Don't laugh...

by Hoot , Diversityville, Liberal-sota, Friday, June 09, 2017, 06:53 (2662 days ago) @ Murphy

For me, it's the .32 S&W Long Wadcutter. With one qualifier: only for my Benelli target pistol. It gave me fits. First, the cases bulged at the base of the bullet. I went round and round with Lee about the issue and was told something to the effect, "The boss shoots a Hammerelli and doesn't have that problem." Bought a set of Reddings as they have a longer expander and set them up as a dedicated WC set.

Added a Lyman M-Die into the routine and that helped.

Then, my 'mix-master' collection of cases still gave me occasional fits. So an order to Starline for 500 of their fine product. Also segregated for WC only.

Next, the double-ended WC's I was using were still causing occasional problems. Found some Speer HBWC's and that issue faded. They seat easier as well. Bought another 1000 just to make sure the supply doesn't dry up for a bit.

My final(?) issue was in the crimp. I was barely flaring the case with the M-Die; just enough so a guy could feel it and just see it. The crimp was intended to mostly straighten things out and roll very slightly. I was trying not to work the necks very much in the interest of case life. I found out in the middle of a match there wasn't quite enough roll for easy feeding. All remaining ammo was recrimped and the final match went without a hitch.

Next year will tell if all of the issues have been found and solved.

For what it's worth, I had similar troubles with the .380 but I resorted to a Factory Crimp Die and that has corrected the occasional case bulge. None of my (read: Miss Melodie's) .380's are target pistols so I have not noticed any 'overworking' of the lead or case.

Now, rifles on the other hand, it would be the 9.3x57R/360. I been at it for better than a year (not constantly, of course) and STILL haven't fired a single round. Another wordy story...