I recently bought a new Rock Churcker press and RCBS dies in 44 mag. I have reloaded some cartridges that won't easily fit into the cylinder of my superredhawk. They go approx 1/3 of the way in and then stop. Has anyone else experienced this or know what the cause might be? Perhaps I put too much flare on the case before seating the bullet? Is it safe to run these through the sizing die after they are loaded and then shoot them?

Wouldn't be one of your better ideas, Boyd -

Never run loaded ammo through any of the dies other than the bullet seater.

Best to get a bullet puller, yank the bullets, dump the powder and start all over again.

Doubt if the flaring for the bullet seating is the problem. Chances are, the crimp is too severe and is bulging the case(s) at the crimp. This is assuming you're using a rolled crimp.

Also, check the O.D. of the bullets you are using. If oversize for the 44 Mag, they will definitely cause the case to bulge when seating.

I once had some factory loads for my 308 Norma mag that wouldn't chamber. I decided to ignore all safety rules and re-size them loaded.
I was about half done when one of them stuck in the die. Now I had a problem. I did another foolish thing, I drilled a hole in the case, just above the belt. Then I filled the case with WD 40 and proceeded to drive the cartridge out from the bullet end.
Today, if I were so foolish as to try this again (which I am not), I would realize that a new set of dies is VERY cheap.
There's an old saying my Mother used to describe what happened that day. " The Lord takes care of children,FOOLS and drunks" That day I fit one of those descriptions, the middle one I think. <b>DON'T DO IT!!</b> It's not worth the risk!!!

True Story:

There is a guy who is a regular at my favorite gun shop who was reworking some loaded cartridges in his press when one cartridge went off. What also went off was a large portion of one hand. :(

Bullet pullers are cheap compared to reconstructive surgery. Using a bullet puller is time-consuming, but you can unload a lot of cartridges in the same amount of time it usually takes to wait for service at a hospital Emergency Room.

Stay safe and have fun.

Never safe to run loaded rounds through a sizer. Worse with compressed loads, but not good with any of them. Take the offending rounds apart (bullet puller...the reaser end of the reloading process) and start over.

Besides...if you could do it safely, would end up with small diameter bullets. The sizer crunches the case down to TOO small, then the expander brings the inside of the case up to the right size. A bullet in the case along for the ride would be squished down to well past the correct diameter.

I believe that Lee does make a die that is designed to run loaded rounds into to ensure that the case isn't too large.

One of the other Lee users can surely tell you which exact product this is. Other than that, don't bother, and if you only have a few rounds, probably not worth that either.

Glad you asked; better to expose some ignorance than get a new knickname of 'old nine fingers' :eek:

Thanks guys. I'm glad I asked.

Get yourself a Lee factory crimp die...it takes the loaded round, slightly resizes and gives a adjustable taper crimp...makes ammo every bit as good as any stuff you can buy from any big named company. I had the same problem with some of my .357 rounds when shooting .358 cast bullets...run them through the factory crimp die and it took care of the problem.

I will second that on the Lee Factory Crimp die. It sizes the loaded case down to spec. It has saved me a couple of times. Next you have to figure why that load was so large as to stick. What bullet are you using? Even if you over belled the cases some, the crimping of the bullet should have fixed that. My second guessing nature wonders if you do not have another problem that you won't discover until to shoot the load (which may not be such a good thing). Before shooting the load, I suggest you figure out what the problem is. We are all happy to help if we can.

Bill

ps... it's too obvious but make sure you cylinders are clean without any buildups in them.