I'm having trouble. I'm reloading .50AE for the first time & whenever I load the bullet, the bullet falls through at the bullet seating die stage, and if it doesn't, it'll fall through at the crimp die stage. I adjusted the expander die to almost no "bell" at all & still the same thing. I've adjusted all dies like crazy to no avail. Anyone have any suggestions? Also, I'd like to add that the decapper works fine & the primer seats properly. I'm still at the dry run stage & haven't added powder to the mix yet. The specs for the cartridges & bullets are:

Speer .50AE brass
Speer .50AE 325gr GDHP #4495

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
James

On the surface of it, I'd say that either your brass is too big or your bullet is too small. What does your caliper tell you?

I'm betting there's a problem with the sizing die, but I have a prejudice.
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Ive got an old 450b press which I like. I think the 550 is the same basic press right? If you are using Dillon Dies I have a few but prefer the RCBS dies. Now the Dillon has a separate crimp die right. The biggest loads I make are 44mag so unfamiliar with the 50s,

Sorry you said Lee Dies missed that. Well some people like lee dies but I dont. Well do like their factory crimp dies. Lee makes a lot of junk particularly their bullet castingmoulds. But they do have a few good unique items. Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy Carter:
I'm having trouble. I'm reloading .50AE for the first time & whenever I load the bullet, the bullet falls through at the bullet seating die stage, and if it doesn't, it'll fall through at the crimp die stage. I adjusted the expander die to almost no "bell" at all & still the same thing. I've adjusted all dies like crazy to no avail. Anyone have any suggestions? Also, I'd like to add that the decapper works fine & the primer seats properly. I'm still at the dry run stage & haven't added powder to the mix yet. The specs for the cartridges & bullets are:


Speer .50AE brass
Speer .50AE 325gr GDHP #4495

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
James

James, welcome to the forum


I assume these are fired cases, full length resized and expanded out to the chamber dimensions.

Winchester 69's question about the size of the bullets is the first thing I would check. If you don't have calipers, compare the bullet to the size of the barrel, or see if it drops into a sized, but unexpanded, unbelled case.

I loaded for years without a micrometer, so I make no assumptions about what equipment you have.

Larry (Lost Sheep)

I was hoping you wouldn't say that the bullets were too small & that I should tweak something else. That would suck being that I bought a couple hundred of them as well as a couple hundred cases. The cases were fired maybe 1-2 times I believe. It makes perfect sense that the bullets may be smaller but it's kinda hard to believe. How common is that? I believe that Speer only makes 3 types of .50ae bullets (300gr/GDHP, 300gr/TMJ FN, 325gr/UCHP), and I'm not sure how many types of cases. What are the chances that there's a .50ae combination of cases & bullets that don't fit? Doesn't sound likely. When I get home I'll do the barrell test & buy a caliper tonight & check the bullets & cases. I also have some cases from ammo that I bought & shot once & see if they make a difference. Lemme know what you think.

James

Make sure your sizing die is adjusted so you have to cam over slightly. The case is a straight taper design and bullets fall through if it isn't fully sized. Also check the length of your brass and make sure they're not too short. Try fitting a bullet in the case after you size it and before you use the expander die, it may be oversized. I've loaded thousands of 50AE and never had a problem with Speer bullets.

Do you own a caliper?

If the shell holder is contacting the base of the die, the die is doing all that it will.

I believe that your Lee sizing die is out of spec, unless you discover something obvious. I would consider a problem with the bullets to be only a remote possibility.

If you don't have a caliper, you need one. The cheap, Chinese one's will do fine.