Just picked up a rebarreled M77 MkII ruger with a medium weight 24" barrel in 35 whelen. I find myself short of .358 jacketed bullets and an oversupply(if that is possible) of 9.3mm(.366) bullets anyone ever push these thru a lee sizer die to reduce them to correct dia? I don't have a lee die in correct size so will have to buy one. The bullets in question are the 285 privi and hornady 285. Thanks, Lynn
There was a gent here in AK that swaged down the Nosler 286 gr (9.3mm/0.366" dia) down to 0.358 for use in his Whelen.
I do believe he was using a Corbin swaging die. Not sure how beefy of a press you need to do this job. Forster Co-ax would seem ideal. A RCBS rock chucker might not be big enuff. I didn't know Lee made swaging dies.
Someone here will have first hand experience I bet.
I've resized .416" to .412" and .375" to .367", both measured after jacket spring back, used Lee push thru dies with their lube in my Lee classic cast press, they both shot fine, dunno how they perform on game tho. Scroll down to the bottom of the page at the link.
I resized 429s to 416 through a lee push through sizing die one pass 13 thou dif. 366 to 358 is only 8 different should have no trouble with a good strong press
Posts: 19835 | Location: wis | Registered: 21 April 2001
Originally posted by p dog shooter: I resized 429s to 416 through a lee push through sizing die one pass 13 thou dif. 366 to 358 is only 8 different should have no trouble with a good strong press
How was accuracy with re-sized bullets?
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"A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest.
Unless Im mistaken those are some fairly tough rifle bullets which is why you may well encounter problems pushing them through a Lee sizer die. I expect it would work fine with lighter pistol bullets though. Make sure you use some good bullet lube on them, and good luck.
Posts: 10190 | Location: Tooele, Ut | Registered: 27 September 2001
Obviously you are only talking about .004" all the way around. That is the diameter of a human hair. I believe your worst challenge will be in getting the Lee sizer die to hold up to the challenge. In my estimation, Lee is pretty cheap stuff.
But best of luck. As has been said, use a good lube (and something like silicone spray might work better than a true bullet lube), and go slow. There is no reason to rush. The first couple of bullets will tell you all you need to know about successful you will be. Are these bullets open tipped?
Posts: 4748 | Location: TX | Registered: 01 April 2005
Took the rifle to the range for more fireforming, unfortunately the chrono would not give good readings so back to pact it goes. I just received the die and first attempt using RCBS case lube did not go well- stuck one, will chuck it up and bore it out, and try again. Will post how it goes. The bullets being sized are Hornady 285gr sp blems from Midway. Lynn
If you want a final diameter of .358 you may have to go to a smaller sizer dies such as .357 because you're going to have "spring back". I don't think would amount to much to cause problems, but if you were reloading to the ragged edge it could raise pressure having a "fatter" bullet.
I would do it in steps as mentioned and the other thing to watch for is if you size it down too much you may get jacket/core separation.
Like Doubless mentioned the LEE sizer dies are soft and running jacketed through them wears them out fast. If you had lathe you could conjure up something better.
I used Lee case lube, worked great as stated in the article I linked to earlier!
quote:
RESIZING HEAVYWEIGHT .366" BULLETS TO .358" 9.3mm (.366") bullets - resized to .358" dia. 286 or 270 gr. bullet (or even 320gr.) Layne Simpson reports successfully resizing of Norma 286 grain bullets pulled from factory 9.3 x 62mm ammo. He first coated bullet with RCBS case lube, and used his bench vise to push it through a Lee .358" cast bullet sizing die and then once again - necessary because of jacket/core spring back - through a smaller Lee .357" sizing die. The final size he says was exactly .358". They had a slight bit of lead extruded from the tip but they shot just as accurately as others he tried. He shot a moose with that bullet fired from a 358 Norma magnum at 2609 MV (Shooting Times - May 1988).
The Speer .366" 270 grain semi-spitzer would probably size a little easier in theory. Someday I may try this. Hornady used to make a 270RN bullet in 35 cal and some old data manuals feature recipes for it that could be used as a benchmark or baseline for load development for the resized .366 to .358 Speer 270 grain I think.
Also Woodleigh's .366" bullets in 286 and 320 grains might serve well to resize.
NEW - Resizing/swaging Norma 9.3/.365" bullets to .358" was a piece of cake! They were pulled from factory 9.3x 57 ammo and weighed 232grs. I got them cheap at a gun show along with a Lee .357 sizer die set to use in my single stage "O" press. I simply lubed them up with Lee case lube and one timed them up the chimney using my press. Very little force was required. They measure now almost .358" - around 3575 or slightly more (some spring back I suppose). They appear to be conventional cup and core. I guess more solidly built ones may offer more resistance to being squeezed smaller. I plan to try some others - hopefully some heavier 286s or heavier - if I can find some. Update - Resizing 9.3/286 grain bullets for 35 calibre use July12/08
It took some experimenting this weekend with different techniques and lubes but today I found a trouble free way to resize Hornady's 286 grain .366" bullets for use in 35 calibre rifles. The bullet on the left in the pic is a slight bit under .366" - as it left the factory. All the ones on the right are .358" now. After one pass through my .357 Lee sizer die they were a bit over .358" (there seems to be a little diameter spring back). A second time through the same sizer gives me slightly under .358 with uniform results, The bullets seem perfect on the outside - no obvious scratching or other defects it would seem.
Posts: 1615 | Location: Washington State | Registered: 27 May 2004
CH makes sizing dies for jacketed bullets. They perform much better than the Lee. There is a section for the bullet to align in before the sizing starts. I use mine in a 1 ton arbor press. I made a 7/8-14 steel plate to support the die since the lock ring is small and aluminum. I have been told that STP is best, but I use RCBS case lube. I was unable to size in one pass in a Rockchucker. A Redding Ultramag did not do any better. The arbor press works better with a cheater on the handle. I can size 50 .416 bullets to .411 in a .410 die in about 15 minutes. Your idea of sizing 9.3's to .358 is intriguing and may be my next obsession. I think 2 dies would be best.
(You can't fix stupid) Falls of Rough Ky University Our victory cry is FORK U!
Posts: 218 | Location: Falls of Rough, KY | Registered: 29 June 2011
Why not just buy 250gr Speers or Hornady's in .358" ??? They are not expensive, especially if you can get your hands on some blems. I would imagine the Lee sizer is cheap but time is money.If you want heavier 358" bullets they are plently of em, not as cheap but they are out there, 270gr North Fork, 275gr Hawk, 280gr A-Frame and 300gr Hawk or 310gr Woodleigh.....
