Revolver Chambering issues with Hi Tek Coated bullets in .480 Ruger

[Necessary_Nutrient]

[I'm having a bit of an issue reloading for .480 Ruger right now, finding that most of my reloads won't seat in 2 different cylinders on a Ruger Super Redhawk, stopping perhaps 1mm from fully seating and then seating with a modest amount of thumb pressure. The other 4 cylinders have no issue, rounds drop right in and out!

I seated and crimped in one step. Caliper measurements comparing every possible part of the reloaded cartridges I could think of with a Hornady factory xtp 325 round were all within .001. The factory rounds dropped in and out easily so it's a very subtle interference.

COAL is 1.632-1.633, well within spec.

Dies are RCBS and are dual-labeled for .475 Linebaugh/.480 Ruger

My idea is to check prior to crimping next batch- will probably shoot these. I have used a steel brush and a drill to make absolutely sure there is no powder, residue, etc left in the back half of the cylinder.

Do any of you seat then crimp in two steps with the RCBS dies? RCBS instructions advise that this can be done in a single step but I know that can be problematic in some situations.

NOTE: This only happens in 1 cylinder, binds very slightly in another. The other 6 Cylinders in the 7.5" Super Redhawk drop right in and out

IMG_1673

• Necessary_Nutrient
• Nov 12, 2022

Federal Brass, 340 Grain MBC (.476) Hi Tek bullet on left
Hornady XTP 325 Grain on right

IMG_1669

• Necessary_Nutrient
• Nov 12, 2022

The batch of .480
Federal Brass, Missouri Bullet Company 340 Grain (.476) Thumper

 

[ballman6711]

I load 480 Ruger for my Taurus Raging Bull, 370gr Acme coated RNFP. Bullets are sized at .476 diameter and fit in my cylinder pretty easily.

Looking at your first pic I would say you need more crimp. I do a heavy roll crimp. I also seat and crimp in two steps. I use the RCBS die set but also purchased a Hornady seater die so that I don't have to adjust my die between seating and crimping. Here's a pic of mine.



In your second pic it looks like you have a ring from the seater plug on all of your rounds. I use the flat seater plug to avoid that ring. Rounds look pretty good otherwise.

chris

 

[film495]

I use RCBS dies and usually seat and crimp in separate steps. I'd look at those cylinders a bit more, put a q-tip in there and see if anything pulls some of the cotton, a burr will often grab the cotton, and I'd just feel in there with a toothpic or a nylon pick of some kind and see if you can feel anything not perfectly smoth, visually inspect them again. A tiny little piece of brass or metal, doesn't take much could be stuck there. If I were you I'd just make some dummy rounds, try a bit more crimp and do a bunch of testing and measuring. If other rounds or factory rounds, fit, chances are there something about that round that isn't right.

Also, a good test I learned on this site and I had to do it several times before I could make it work, is just paint a dummy round black with a permanent sharpie or color of your choice and put it into the chamber. Wiggle it very slightly 1/64 of an inch, just enough to get whatever is binding to wear off a bit of the ink. When I did this, my issue was ever so slightly bulged cases, could not see it, measured it up and down, and could not find it. I did this test 4 or 5 times and eventually it was plain as day.

 

[243winxb]

.504" is SAAMI maximum OD for a loaded round. The drawing shows a tapered chamber to .5044" near the case mouth area. This is a very snug fit, if your reloads measure .504" just below the crimp?

A bulged case from to much crimp, may make for hard chambering.

A difference in chambers happens.

 

[Rule3]

Well if all the rounds chamber in all cylinders except ONE, that is a clue
Polish it out again with a oversize bore brush, some Flitz and a drill.

 

[.38 Special]

How many cylinders does the Super Redhawk come with these days?

 

[ballman6711]

How many cylinders does the Super Redhawk come with these days?

I caught that too! My Taurus only holds 5 rounds.

Off topic, I also have a Taurus Raging Bull in .454 Casull that holds 5 rounds. One chamber in the cylinder is always hard to eject, leading me to believe it is slightly smaller than the other four.

chris

 

[Necessary_Nutrient]

Thanks for all of your replies, really appreciate them !!

I have read each one and considered them and have come up with the plan below. Unfortunately, I probably can't get to the range with a chronograph until next weekend but I'll post updates as I work on this.

Ballman: I have emailed RCBS to request a part number in lieu of "480 Ruger Seat 21" to see if they can recommend one that would work with a flat point bullet in this caliber. Love the look of that ACME round, would have bought those bullets if they hadn't been significantly more expensive since they seem to work well for me in 44 Mag

Film495: I have checked with a Q Tip and the chamber is very smooth. I may yet try your method of using a Sharpie

243 WinXB: Most of them are .502 to .503 right below the crimp.

This Super Redhawk has 6 cylinders

There are actually two cylinders exhibiting this behavior and while it is tempting to do a little more polishing on those two, since they'll take factory ammo it seems likely that my own loads are out of spec. They also slip in just slightly more or less when pulled out and the bullet is rotated half a turn or so I think there is definitely an uneven bulging somewhere near the case mouth. AND it seems that these cylinders are not completely uniform.

