Well finally got around to casting a pot ( Lee Production Pot) of 8MM out of wheel weights with the Lee mold. Got 212 cast bullets out of the pot with a inch of metal still on the bottom of the pot. Filled it up again and called it a night. I figure 200 + bullets paid for the mold first time out. Bullets measured .324 as cast so I am going to tumble lube some and shoot as is with 16 grains of 2400. I have a .323 sizer on order (Lee) and will gas check some when I get that for now I will shoot some un- gas checked to see how they do with a plinker load. 16 grains or 2400 is supposed to give or take around 1500 depending on the cartridge used. (C.E.Harris Load) Probably be a few days before I shoot but will post results when I do. Jim

I am realy interested in your project. I have wanted to cast for 8mm for some time but need a good mold. Since I want plinkers, I thought a tumble lube design so not to buy sizers for 8 mm. But still, when something works....use it! Dale

Might want to slug your barrel before ordering that sizer. I like mine a little oversize. As long as they fit in the chamber throat and have room to release from the case neck, they're fine.

Is that the standard Lee 8mm or the 245gn one?

Standard one and I did slug my barrel and it slugged just over .323. Itis a Turk Mauser but they rebarreled it so the headspace and bore on it are perfect. SO perfect I spent the money to have my gunsmith put a peep sight on it. Jim

I wish some one made a tool to add gas checks with out sizeing them I would use them as cast if I could find such a tool. Jim

Jim, if I'm reading your posts correctly, you have a .323 throat and a .323 sizer on order? If so,
you'll probably find that you'll need to ream the sizer to .324 or even .325. Easy enough to do
with some sandpaper wrapped around a dowel and chucked into an electric drill.

Once you have the proper diameter in the sizer, you'll find that the gas checks will crimp on easily with
no extra trouble (well, not much extra trouble, anyway) in the Lee push-through die.

A potential problem to be ready for is that the Lee seating die may not accomodate your .324+
boolits, and they may stick in the die during the reloading process. Solution to that problem
is the same as with the boolit sizer, it may need to be opened up a thou or two with some sandpaper
on a stick.

Hi All! JH45gun- make your own tool. That's what I did. I heat treat my hi-performance 30 bullets right out of the mold. So I took a Hornady bullet puller collet and screwed it down until the fingers were touching. Then I mounted the whole thing in a lathe and turned the inside of the fingers. The cavity is as deep as a gas check or just a little more and it is the size I wanted my gascheck to be when it is on the bullet. Now take the puller from the lathe. Turn out a piece of steel that fits into the collet on one end and the other end fits into your shellholder location (on your press- they are all the same size). Turn the Hornady die UPSIDE down and screw in from the bottom. Put the finger piece in and the piece you just made so the press arm now works the collet fingers. Be careful as the bullet puller won't take a lot of what most presses can dish out. I pushed the bottom out of mine and then had to rebuild/strenghten it. Now it works fine.

Better idea - use the Lee collet die and make the finger collet for it. That die is massive!

How it worked.... Push the gascheck on your bullet & check for proper depth and squareness ( That a word?). Hold the bullet in one hand and work the press arm with the other as the bullet is gently held straight in your new creation. Work the arm, rotate the bullet a little and work the arm again. Done correctly, it does a nice job. I also use this setup to 'pinch' my homemade checks on. ( Aluminium- easy to make) I have piks. Will look. Dale

Jim:

Lyman makes (or at least did when I bought one many years ago) a gas check seater for the 450/4500 lubesizer, which will also work with the RCBS lubesizer. It is item number 2745881. This allows seating gas checks without lubing or sizing.

Phil S.

That would be great if I had either sizer but I do not. I have a Lee sizer for my 45/70 and just ordered the one for the 8mm but that will size them be nice to have a tool that did not size them a univeral one.