when I try to size the longer rifle bullets they sem to get off center. I have tryed pulling the handle down just a little to start top size the gas check in my Lyman 45 and spind the bullet to try to make sure it is flat on the GC and flat on the ram's nose punch. HELP PLEASE

gregg

For what's worth, I'm sizing, crimping a gas check on, a 300 grain RN 375 NEI bullet. This bullet has a long bore riding portion before the lube grooves etc.
What I do is spill out a number of the gas checks on a piece of plate glass that I scrounged, press the bullets into the checks, then using the gas check seater or just a flat piece of steel I fully seat the gas check on the bullet.
After I have seated gas checks on all of the bullets I'm working with that day I size and lube the bullets. I'm lucky in that I have only a 1/2 inch or so of bullet that needs to go down into the die, so I use a nose punch that been drilled out and fits over the nose of the bullet. I don't need to push the intire bullet into the die. The sizing die has been reamed to .3785 so there is little sizing resistance
Another thing, I don't tighten the nose punch set screw, the punch just floats, wobbles if you will.
With my shorter 375 bullets I size and lube them by pushing them into the die nose first, I use a plain 375 diameter nose punch. It takes a bit of fiddling to adjust the depth so that I don't lube the bullet nose, but I eventually get it done.
Plus I anneal all of my gas checks, they look like I bought them from a fire sale. They are dead soft and when crimped on they stay put.
Jim

I've not had problems with bending. However, I have discovered on one bullet in particular, I am getting bumping on the sizing stroke. This led me to believe I had a very short throat in the rifle. Instead, I was meeting resistance in the throat when the bumped nose would make contact short of the lands.
I agree that a good fitting nose punch will help considerably. You can get some round stock, hollow out the end, and then use some JB Weld, AccraGel or some such to make a nose form with a bullet and a bit of lube smeared on the end to keep it from sticking in place.

Gregg, Try a push through die from Lee. I have the same trouble with my RCBS and Lyman sizers. On long boolits, I seat the check in the RCBS and lube by hand, then push through the Lee. They come out straight and sized evenly. In the regular sizers, they always size more on one side then the other. If you make a punch for the Lee that fits the nose perfectly, you can seat the gas checks better by pushing the bullets through upside down.

bfr,
If you make a punch for the nose and push the bullet through a Lee sizer then what is the difference then if you sized it in a RCBS or Lyman sizer? None that I can see. I realize when you send them through a Lee sizer nose firt that then there can be a difference. I have three rifles shooting a ragged hole at 100 yards with cast. I use a Lyman sizer so I don't think I have a problem. About your mention of sending a bullet through a Lee sizer base first suggests that their is a problem sometimes with the gaschecks
which I have had and one reason I don't care for Lee type sizers. Just my two cents

Joe

I noticed that you are using a Lyman 45 lubrisizer. That is quite an old, but still good, machine. Are your sizing dies equally old? Until about 35 years ago Lyman sizing dies had a step inside that tended to shear off metal from one side of the bullet. You can easily check this by rotating the sized bullet and looking to see if the lube grooves are noticeably shallower on one side. Newer Lyman sizing dies have a tapered entry which allows a swaging, rather than shearing, action. Another trick with that No. 45 machine is to be careful to not over tighten the set screw that hold the die in place. Over tightening can cause the die to become egg-shaped. HTH, curmudgeon

I second the motion for using a push-thru sizer like the Lee, for long rifle boolits. I haven't had any problem crimping on gas checks with a push-thru sizer, either. You do need to push the checks on all the way with your thumb before running thru the sizer. If you cannot push the check on with your thumb then the shank is too big. If there are fins on the base of the bullet then it may help to trim off the fins before seating the check.

Some of the newer Lyman dies have little or no taper and will definitely size off-center if you give them half a chance. All of my H&I dies have been honed at the entrance to enlarge the taper and to remove any sharp edges. Even so, I still use a push-thru sizer for long rifle boolits to avoid bumping & bending.

gregg...I've had the same problem. The only way to completely get away from it is to use a nose first sizer.

If you're going to us ethe #45 sizer, aneal the checks and also heat the lube in the sizer with a light bulb about 20 minutes before attempting to size (be sure to back the pressure off a good deal as the lube expands and will crack your sizer reservior when it expands). The lube in this weather if you're in a slightly cold place like most of us are will cause some resistance taht you don't need.

