Sizing bullets

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I am going to be casting bullets for my .45-70 using a mold that throws a .457" bullet.
My question for you guys casting your bullets: Would it be very difficult to cast some with pure lead and resize down to .451" to shoot out of my GM .45 barrel? And another question, if I want to push them a little harder can I use the same bullet (alloyed) I use in the .45-70 but resized to .451"?
 
I cast a .457 in a LEE 405 grain mold. In pure lead they come out 423 grain. I then run them through a .451 LEE sizing die and shoot them out my my White .451 and also out of sabots in different rifle. So yes, its very possible. Just make sure to lube them with Lyman Alox before you send them through the sizer.
 
Like Cayuga states you sure can.
I'll sometimes lube them first, then size. The harder the bullet, the harder to push thru sizer.
If you have a piece of your barrel, you might try pre-rifling them?
 
Taking no more than .005-6 off is probably fine with a decent press and soft lead. Much more, or hard lead may require 2 steps, only sizing .004-5 each press through. Plus, much more that ~.008 or so can alter the intended shape enough that results may vary. Unless your shaving lead off, which sizers don't do, that width shaven down, ends up as length added, and takes a lot of depth from lube grooves. (think squishing clay. Too much also jeopardises the integrity of concentricity, and design) I have tried this cross bullet sizing, and really, by the time your done with sizers and time, frustration... Unless its real close, that money is better spent in another mold most of the time. That's really the short distance between the two points. You can take the long way around, but you may or may not enjoy the scenery on the ride..
 
I do this a LOT, Lube is your friend here! I use a normal lube pad like i roll my brass cases on, make sure you get the bullets lubed good, they will slide right through! I size down the Lee S&W 500 bullet to .492 from .501-503, i also size down the Lyman Plains bullets in .50 and 54, i take the .50s down to .492, and the .54s down to .532, My reasoning is Paper patching these bullets, i prefer the bullets to be undersize 'true Paper Patch diameter' and then patching up to bore.

Again use plenty of Lube, and go reasonably fast, you dont want to start and stop, once started continue the push all the way through, You would be surprised at the heat that happens when resizing, if you stop half way for whatever reason its a little tougher to get restarted, and a good chance of deforming the base, or nose of the bullet, depending on Push rod Fit to bullet, and whether you are pushing base first, or nose first?
 
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