Help for a friend!?
- Thread starter "JJ"
- Start date
Most of the sizing that is done to surplus "pulled" bullets is just to iron down the raised marks caused by the bullet puller. Some may actually be slightly out of round by the clamping of the bullet puller. As with any sizing operation there will be slight expansion after going thru the sizer die. It's said that the
.5095 sizer will iron down the marks making the sized round closer to .510" after coming thru the die. However a lot of people use a .510 sizer and it is perfectly adequate for sizing 50 caliber pulled bullets. If you have a huge press with lots of leverage a .5095 would be ok but a regular press, I'd prefer a .510" sizer die to reduce the force needed. If you measure across the raised pull marks you just ironed down in your .510" die the reading might be a little above .510" but the majority of the bullet will be .510". They will be safe to load after going thru a .510 sizer. It takes some force to push the big bullets thru a sizer and they may be really tight in a .5095 sizer? You need to use lube on the bullets when pushing them thru your sizer. I use Dillions case lube on a lube pad and roll each bullet before sizing. A lot of 50 people use the inexpensive Lee .510 bullet sizer die which is meant to size lead bullets. You won't need the Alox lube or the plastic hopper to catch the bullets. Push it up thru the die and catch it with your fingers. Make sure the sizer you buy has the right thread and diameter for your press and use lube or you'll get a stuck bullet in your die. Like I said, mostly you're just ironing down the pull marks but by sizing every pulled bullet you're making sure that one won't slip through slightly out of round. Some will say the barrel will size it for you but I feel much better shooting military surplus pulled bullets after a trip thru the sizer for a quality check of EVERY one. Some of them will slip thru the sizer with very little resistance but occasionally one will be pretty tight. The tight ones get rotated and sent thru the sizer a second time. Use constant force when pushing the bullet thru, don't start and stop, and apply constant hard force until the bullet comes out the top.
And as you know, if you do accidently get one stuck in the bullet sizing die, don't hammer, punch, or hit the nose of an incendiary bullet or they could ignite. Only the APIT or API would ignite if hit hard on the nose.
.5095 sizer will iron down the marks making the sized round closer to .510" after coming thru the die. However a lot of people use a .510 sizer and it is perfectly adequate for sizing 50 caliber pulled bullets. If you have a huge press with lots of leverage a .5095 would be ok but a regular press, I'd prefer a .510" sizer die to reduce the force needed. If you measure across the raised pull marks you just ironed down in your .510" die the reading might be a little above .510" but the majority of the bullet will be .510". They will be safe to load after going thru a .510 sizer. It takes some force to push the big bullets thru a sizer and they may be really tight in a .5095 sizer? You need to use lube on the bullets when pushing them thru your sizer. I use Dillions case lube on a lube pad and roll each bullet before sizing. A lot of 50 people use the inexpensive Lee .510 bullet sizer die which is meant to size lead bullets. You won't need the Alox lube or the plastic hopper to catch the bullets. Push it up thru the die and catch it with your fingers. Make sure the sizer you buy has the right thread and diameter for your press and use lube or you'll get a stuck bullet in your die. Like I said, mostly you're just ironing down the pull marks but by sizing every pulled bullet you're making sure that one won't slip through slightly out of round. Some will say the barrel will size it for you but I feel much better shooting military surplus pulled bullets after a trip thru the sizer for a quality check of EVERY one. Some of them will slip thru the sizer with very little resistance but occasionally one will be pretty tight. The tight ones get rotated and sent thru the sizer a second time. Use constant force when pushing the bullet thru, don't start and stop, and apply constant hard force until the bullet comes out the top.
And as you know, if you do accidently get one stuck in the bullet sizing die, don't hammer, punch, or hit the nose of an incendiary bullet or they could ignite. Only the APIT or API would ignite if hit hard on the nose.
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JJ, just don't hold a match to the heel of the bullet. A Phosphorus burn to the skin is extreemly painful. I would tell your friend not to use them because he could accidently start a brush fire. I understand it is illegal to use a BBQ grill right now in Texas, because it is so dry. That's hard for us to believe, living in the land of flooded basements.(LOL)
Jim
Jim
Believe it. It's really bad all across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona right now. I've had to reconfigure a lot of my shooting ammo right now because I do shoot some tracer and API ammo, but not this summer. It's even dangerous to pull off the road and park in the grass because the catalytic converter on cars will start a grass fire.