Sizing .457 Conicals to .451
 

When I recently cast some .457 Lee conicals (.457-405 mold & .457-340 mold) I wanted to size them to .451. First off, I tried to size them straight to .451 with the Lee sizing kit, but found my light weight Lee press was not up to the job. I have one of those old Lee sizing dies in .452 that you use with a hammer, rather than a press (I don't think they make these any more). After tappingthe bullets through the .452 die, I was able to size them again to .451. If you've resized these bullets to .451, were you able to do it in one step?

Another problem I had was that I tried to use olive oil as a sizing lubricant. It worked fine in the .452 hammer die, but just would not work with the .451 press operated die. The bullet would go about half way into the die and stick fast. I didn't have any real bullet lube on hand, but did have a tube of Lee's water soulable Resizing Lubricant, which is made for sizing brass cartridge cases.I tried that and it worked OK, but still took a pretty hard push on the press to go from .452 to .451.

RE: Sizing .457 Conicals to .451
 

I guess I should have taken a reading on my 405 grain LEE .457 bullets I cast. I lubed them heavy with my castor oil lube and they ran through my my .451 sizer with little problem. I use a simple LEE press that the sizer is put into. They are a little stiff going in but actually not bad at all. Then I just collect all the excess lube that comes off the bullets and put it back in the tub. The ones that come out the top of the sizer into the collection chamber are lubed and ready to go.

RE: Sizing .457 Conicals to .451
 

It does seem that the lube you use makes a difference. I'll have to try something else.

RE: Sizing .457 Conicals to .451
 

Try some Crisco. And, if still no success, run them through that Lee upside down. If your lead is nearly pure and soft, the bullet should go through that sizer easily with only a slight amount of smearing. You might also burnish the interior of the sizing die (actually the ring inside the die) with a hickory dowel to polish it.

RE: Sizing .457 Conicals to .451
 

I had to stat with a 454 die than go to a 452 I found that a almost all lead mixture is needed. I just used the liquid allox that came with the mold

RE: Sizing .457 Conicals to .451
 

Guys - what equipment do you need to size these bullets? I've never done it before but if these bullets that Semi sent me shoot well, I may have to invest in a sizer.
I have a standard reloading press. Is there a die I buy to run these bullet through?
Also - as for the lube - did anyone ever try Hornady's One Shot lube. This dries to a slick powder coating and is great for sizing brass. It may work on the bullets too.

RE: Sizing .457 Conicals to .451
 

Well I just got off the Lee site - resizing seems easy enough. Now at least I know what I need to get should these bullets work.
What I may do is get a .454" die and a .451" and bring down the .458" bullets down gradually rather than trying to go from .458 to .452 then .451"
One other question to you Semi - Did you try shooting the .452" bullets? It may be the additional .001" may be just a tiny bit tighter and may engage the rifling better. They will possibly be a little bit harder to start but once the rifling is cut, they should go down pretty easily.

RE: Sizing .457 Conicals to .451
 

I haven't shot any of the resized bullets yet, and forgot to try to load one of the pure lead .452s in the bore before I sized them all to .451. But I do have some hard cast (wheel weight) ones sized to .452 and can not force them into the bore of the .451 LRH barrel. You may be able to force a pure lead .452 into the bore, but I suspect it wouldn't be a lot of fun. The next time I cast some up I'll save a few of the .452 size and give them a try.

Looking forward to your range report on those bulletsBronko. How do those bullets fit the bore of your LRH -snug / loose?I'll be shooting some this week-end.

RE: Sizing .457 Conicals to .451
 

Semi - I may get it out today after work. It cooled down to where the temp is bearable today - in the mid 70s. That 90+ degrees with high humidity is no fun. I hate it.

RE: Sizing .457 Conicals to .451
 

bronko, that spray on lube would not be ideal for bullet sizing. You want those lube groovesFULL when making a substantial sizing step. The lube not only makes the bullet go through easier, it helps to prevent distortion of the lead into the bullets grooves. The larger the reduction, the more important that aspect becomes. Lubing the bullet for sizing with the same lube you plan to shoot saves a lot of needless work.

Pure lead (as pure as you can get) should go from .457 to .451 in a single step without much distortion.Going any further in one step is probably going to damage the bullet's performance. Bull Shop does a .515 RCBS bullet, sized in two steps down to .504 and you can see evidence of that operation in the bullet's appearance, but it shoots great. http://home.mchsi.com/~rltsr/bullshop.jpg 2nd from right. Look at the narrow lube grooves - they would probably be lead-filled were it not for his initial lube.