I'm probably going to pull them all, toss the powder and resize then try again in two steps. The bullet has a lot of neck tension so I am not too worried about them jumping crimp.

 

[Barbaroja]

toss the powder

Why?

 

[FROGO207]

I feel that you have two cylinder throats that are too small and are binding with the bullet. The profile of the factory and your lead bullet are different in your pix. Using a marker to color the round will show where the bind is. You could also try loading a dummy round and see if it also binds. Then load another with a half turn on the seating stem. If that passes you are definately hitting thethroat area with rhe longer length bullet due to where the ogive is in relation to the start of the throat.

 

[Shooterbob]

38 special I don’t think they get what you are saying 1 cylinder with 6 charge holes

 

[mdi]

This Super Redhawk has 6 cylinders

I believe the OP is calling the chambers "cylinders". A single cylinder with 6 chambers...

 

[Rule3]

Coated cast bullets are slightly larger than the XTP, so there is no comparison.(different profile)
Have you measured the bullets? Some may be tad larger. Are you using the same brass, some brass is thicker then others.?

Mrk the cylinders with a sharpie

Load 6 rounds(same brass) and try them one at a time in each cylinder. If they fit in all but one or two, then it's probably a cylinder issue,

Of course a LFC die would solve this pesky issue

 

[Necessary_Nutrient]

I feel that you have two cylinder throats that are too small and are binding with the bullet. The profile of the factory and your lead bullet are different in your pix. Using a marker to color the round will show where the bind is. You could also try loading a dummy round and see if it also binds. Then load another with a half turn on the seating stem. If that passes you are definately hitting thethroat area with rhe longer length bullet due to where the ogive is in relation to the start of the throat.

Sort of sucks if that's the case as I have quite a few of the bullets, all that I've measured are .476 so they seem consistent. Just checked about 7-8 more and I'm getting .475 or .476 on a quick measurement. I also suspect that the ogive is intruding into the throat

Coated cast bullets are slightly larger than the XTP, so there is no comparison.(different profile)
Have you measured the bullets? Some may be tad larger. Are you using the same brass, some brass is thicker then others.?

Mrk the cylinders with a sharpie

Load 6 rounds(same brass) and try them one at a time in each cylinder. If they fit in all but one or two, then it's probably a cylinder issue,

Of course a LFC die would solve this pesky issue

Like this?

https://leeprecision.com/factory-crimp-die-480-rug.html

If I thought it would solve the issue, I'd be willing to order one right away but if it's the bullet ogive then I don't think it would help. I assume that the LFC is used after bullet seating with the RCBS dies?

I'm using new Federal brass from the same bag.

I'd try the cylinder marking thing but I'm not sure I'll get usable results with marker colored bullets

 

[FROGO207]

FYI I have had to ream several of my revolver cylinders on several of my revolvers due to too small throats and large barrels when using lead bullets. They shot fine when using jacketed bullets. Never ran into your issue of too small to chamber though but it is quite possible depending on how worn out the reamer was when the chambers were made.

 

[ballman6711]

I also suspect that the ogive is intruding into the throat

I would try seating one or two a bit deeper, maybe 1.630" and see if it chambers. If it fits in all six chambers you'll have a quick and easy solution. You may need to back your charge down by a tenth or two depending on how hot you've loaded them.

And I don't think you've told us what bullet, maker, powder, etc.... That may help.

chris

 

[sparkyv]

Unless speed loading, does a bit of effort to fully seat the rounds matter much especially if the round shoots acceptably? I have a preferred MBC coated hardcast projectile in a different big bore caliber that seems a bit over claimed diameter that shoots great, but needs a gentle nudge to fully seat, and I'm OK with it all day long.

stopping perhaps 1mm from fully seating and then seating with a modest amount of thumb pressure.

Oh, and this:

A difference in chambers happens.

 

[Rule3]

Make sure the bullet is seated in the crimp groove with enough room to roll crimp the brass into it. If not the case mouth is gonna bend out a little.

As mentioned put a little more crimp on them. It can't be this difficult.

 

[Necessary_Nutrient]

As an update, I loaded a batch to the same length and crimped in a separate step. No change in fitment in the two chambers- one sticks for every round and the other isn't as bad. I wedged one of the rounds in and then forced it out and it clearly made an indentation on the ogive of the bullet so I think that is the issue. I don't think I have much choice but to try to polish/ream out that chamber or, as was suggested, perhaps the gentle nudge to seat them would work fine.

I can't actually seat the bullet to go under 1.630 COAL as this would move me past the last bit of cannelure and prevent any roll crimping- the photos of the loaded rounds should show this.

 

[FROGO207]

Fixing the chamber will also help with accuracy as well. You might slug the bore and could ultimately end up reaming all of them to get better chamber to bore fitment and end up with superior acuracy to boot.