll put you on a list.
 

Cadillac Jeff

Well-Known Member
Is That for "just that bullet"---- I mean is the die cut for a certain mold only.or could ya use other molds to get the same shape--- kinda ?

That is truly a beutyus bullet <<< even if it is GREEN
 

Ian

Notorious member
Is That for "just that bullet"---- I mean is the die cut for a certain mold only.or could ya use other molds to get the same shape--- kinda ?

That is truly a beutyus bullet <<< even if it is GREEN

I worked out a reamer shape and ream/polish the dies to a depth that is as universal as possible, but can accommodate variances for specific bullets within reason. The ejector applies a lot of force to the nose so I drill the end with a lathe pilot that can be fitted to your bullet's nose with epoxy.

If there is enough interest I'll ask Brad about me putting up a sales ad in the classifieds area with more details later. This nose size problem comes up a lot and this solution is working well for me to fit/uniform bullets so I wanted to make it available to others. It isn't cheap for me to produce these and as much as I would like to give them away to members here, I cannot, but for some it may be worth it.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
I know my C.O.L.'s got a bit shorter once I went to PC....No problem though because all my loads are so light.
seems like Smoke's Clear showed the most change...Eastwood Ford Blue not so much
 

Ian

Notorious member
I use a lot of bullet designs which have tapered noses anyway, so just seating more deeply usually does the trick. However, I like to uniform the noses to be perfectly concentric with the body and round also (sometimes the noses are elliptical or have raised parting lines) so that there is no risk of jamming in a semi-auto. The only other nose-sizing dies I've seen other than custom bump dies only size the nose with no provision for keeping the nose and body concentric, straight, or with a tapered transition. The dies I make also square the base to the body and ensure fully-seated gas checks.
 

Will

Well-Known Member
I think having the noses perfectly uniform is the big advantage to this system. This will iron out any minor imperfections in the bullet nose or powder coat.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Here's the results of the one I just made for Will:

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Notice how far I pushed back the nose on the Lee 312-155. I did roll the uncoated bullet on a case lube pad before sizing but did not pre-size it. The bands went from .3125 to .3098" and the nose area where I stopped sizing had been about .304" on the bare bullet and .305-6" on the coated one. The blue .30 Silhouette bullet just had the front little bit of the nose uniformed and cleaned up for reliable chambering and straight start in my M1A and LR-308 while the rest fills the throat. By setting depth you can control how far the .3003" parallel part goes up the nose. The 3⁰ included angle of the transition will ease the start into the bore and match the taper of many .30 caliber throats.