In my ongoing work with the 44 mag Marlin I have gone to using a .433 bullet. My Hornady seater was obviously not made to handle a bullet that large.
Notice the 2 diameters in the sliding sleeve used in these seating dies. The larger area aligns the case mouth, the smaller section the bullet. In the stock sleeve the bullet secrion is cut at .431, the case section at .459. Both the bullet and case were just large enough to jam in the sleeve. This made the small front band of the bullet get sized to .431 and also made it very difficult to remove the case with seated bullet without pulling the entire sleeve from the die.
I made a new sleeve that allows a .434 bullet and a .463 case mouth.
Here is the stock sleeve out of the die and mine in the die. Works quite well.
Now that little step where the diameter changes in the sleeve, it is quite important you see. That step does the crimping. I made it too sharp initially which makes it buckle the case mouth rather than fold it into the crimp groove. I recut it with more taper and it now makes a reasonable crimp.
Not perfect but good enough to work with. The steel used is O1 so it should last a while even if not hardened.
Would love to use my Redding profile crimp die but it too doesn't handle a .433 bullet very well. It was going to size my bullet down in the process of crimping, something I just can't have happen.
Notice the 2 diameters in the sliding sleeve used in these seating dies. The larger area aligns the case mouth, the smaller section the bullet. In the stock sleeve the bullet secrion is cut at .431, the case section at .459. Both the bullet and case were just large enough to jam in the sleeve. This made the small front band of the bullet get sized to .431 and also made it very difficult to remove the case with seated bullet without pulling the entire sleeve from the die.
I made a new sleeve that allows a .434 bullet and a .463 case mouth.
Here is the stock sleeve out of the die and mine in the die. Works quite well.
Now that little step where the diameter changes in the sleeve, it is quite important you see. That step does the crimping. I made it too sharp initially which makes it buckle the case mouth rather than fold it into the crimp groove. I recut it with more taper and it now makes a reasonable crimp.
Not perfect but good enough to work with. The steel used is O1 so it should last a while even if not hardened.
Would love to use my Redding profile crimp die but it too doesn't handle a .433 bullet very well. It was going to size my bullet down in the process of crimping, something I just can't have happen.
Couldn't do without them.
