Anyone care to posit a theory as to why bullets I cast in 2014 in WW metal, sized to .452, are now at .453 in diameter? My cartridges won't seat in my new 45 pistol which, of course, has no throat.
With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.
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Oxidation? Any whiteness on the outside of the bullet?
Out of curiosity, how were they stored?
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As good as the day I loaded them. Stored inside the house. No environmental anomalies or extremes.
With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.
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Aaron I'd have to guess they had quite a bit of the hardening alloys in the ww mix. I'm sure you're heard you cast your bullet, especially if they have the hardening alloys in them, then let them age. As they age and get harder they also grow in size. Now if you had said that you cast those bullets back in 2014 and you just recently sized and loaded them there would be no problem. Had a friend that did the same thing sorta. He cast some 45 calider bullets for a foreign made 45 Colt rifle. He shot some of them right away. Then he let the others set for quite some time. They aged, hardened, and grew. They wouldn't fit his rifle's chamber at all.
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That's precisely what I think has happened with the alloy. The bullets were originally sized to .452" years ago before loading. The digital dial caliper reports .453" measured at the slim band just forward of the case mouth. No need to measure with a micrometer since I know they grew to a size preventing their chambering in the new 1911 barrel. How much they grew is pointless to the matter.
I recall reading some articles about this matter on the LASC web site years ago. I'll have to hunt down that material on alloy size differences over time as they "age" and harden - or soften.
With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.
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Interesting situation.
I have something different going on. My cast bullet loads are stored in a wooden ammo box, nose up. After a month or so, the bullet noses are dull, appearing to be oxidized.
Might be a gradual change in the alloy, the trapped air in the box, the bullet alloy giving off some kind of “gas”, or…..
They shoot as expected but look crappy.
Tom
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This is where the Lee Factory Crimp Dies come into their own. It's why I have a 45 ACP and 9mm FCD. Simply run the loaded cartridges through the properly adjusted FCD and they should chamber as originally loaded. You may have to adjust the seating depth with the FCD to fit the throat of your new 45 ACP pistol.
LMG
Concealment is not cover.........
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Larry Gibson's remedy is a good one, sure better then diassembling the ammo. What ever you do don't run the rounds into the case sizing die as then that will squeeze the bullet doesn't way too small.
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Ed Harris
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Idahocaster
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trapdoor4570
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Lucky1
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Aaron
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