Revolver case sizing depth ?

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Gumby0961

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How far down the case do you run the sizing die for revolver cases? I generally go as deep as the bullet I'm using. Just wondering if I was doing it right.
 
All the way down as far as the die / shellplate will let me. Just follow the die mfg instructions for setup. Most tell you to raise the ram and screw in the die till it touches the shellholder/plate, lower the ram and add another 1/8 turn to allow for cam over then raise the ram again and lock the die ring in place.
 
I run the die down until it touches the shell plate with the ram fully raised then tighten the lock ring. To the best of my knowledge all cartridges intended for revolvers are straight walled and head space on their rims. For those pistol rounds intended for auto loaders they head space on the mouths of the case. There are bottle neck handgun cartridges, not sure what they head space on, at any rate “ full length resize” means full length or as far as the case will extend into the die.

Unless they are very old dies all pistol sizing dies I’ve ever owned have a carbide ring that does the resizing. One would have to lube the cases otherwise.
 
This is from Chuck Hawks: Some three die sets for reloading pistol cartridges are available with a tungsten carbide insert in the resizing die. These more expensive resizing/decapping dies do not generally require case lubricant for the resizing operation. They are used and adjusted just like a regular die, except that they should be adjusted in the press so that the shell holder does not strike the bottom of the die. Screw a carbide resizing die into the press with the shell holder at the top of the stroke. When the die touches the shell holder, stop and tighten the large lock nut. Do not screw a carbide die so far into the press that it cams over at the top of the stroke.
 
All the way down as far as the die / shellplate will let me. Just follow the die mfg instructions for setup. Most tell you to raise the ram and screw in the die till it touches the shellholder/plate, lower the ram and add another 1/8 turn to allow for cam over then raise the ram again and lock the die ring in place.
I think these instructions are just for bottleneck rifle cases!
 
I run the die down until it touches the shell plate with the ram fully raised then tighten the lock ring. To the best of my knowledge all cartridges intended for revolvers are straight walled and head space on their rims. For those pistol rounds intended for auto loaders they head space on the mouths of the case. There are bottle neck handgun cartridges, not sure what they head space on, at any rate “ full length resize” means full length or as far as the case will extend into the die.

Unless they are very old dies all pistol sizing dies I’ve ever owned have a carbide ring that does the resizing. One would have to lube the cases otherwise.
The reason I ask is I'm quoting the RCBS Instructions from a set of carbide dies "the die should be adjusted to size only the portion of the cases that was expanded while being fired. Never try to sized the full length of the case as a small ring may appear, which is undesirable, and could weaken the case. "
 
The portion of the case that is expanded during firing is more than just the portion that holds the bullet, but it typically does not include the portion of the case supported by the web.

A common trouble with straight-wall cases: The neck must be sized down sufficiently for good neck tension on the bullet, but if we size the case this tight for the whole length of it, we will have excessively squeezed down the case smaller than needed, and as the RCBS text reads, we'll be smashing the case down more than it will recover by being fired again. One solution is to use a tapered steel (non-carbide) sizing die (with the required sizing lube). Another solution is to use a Redding Dual Ring Carbide Sizing Die that sizes the body down just enough to allow the brass to drop easily into the chamber, while sizing the neck for sufficient tension on the bullet. A third solution is to use a Lee Factory Crimp die, unscrew the crimp adjustment so it does not crimp or take it all the way off. Use the carbide ring to size the body of the case down slightly but not enough for neck tension. Then size the neck with a normal carbide sizing die just enough length to hold the bullet.

If you're not concerned about sizing most of the body down tight enough for neck tension and just want to avoid the ring down by the web, adjust the carbide die so you're sizing a little more than half the case. See if it will drop in the chamber without resistance. Keep adding sizing depth until it chambers without friction.

The only purpose of sizing a rimmed straight wall case for a revolver is for neck tension around the bullet, and so that it chambers freely. If you accomplish those two things, nothing else is needed. Ideally, you would not smash the brass down any more than the minimum to achieve those two things.
 