The #45 will size them straight but any presure that you put on that nose on a long bullet will case the nose to move and with the alignment problems, the most probable cause is a bent nose or a bumped nose. You want absolutely the least resistance that you can get while sizing or this will occur. The anealing and heating will help.

If this fails, go the nose first route. .22s, .25s and .30s are particullarily bad about this problem in cold weather. IN my humble experience./beagle

Starmetal, I don't have a problem with the RCBS or Lyman when minimum sizing is all that is needed. But if the boolit is oversize a little too much, it will size one side more. I think it is spring in the sizer itself. The Lee never does this even with drastic sizing.
Yes, checks can drop down a little in the Lee because it is just the opposite of the regular lube sizers where the boolit is pushed down against the punch and force is exerted when the punch bottoms. Most of the time, I will seat the checks in the RCBS and if the boolit needs sized I will then push it through the Lee.

bfr,
I wasn't saying you were having a problem with you sizing in the RCBS/Lyman. I was saying that if you make a nose punch and send a bullet through a Lee sizer it's the same as sizing it in a RCBS/Lyman except that it's upside down. I realize what you are saying about sizing down alot but what do you consider alot? I'm shooting a Lyman 314299 out of that 30-06 that cuts a hole with them after I sized them down from .314 to .310. Would you concider that alot? If you are apparently they aren't bending for me from the results. By the way I never intended to shoot that bullet out of my 30-06 and originally was shooting the 311284. I just tried it one day and was quite happy to see it cut holes. I mainly have the 314299 for .303 British, 7.7 Jap, and 7.65 Arg. I have a variety of RCBS and Lyman sizer dies but none of the Lymans are of the old type. I just haven't had a problem with them as of yet. Some of the guys are thinking about making a die to hold the RCBS/Lyman sizer die so they can use it in their reloading press like a Lee type. I think that is an ok idea the only difference I can see is that RCBS/Lyman sizer has a longer sizer portion for the bullet to travel through then a Lee. The actual sizing area in a Lee is quite short compared to the RCBS/Lyman. This doesn't pose a problem in the RCBS/Lyman other then then the punch need be a bit longer. Congraduations on your deer hunt.
Joe

Starmetal, I have one boolit that gives me trouble in my RCBS. It is cast very hard and was deforming the drive bands on one side. I removed the die from the sizer and pushed boolits through it on my reloading press. The deformation was gone and the boolits looked perfect. The RCBS has no setscrew to hold the die so the only thing I can blame is tool spring due to the pressure needed for the hard boolits. Pushing this same boolit through the Lee die still makes them perfect. If I make them softer, they come out better but don't shoot as good. I made the mold and it came out a little large for the throats.

Starmetal, I also did push a bunch of boolits through the Lee base first and they were perfect. I didn't have to make a new punch because my boolits have a flat nose and I didn't even take too much care aligning them. They went through just fine.

Want to thank you all. Looks like the real deal would be buy a star sizer and have it over don't it?? Lyman sizer is a oldy but the dies are new RCBS and Lyman.. I do know that I'm going to order up a Lee push thru sizer

Gregg, check carefully to see if the sizing die shifts position as you tighen the set screw. On my oldest Lyman 45 I had to shim the side opposite the set screw to keep the dies centered. Rotating the dies didn't help (die not egg-shaped) and if I didn't tighten the set screw the dies would back out on the up-stroke.
cukrus

bfrshooter,
"Pushed bullets thru my press"....Kindly explain your method in doing that. I`d like to try the same.

I need to add my $.02. The nose first sizer die holders I have made work really nice as you don't have to buy a lee sizer die. You can use your existing Lyman or RCBS sizer dies to size and then lube in what ever lubri-sizer you are using. I've only made a few of these and if you know somebody with a lathe they are easy to make. All you have to do is find a RCBS alum de-primer/bell die. Bore it out to .700 just deep enough so the die is flush and remove the knurled top. Add a set screw to just hold in the sizer die and use 5/16" bolts with heads turned to the size you need for a push rod. Tap a Lee shell holder for 5/16 NC and you are there.
As I am having a medical problem I'm not making anything at this time. I will be more than happy to send instructions to somebody that wants to make some. Orygun