I seem to have no end to questions....

I have been loading .458wm for over a year with Lee dies. No problems.

I converted the wm to a LOTT and began to use the Hornady dies.
I was loading some last night when I noticed that the re-sized cases looked "not right" they looked like they had a very slight bottle neck starting about a inch or so from the mouth.

I measured them, and sure enough the new brass I had left and those that I had fired measured in at about .025" wider than the resized brass. The resized brass had an outside diameter with a taper that I could see, feel and measure. Basically 1/3 of the case is a .435 caliber

I had read some time ago that a reloader on this forum had trouble with a bulge below his bullets when using Hornady Dies. I have noticed this bulge when loading 400 gr bullets. It isn�t really a bulge at the bullet but rather an indent below it.
When I load 500+ gr bullets with full cases the bulge is present when the bullet is half seated but it is pressed out when the bullet is fully seated.

This measurement on the case could explain why, when I loaded 600 gr bullets they shaved a little jacket when being seated and maybe why I am getting cratered primers at loads and speeds below expectations.(with all bullet weights)



Comments???????/

.435?

http://stevespages.com/page8d.htm

Sorry I have my measurements wrong. The case is necked down to about.454 or so. It is a noticeable difference for about 1/3 of the case.
The basic question is why is the case sized so small. It is a difference I can see and feel. This doesn't seem right.....

i had that problem your using too much case lube more than likely i cut back and it was just fine

Not the case here.
I am using lee lube and applying a thin film by hand. Can't be build up since I have only had the dies for about 60 rounds.

try the lee dies on them, and then see how they feed
jeffe

The lee dies were win mag. Should I use them instead?
The rounds feed fine I was wondering about the The bottleneck look. It seems like I have a 458/454

http://www.reloadbench.com/cartspec.html Normal, Yes. The die sizes the brass smaller then needed to work with all brands of brass. The expander button then opens the sized brass to the correct dia. for the bullet.About .002" to .003" less then bullet dia. The expanded button does not travel the full length of the case/neck on the Lott, as it does on cases that are like 243win, 30-06. On the Lott this can leave a slight buldge at the base of the bullet. This is common with straight or slightly tapered cases, when the dies may be sizing a little more then is needed.

It sounds like you are describing the the base of the bullet being apparent ( slightly ) on the outside of the case ?

If so, that is an indication that bullet grip is good.

Measure a loaded round. ( at the middle of the portion of the bullet that is in the case )
Measure unloaded, sized and expanded brass.( same location )

If the difference is .003 to .004 you are in a good place.

Some good advice above too.
Sometimes this is refereed to as a " coke bottle ", thinner in the middle than at the ends.
It is a good thing if you are shooting something that tends to move the bullets deeper in the case during operation.
Bullets that move deeper by themselves are not good ( DUH ! )

Travis F.

Yep, they are right about the size taper. It's common to see this on straight wall auto loading pistol brass like 9mm, 40cal, so it makes sense to see it on straight wall brass like the Lott.

Thanks for the information.