Hello guys , sat down to do some loading yesterday fo my 41 mag. And when i got around to seating bullets , i noticed that the bullets just simply dropped straight down into the case. They literally fell into the case until they hit the powder. I`m not doing anything different with these than i wpould do with another caliber. So anyways , the bullets are Speer 200 gr hollow points. They have an exposed lead tip. I loaded one with the crimp rolling over the bullet just where the jacket stops. The bullet can be moved in a 360 circle with your fingers , but it can`t move up or down. Are these safe to fire like that? Any help wpuld be appreciated. Thans

Did you somehow end up with some 10mm (.40 cal) bullets?

Hello KciH , i did check that when i noticed this happening. The box says they are .410 diameter , 41 cailber.

Can you measure them with a micrometer or good caliper? I got an 8mm bullet out of a box of .303 bullets once. Mistakes do happen.

Bye
Jack

Hi Jack, i tried several different bullets out of that box , and they all did the same thing. Perhaps the die is messed up. I bought it second hand. The die with the decapping pin says 30-38-401 exp. Whatever that means. The other two dies say 41 mag. I also noticed that when i`m sizing it`s putting a mouth flare on the cases to. I `ve never noticed that before on my other pistol dies. I always used s seperate die for mouth flare. What`s up with that ?

It's a new one on me, but that sound like you've got a 3 step expander on the decapping pin. What make are the dies? It sounds like you've got the expander set too far down if you're flaring the case mouth too much. Is the stem the expander on adjustable, or do you have to raise the whole die body? I admit I'm puzzled.

Bye
Jack

Hello again Jack, It looks to me like to lower or raise the stem you would just simply have to loosen the nut on the top of the die and just turn it higher or lower. I don`t believe moving the whole die is nessicary. The make of the die is RCBS. It`s an older die , by the looks of the box. I`ve never heard of a 3 step sizing die. That`s new to me. I`ve loaded alot of handgun rounds , and never encountered this problem before. I can`t think the few i have loaded would be unsafe to fire , but i`m not 100% sure.

Put your micrometer or calipers on the expander, and let us know what it measures. Something isn't right.....

Older means a green cardboard box, not plastic, to me. The last two digits of the year of manufacture should be stamped on the top of the sizer die and maybe the seater die. The old sizers didn't decap, but if it's threaded to 1/2"-20 through the top RCBS will fix up up with a decapping rod and bushing. Then get a Lyman M-Die for expanding. End of problem.

Bye
Jack

The exp marking means expander. Sounds like you have some kind of multiple expander die and not a sizing die. You cant size a case and get a flare at the same time.

Ditto what Jack said about older RCBS pistol dies:

Die 1 - resize only
Die 2 - expand, flare and decap
Die 3 - seat bullet and crimp

If you are not using die 1 first, you may have just found the problem.

Guy`s , the box is plastic , but doesn`t resemble the newer one. The more i read about this , the more i think my die needs some help. The die marked sizing , doesn`t have anything in it at all ! I have a good pait or calipers , at my cousins , and i will measure that expander ball. I`d really like to know myself. This could go under that thread i was just reading about , the most dumbest things i`ve ever did!

The older sizing dies didn't have anything in them, but the top end was threaded inside.

Bye
Jack

My older 44spc dies in a plastic box look just like the picture Jack posted. The sizing die simply "squeezes" the case; nothing else.

Ok guys , i believe i understand what`s going on here. What i was doing wrong here was not running them through my sizing die first , right. I didn`t use it because i thought it was missing parts. But if your saying the older ones were suposed to be that way , i can use it. Problem solved right ? The exp die has a decapping pin , so i thought it was sizing at the same time. I guess not.

Yes, use the sizer first, then the decap and expander die. Set the expander so you're just starting to flare the case mouth. If you can see it you've probably got enough.

These old sizers don't work as is on progressive presses, since they expand and charge powder though a hollow expander on the same stroke. If the sizer has the top inside threaded, RCBS will send you a decapping stem for it. Then you can use a Lyman M-Die for expanding, and do a much nicer job.

Bye
Jack

Bingo, you got it! :D

Thanks alot , to everyone who helped me out on this. I really appreciate your help. I guess you learn something every day ! Chuckinator

Glad to help. BTW, I had my 41 out yesterday. It sure was good to go shooting!

That happened to me once when I used (new) 45 Colt acases without sizing them first.