I was wondering if there is any "spring back" when reducing a bullets diameter through a CH4D resizing die?


Also, is the consensus that .004 is limit per step to reduce a bullets diameter?



I've got a bad hankering for a .401 winchester, but since they don't make .406 bullets anymore, I'm considering using .410 (.41 mag size) bullets and running them through a re-sizer. Anything I'm missing, or does this sound like it might actually work? Thanks in advance.

As long as you are using lead bullets you can resize them. If you try to resize a jacketed bullet the lead core will not spring back as much as the jacket and you will have a two piece bullet once it is fired (or maybe before).

.004 should work OK, there will be a certain amount of sringback depending on the jacket alloy but it won't effect accuracy at the ranges you'll probably be shooting at. I wouldn't use these bullets for hunting as they would most probably come apart but for causual shooting they'll do fine. As an aside the Lee bullet sizing dies work well for this as they are quite strong and are used in you loading press which with it's compound leveage makes the whole process much easier. Lee will also make custom sizes up to .510 for about $30 and a 4 week wait. I'm generally not a Lee fan but this is one of their products I like.
Best

As a .395 family member, I've been doing this for awhile, so that we'd have bullets to shoot before Macifej and Gerard could get geared up. Jacket thickness is a prime concern. This can result in a lot of springback.
I've taken .40 cal pistol bullets and .405 and .411 rifle bullets (these are diameters) down to .395 using the Lee dies. One thing you must use is a good lube. I've used primarily Imperial Sizing Wax and STP to size my bullets. On target, they've done well. On game, as long as I used the appropriate bullet for velocity and game, they've worked also.
Ensure your press is mounted well. You may have to remount it and put a steel plate under it. The comment about using a compound press is right on. Even an RCBS Rockchucker is the minimum I'd recommend.

quote:

Originally posted by 50 Calshtr:
I wouldn't use these bullets for hunting as they would most probably come apart

quote:

Originally posted by PaulS:
If you try to resize a jacketed bullet the lead core will not spring back as much as the jacket and you will have a two piece bullet once it is fired (or maybe before).

I've heard this repeatedly over the years, and I suppose that perhaps it's good theory. However, in practice, I think the above problems have to be extremely rare. I have a lot of experience with this, and I've never once encountered those problems. In fact, I've never noticed any difference at all.

Because of the rifles I like (pre-war British, which sometimes have odd groove diameters) I've been using off the rack jacketed bullets that I have to size down in Corbin dies for the vast majority of my rifle shooting and big game hunting for many years now. My long-time primary hunting rifle requires bullets sized down .003" from standard. Over the years, I've used most off the rack jacketed bullets available in the standard diameter after sizing down - Speer, Hornady, RWS, Woodleigh, Hawk, and Norma, both soft nose and steel-jacketed solid, and have used most on game. All have given excellent accuracy, good expansion, and wonderful penetration. Even the cheap softs hang together, and have always given me an exit. Same for other rifles I've had to size down for.

The .410s sized down to .406" should just fine. As long as a good quality hunting bullet is chosen, they'll work fine for hunting, as well as for paper.
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

400 Nitro Express, have you by any chance 'bumped up' bullets? (I want to bump up 308 bullets for my 303 Britsh - to get a 150gr boat tails. Also, the 303 has odd bore and groove sizes).

On the swaging down - the two groove 303 basically does that on firing and they say they shoot OK. So ....