bullet sizing not going down barrel why?

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alzheimershooter

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i have a new brux barrel .45 cal. using a sizer which was preset at .010 on the radial markers ( i tight the nut clockwise to get tighter)

i am shooting 3 bullets. parker 300 gr ballistic extreme, parker 275 gr black max, hornady 250 gr ftx


my first question is why doesn't the sizer make all the bullets the same diameter? drives me crazy.

i sized all the bullets.

the hornady's wont' go down at all unless i use a hammer.

the ballistic extreme go down perfectly

the black max were hard as well, so hard i put one down and was scared to fire it.


anyway, come back and resize the hornady's .0015 smaller and resize the black max, .001 smaller.

the hornady's still hard, so i resize them another .001 smaller,,,,AND THEY STILL ARE SUPER HARD! GRRR.

the black max, slightly easier, the hardest part is with the hand starter, seems like right at the crown and the first 2 inches or so. then with the long rod, they go down fairly decently.

what is up with the hornady's? how small do i have to make them?

today i tried a spit patch to see if it would help go down with the black max and it didn't help much, i also tried a .45 cal nylon brush, also not much difference. would a brass brush be better?

i have given up on the hornady's until i figure out what the heck is going on. the only reason i bought the hornady's ftx 250 grain is i wanted a cheap bullet to practice with as the parkers are 2 bucks apiece.
 
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I've found you most always get a varying amount of springback when sizing. It helps to run through the sizer two or three times.
 
Spring back with the thicker jacketed bullets.
I've found you most always get a varying amount of springback when sizing. It helps to run through the sizer two or three times.

the hornady's are on their third sizing, and the black max on their second. i was hoping to just find the one setting that made them right, write it down and then use it whenever, although i suppose different lots of bullets might vary. i will keep trying

should i step it up to .0015 increments? or even .002? thanks
 
I use a different die for each bullet type I shoot. If while shooting they tighten up I brush the barrel. Copper solids don't spring back but almost always require a wad. jme
 
I use a different die for each bullet type I shoot. If while shooting they tighten up I brush the barrel. Copper solids don't spring back but almost always require a wad. jme
how hard to you make the bullet to push down barrel, like easily with one hand?
 
how hard to you make the bullet to push down barrel, like easily with one hand?

With BH209, my process is sizing to a CLEAN barrel and the loading force I want is 20#.
Its different when I'm shooting SML (slightly less).
I will say that the Fury star tip2 bullets that I've been shooting, only need sizing once.
 
I start sizing a -new to me bullet- on the loose side, then start sizing for a tighter fit. I can always knurl a loose bullet and sometimes they shoot quite well. I hate getting bullets stuck and trying to pound them down or back out the muzzle end.

If using my smooth form die, I'll guess on a setting and size the lubed bullet with 3 passes thru the die, rotating the bullet some after each pass. I'll insert the sized bullet into the muzzle and if it feels snug, I'll try a smaller setting until I can fully insert the bullet into the muzzle and it has a very small amount of wiggle, then I will push it through the barrel with the breech plug removed to get a feel for how it will load. After shooting at the range, I'll mark down what bullet and die setting was used and how it fit, noting if a different setting is needed for the next range trip.

Every different bullet I try takes a different die setting. My two favorite hunting bulles for example, Barnes .451 TEZ's are a skinny .451 bullet, a .451 Bear Creek Ballistics bullet is on the fat side
 
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I like 1 hand easy load pressure but size for low ES with chronograph then try with different wads to see what the particular bullet/barrel likes.
 
I was having a problem with one of my White lightings bullet that fit in the other won't go down in it. Very talented friend machined me a resizer to .503. Now everything good, a little loose in one gun (pink plumber tape works).
 
Like previously stated the thicker jacketed bullets that are not bonded like the FTX has more spring back . The die will have to be set tighter

The softer or thinner the jacket you can get by with a loose fitting bullet but you will definitely need to use a wad .

The thicker jacketed bullets like the FTX you may need to Knurl ( size the bullet , knurl then size back to bore) the FTX bullet may need to have a snug fit while cleaning between shots . Also wads will definitely help .
 
Quite a difference in my Whitetail and Super 91 barrels. Bullets sized to .5035 super hard to start and get down the Whitetail, slide down the S91's with just basically setting the rod on them, don't shoot good out of either. My second and third shot from the Whitetail (after a 50 grain Squibb with a bullet on it) are often touching. The Super 91's I'm lucky to get 6moa grouping...
 
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