Case sizing question

[Ike Arumba]

I loaded my first handgun cartridge this evening, a .40 S&W, on the Lee Classic Turret press with Lee carbide dies. On inspection, the line on the case at the base of the bullet is a bit more obvious than factory ammo. And not only that, but there is another such line about 0.1 inch above the extraction groove where the case sizing stopped. I get the impression that the sizing die is reducing the case diameter rather aggressively. Do I need to worry about this, or is it to be expected?

[G-forceJunkie]

Normal. Pull the barrel out of the gun your going to shoot it through. If it drops in and out of the chamber, your good.

[Munk]

very common with .40s&w. Few case sizers go all the way to the very tip of he base, however, they all do enough sizing to seat the bullet and chamber the round. Even the notorious "glock bulge" isn't so big of a deal. (the bulge as a result of a poorly supported case)

[Wrangler John]

If you don't like the bulge above the case extraction groove, take a look at this:

http://redding-reloading.com/new-products/3-g-rx-push-thru-base-sizing-die

Now if they'd just make a tool to get rid of my belly bulge -

[CSACANNONEER]

Is this Glocked brass?

[Ike Arumba]

The brass is once fired through a S&W M&P. I have seen no signs of asymmetry in any of the >700 casings fired in it. (Nor from the >800 9mm cases fired from it with a Storm Lake conversion barrel.)

I get case diameter readings of 0.412 at the powder, 0.417 at the bullet, and 0.417 at the ring above the extraction groove. This from a caliper that reads about 5 mils low measuring .40 and .311 bullets. (I need to take it back. It's the one Harbor Freight sells for $10 with the coupon in American Rifleman.)

Thanks for the advice, guys.

[Bill Steele]

I loaded my first handgun cartridge this evening, a .40 S&W, on the Lee Classic Turret press with Lee carbide dies. On inspection, the line on the case at the base of the bullet is a bit more obvious than factory ammo. And not only that, but there is another such line about 0.1 inch above the extraction groove where the case sizing stopped. I get the impression that the sizing die is reducing the case diameter rather aggressively. Do I need to worry about this, or is it to be expected?

The Lee sizing die has a pretty small mouth and usually does a pretty good job sizing brass all the way down. Do you have the die setup so it contacts the shellholder at full stroke?

The bulge where the bullet base ends is normal. Your sizing die is oversizing for the headstamps that have the most bulge but that is better than undersizing. The headstamps that have thinner brass (like R-P, Starline, TZZ, etc.) will have much less bulge and the brass that is thicker (like Fiocchi, etc.) will have more bulge. You want to have enough neck tension to hold the bullet, so oversizing the thicker brass is a good compromise. This bulge will be gone after you fire it again.

If you can't get the die adjusted to size the brass all the way down, as posted earlier, you can get a sizing die that pushes the brass all the way through and sizes the case uniformly.

Before buying a new die, I would check my die adjustment and also try lubing the cases with something like Hornaday One Shot before sizing. This might smooth things out a might bit.

Good luck, have fun.

[Ike Arumba]

I adjusted the sizing die to contact the shell holder at full stroke, although the contact happens on one side, with just a bit of daylight on the other: the shell holder and die are not perfectly flat to each other.

My concerns are safety and case life. From the responses, it doesn't sound like there is a real issue here.