size the last tenth of an inch to the shell plate?

[Western Living]

I have handgun brass where because the mouth of the carbide ring in the die is beveled, it doesn't touch the last 0.1" when the shell plate touches the die. I understand why the carbide ring is beveled, but I think I need another die that is not beveled. After a dozen firings, the brass is expanding 0.005" in that area. It will chamber in guns with chamfered chamber mouths but not in others. The cartridge for which I want to size all the way to the shell plate is .357 Magnum.

Are there any sizing dies, carbide or steel, that have non-chamfered mouths? I could easily size the case mouth with a chamfered die and the body with a non-chamfered die on my progressive press.

 

[clcustom1911]

I have handgun brass where because the mouth of the carbide ring in the die is beveled, it doesn't touch the last 0.1" when the shell plate touches the die. I understand why the carbide ring is beveled, but I think I need another die that is not beveled. After a dozen firings, the brass is expanding 0.005" in that area. It will chamber in guns with chamfered chamber mouths but not in others. The cartridge for which I want to size all the way to the shell plate is .357 Magnum.

Are there any sizing dies, carbide or steel, that have non-chamfered mouths? I could easily size the case mouth with a chamfered die and the body with a non-chamfered die on my progressive press.

To my knowledge, carbide dies are tapered in the area you mention. Steel dies are tapered, but just not as much. What dies are you using and have used?

My view? Time for some new brass. 12 firings is definitely excellent life and now it's showing signs of case-head expansion. Way cheaper to buy a few hundred pieces of brass you can use 12 more times than custom dies.

 

[mr45acp2u]

1000 starline brass are about $150, the cost of custom dies are about the same. How much can you trim from the shell holder? This would allow the brass to go higher in the die.

 

[Western Living]

This is for 500 pieces of Starline. I have set it aside and started using another 500 new but I hate to lose the old brass that is otherwise good. I also hate to start ruining the new brass because I only resize part of the length that's expanded each time. A custom die might not be worth it, but a steel die may be.

I measured the brass and it's expanding no father than .3809 -- exactly the minimum SAAMI chamber spec. Even after one firing, it's expanding to .3800". So I don't think the chamber is oversize (spec allows for 0.004" more), but I need to size the brass at least a thou or so under. Max spec on the brass is .379".

I'm using Lee carbide sizing dies. I like them because they come in two sizes, I tried the Redding Dual Ring Carbide die but didn't like it because I couldn't adjust the length of the neck sizing without also reducing the length of the body sizing. It really takes two dies or a tapered die to get correct neck tension without squeezing the body down excessively. I want to try the Redding Steel die that is tapered, but it is out of stock everywhere, probably special-order only.

I could try to thin the top of the shell-holder. I have an extra one. I just don't have a precise way to do that. Got a bastard file. The best I have is some coarse Japanese water stones and a granite plate that is flat to high-precision. I can take a few thou off the shell holder with the coarse stone, keeping it flat with some aluminum oxide paper on the flat plate.

 

[lewmed]

Many sizing dies made to be used on progressive machines have a excessive radius Dillon dies are the largest for easy self centering. When I set up my Dillon xl750 for 9mm I could see the bottom 1/4 of the case wasn't being resized I chucked the die in my lathe and faced off most of the radius and it worked much better. You might check with Lee and see if they make a U-die for .357/38. I know their 9mm and 45 auto U-dies have very little radius.

 

[DannC]

Some people don't think the Lee Bulge Buster Kit is safe, [often called the Glock Bulge Buster] but I have used it for 10 years to salvage brass fired from 25 year old 40 S&W Glock's known for their generous chambers without any problems. It is a push thru die that will resize the case from top to bottom.
I have brass that no longer have any visible head stamp that I am certain have seen more than a hundred firings.
It's about 30 bucks so go ahead and buy their $30 C press to set it up permanently if it works for you.