Bullet Resizing Question??

[randyf]

I getting reading to do my first try at resizing some bullets.......I have some .458 350gr soft points I want to try.

I have two Lee resizing dies a .454 for the first pass and a .451 for the second.

I am using the Lee resizing lube.........Do I need to relube the bullets after the first pass before running them thru the second die?

[Al in Mi]

When I resize down, I usually relube between sizes. Can't say as it's needed, just the way I do it.

STP is a good lube but takes something like mineral spirits to get it all off.

Now hold the laugs for a minute, but I have been using good ole Bag Balm lately and it works pretty slick, washes up with warm soapy water, and according to the wife, makes my hands feel all soft

[randyf]

I have a turrent press...........I went from .458 down to .454 on the first pass..........took a little force, but not bad.

Relubed and went to the .451 die.......no way! Can't get the bullets through the die......afraid something is going to break on the press.

I guess I need to find someone with a heavy duty single stage press!

[Al in Mi]

I use a arbor press

[BD1]

Imperial sizing wax is your friend, a little dab on your fingers is all it takes. I've resized a couple hundred of different jacketed .458s on my rockchucker with no issues using imperial wax, and Lee dies, a .454 followed by a .452
BD

[wildcatter]

Al & BD have correct answers. I myself use lanolin base product, Dillion makes a good one and there are many recipes on the net.

Turret presses have their own problems, for instance, you may have to resize in three steps, considering that there is "Spring-Back". It's correct to size to .451, because the bullet will usually "Spring-Back" to .4515-.452", which is exactly perfect.

Proper Lube is the secret, but your right about the turret press, it's prolly not the correct platform for this job, but can be made to work..

..t

[Hoot]

Imperial sizing wax is your friend, a little dab on your fingers is all it takes. I've resized a couple hundred of different jacketed .458s on my rockchucker with no issues using imperial wax, and Lee dies, a .454 followed by a .452
BD

+1 but you have to warm it up a little to use it on the bag. Luckily, she doesn't read these forums.

FWIW, I have my misgivings about resizing cup and core bullets. Lead does not spring back the same as copper. It would seem to me that after squeezing the bullet through the die, the copper would spring back more than the lead inside and leave a small gap between the two materials. That can't be good for consistency. Just a thought...

[Al in Mi]

Hoot, I have sectioned a few bullets from time to time after I resized, and I never seen much for a seperation gap, like the core just falling out type of thing. Even when sizing 44cals down to .416 in .004 steps it was nil and that was a extreme resize.

I have also seen no accuracy difference in the .429 to .416 resize, nor the .458's to .452 in the ML's so far, at least nothing that has jumped out at me.

[Hoot]

Hoot, I have sectioned a few bullets from time to time after I resized, and I never seen much for a seperation gap, like the core just falling out type of thing. Even when sizing 44cals down to .416 in .004 steps it was nil and that was a extreme resize.

I have also seen no accuracy difference in the .429 to .416 resize, nor the .458's to .452 in the ML's so far, at least nothing that has jumped out at me.

Thanks Al. It's reassuring to know someone thought to check into that and even better news to learn that it has no impact. Opens up some doors I'm looking at for a 200gr FTX in .429. I have some in .452. Is resizing some down to .429 an overly optimistic idea using just my Rockchucker? With a generous deployment of Imperial Wax, taking .458s down to .452 went what I would call easy. Not so sure with a bigger jump. Don't want to collapse the hollow point part.

Hoot

[wildcatter]

Hoot, I have sectioned a few bullets from time to time after I resized, and I never seen much for a seperation gap, like the core just falling out type of thing. Even when sizing 44cals down to .416 in .004 steps it was nil and that was a extreme resize.

I have also seen no accuracy difference in the .429 to .416 resize, nor the .458's to .452 in the ML's so far, at least nothing that has jumped out at me.

Yuppers, that's the gig, if accuracy maintains itself, then there are no problems resizing lead based bullets..

..t