Here's the scenario, I talk an old friend into casting bullets for his .458, never cast before. I recommended Lee to start with but he went Lyman. Did get Lee pot and no trouble with that. Got 450gr bullet and .460 size die. Mold throws undersized bullets and die is oversized so much that Hornady gaschecks won't even crimp on the bullet. Has anyone else had any similar experiences with Lyman or any other brand?

Hmmm...IIRC, Hornady gas checks aren't designed to crimp on like the Lyman gas check.

Here's the scenario, I talk an old friend into casting bullets for his .458, never cast before. I recommended Lee to start with but he went Lyman. Did get Lee pot and no trouble with that. Got 450gr bullet and .460 size die. Mold throws undersized bullets and die is oversized so much that Hornady gaschecks won't even crimp on the bullet. Has anyone else had any similar experiences with Lyman or any other brand?


Jack is tottaly right Lyman Gaschecks are not like Hornady Gaschecks. I would go with Hornady checks and I think your Problems will be over.

Good Luck: Leon

He is already using Hornady gc's. The shank of the bullet was apparently so undersized that the gascheck would not crimp tight enough to hold on to it or the sizer die was so oversized that it would not crimp the gascheck.

I and other have experienced this problem from time to time with certain moulds - especially when trying to size at larger diameters in .45 cal rifle.

Note that the GC's for .45 cal don't differentiate between rifle and pistol - but the difference in dia for these is .451" vs. .460" range. Obviously the larger dia sizer die will not put as much 'squeeze' on the GC to grip the shank.

Solution: Anneal the gas checks. As delivered from the factory - the GC's have quite a bit of spring back. Once annealed - the GC's grip the bullet shank much better.

There are a number of ways to anneal. I have a small tin that I dump the GC's into along with a smallish chunk of wood (couple of used kitchen matches). I do the full box all at once so there's really not much work involved. Put the cover on tight and set it on the stove or casting furnace for 1/2 hrs or so. Pull them off and let it cool - you're done! The reason for the wood by the way is it will burn and consume most of the oxygen so the checks to oxidize too badly.

Best regards-

Sky C.

Annealing the gas checks can help....trying a different (harder) alloy can increase the diameter of the shank a tiny bit (probably something like .0005")...trying a differnt gas check can help...some are made to crimp and others aren't.

Fact is, molds are just cut wrong...less common with today's molds, but have a couple of old ones that just refuse to take a gas check. Have one older Lyman .224 mold were the chrry was just run in too deep...mold casts heavy, with a real long shank, that won't hold a gas check.

The non-crimped gas checks usually fall off the base while the bullet is in flight. So long as it does it ALL the time, no harm, no foul. Teh departing gas check can ruin a sky screen, but the main problem seems to be with the ones that occasionally don't come off...all the time, on or off, seems to still shoot well.

If he just has to use what he has, can try setting a stop on the luber/sizer, and just run the very rear fraction of the bullet in and out of a .457" sizer. MAkes an odd bullet, with the rear 1/6th a little smaller than the rest of the bullet dieameter, but it's worked for me with that .224" mold.

Joe,
Hornady now uses a thinner gas check than they used to use in years past :mad: (to keep cost down,no less) . This is probably the main reason your checks are loose when sizing .460". The easiest remedy is to open the shank portion of your mould a smidge. The proper way to do this would be to use a lathe. However, I got by with some 320 grit emery paper and wrapped it tightly around a drill bit, and moved it in a circular motion, by hand, in the closed mould. Remember, just the shank portion ! Now the thinner gas checks crimp on just as snug as they have in years past.
Jeff