How far down the case do you run the sizing die for revolver cases?
For revolvers, I size all the way down to the shell holder/shell plate

The reason I ask is I'm quoting the RCBS Instructions from a set of carbide dies "the die should be adjusted to size only the portion of the cases that was expanded while being fired.
The thing is that the whole case expands all the way down to the web...so you'll need to resize the case as far as you are able

Another solution is to use a Redding Dual Ring Carbide Sizing Die that sizes the body down just enough to allow the brass to drop easily into the chamber, while sizing the neck for sufficient tension on the bullet.
This is the route I chose to use for optimal resizing while also obtaining sufficient neck tension...I found it, in addition to using a M-die profile Expander...to be the most efficient process
 
Lot of hoopla on a simple task. My 38’s .357’s, .44’s, 45C’s, 45ACP and 9MM’s are fired until a split appears at the mouth. I’ve long ago lost track of how many times they have been reloaded. And I have never found one over long. I size with Lyman, Lee, RCBS and Dillon dies, on a Dillon 550, a Lyman T-Mag or a Lee Classic Turret press. All are carbide and All are set until the die lightly touches the shell holder at the full extension of the ram.

IMO one does more damage to a case at the belling or crimping station then you’ll ever do at the resize.
Some will disagree, just my own experience.
 
If you are using straight-walled brass in different firearms, just like with bottle-neck cartridges, you need to full-length resize or risk having issues with chambering. I guess you could make a case for 'neck' sizing straight brass, assuming it's used in the same firearm with exact chambers (revolver,) but I don't think that is commonplace.

I don't believe the ring produced by full sizing straight-walled brass weakens the brass in that area... the brass isn't stretching, that's what causes weakness and the potential for separation in brass, not a sizing ring. I have .41 MAG brass that is over 25 years old, some certainly with 10+ reloads fired in 4 different firearms, all full-length resized, never a failure caused by full-length sizing. I set my sizer die to just tap the shellholder (shell plate) not necessarily to cam over, I don't believe it is necessary.
 
You are partial re-sizing currently. That's how I do it with carbide dies. As long as they chamber easily, that is the best way because it works the brass less.

Tapered steel dies are still ideal for straight wall catridges, but don't sell well because they require lubing the cases vs carbide dies which do not.

In a perfect scenario, you would send in some fired brass from your gun and they would make you a set of dies specific to your chambers.
 
I have 3, 44 Magnum revolvers that I reload for. At one time I experimented with "neck sizing" and found no improvement in accuracy or performance. I sized to about the seating depth, to the base of the bullets. Tried several loads, in different brass in my Ruger SBH, S&W 629 and my Dan Wesson 44H. BTW the rounds were interchangeable, fit all three guns' cylinders.

Since I use carbide sizing dies I screw the sizing die in until it just touches the shell holder. I then run a fired case up into the die and check how much linkage slop is seen; how much gap between die and shell holder when under pressure. Then I will adjust the die down to eliminate that gap (I don't count fractions of turns). This will not put too much pressure on the carbide ring and possible crack it. I've been doing this with the same set of Lee dies since '88...
 
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The reason I ask is I'm quoting the RCBS Instructions from a set of carbide dies "the die should be adjusted to size only the portion of the cases that was expanded while being fired. Never try to sized the full length of the case as a small ring may appear, which is undesirable, and could weaken the case. "
So that’s s where that dad burn ring comes from in my 357 cases
Kind of hard to avoid it with a progressive loader
 
This thread is bonkers. You can size less than full length. But there's no actual negative effect from full-length sizing. In straight-wall cases, I've never not full-length sized (with a modern carbide die) the whole case, all the way as far as the ram will go. Never cracked a carbide ring, never had a case-head separation. All the case failures I've had are standard case cracks, and about 90% of them were at the mouth. The remainder have generally originated from the mid-case crimp some factory rounds come with.
 
Get a Marlin 1894 in 45Colt Dave and you will quickly realize that if you don't partial resize with a carbide die, you will have head separations after 2 or 3 loadings. The chambers are huge and partial sizing increases brass life dramatically.
 
Thanks all for your replies. I started this thread not necessarily to find what is right or wrong, but just to see how everyone else does it. Also I was hoping I wasnt the only partial resizer;)
 
Get a Marlin 1894 in 45Colt Dave and you will quickly realize that if you don't partial resize with a carbide die, you will have head separations after 2 or 3 loadings. The chambers are huge and partial sizing increases brass life dramatically.

True that... you should see the .45 Colt brass from my brother's Winchester... it looks like Glock brass.
 
Get a Marlin 1894 in 45Colt Dave and you will quickly realize that if you don't partial resize with a carbide die, you will have head separations after 2 or 3 loadings. The chambers are huge and partial sizing increases brass life dramatically.

OK, fair enough. My experience with revolver cartridges is limited to revolvers.
 
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