Lyman Type M Expander Die - Anybody use them?

Zee

I am having to expand the case mouth on my .357 Mag loads a fair amount to avoids striping lead off the cast bullet as it seats. Supposedly, over time, this will cause premature splits to the case mouth (according to interwebs).

The recommendation I read is to go with the Lyman Type M Expander Die.

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/dies/pistolmdie.php

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/174363/lyman-neck-expander-m-die-38-special-357-magnum-357-maximum?cm_vc=ProductFinding



Anybody have experience one way or the other using this die? Suggestions? Yes? No? Maybe? Bob's your uncle?

breamfisher

Been loading lead in .357s and .38s for the last 12 years or so using standard Lee dies. Have had very little loss of my brass due to neck cracking. I have no idea how many times I've reloaded some of those cases, but I can tell you some are over 20 years old and have been reloaded for 19 of those years.

jbohio

I have Lyman dies for 44. RCBS for everything else. Never noticed much of a difference, really. RCBS dies do the same thing, they expand the whole case out a little, then bell the mouth.

Zee

breamfisher wrote: »

Been loading lead in .357s and .38s for the last 12 years or so using standard Lee dies.

Those are my current dies (Lee) and I'm glad to hear that your cases are lasting. I was just surprised at the greater amount of case mouth expanding I was having to impart with the non GC bullets in the .357 Mag. To the point it is a tight fit in the seating die!

I was just curious.

Zee

jbohio wrote: »

RCBS dies do the same thing, they expand the whole case out a little, then bell the mouth.

Oh ok. I saw that RCBS makes "Cowboy" dies specifically for lead bullets. Didn't know their regular expander already did that extra expansion.

Teach

Loading cast bullets, case expanding, and the heavy roll crimp necessary when you're playing at the deep end of the power factor pool will work the brass enough to split a few cases- - - -it's just part of the cost of doing business. Fortunately, there's virtually zero effort involved in prepping a straight-wall revolver case once an initial length-trim is done to uniform the position of the roll crimp. Just shoot 'em until they split, grab another case out of the bucket, and press on!

One thing that helps is running the bullets through a LuberSizer to reduce the diameter slightly from the "as cast" dimension- - - -it requires less case mouth expanding that way.
Jerry

Teach

cpj wrote: »

I wonder if annealing the case mouth area would help?

Not worth the effort- - - - -just stay away from nickel-plated cases for cast bullet loads as the plating flakes off and gets into places it doesn't belong.
Jerry

Big Chief

Well, bevel based bullets will help by being easier to start (Gas Checks are not once one is put on). Also, over/excessive case mouth belling will cause the brass to work more and maybe split sooner. Then again, if you really over do it, they won't fit into the seating die or will be hard to.

I know you have earlier, but have you CAREFULLY re-read the instructions. Almost all the reloading issues I've had were maladjusted dies, my own fault from doing things from memory, especially if it has been awhile switching from rifle to pistol. If something doesn't feel or look right as you reload , stop immediately backup and find out why.

Maybe it's just a an idiosyncrasy with how those particular bullets are made. Have you tried other hard cast brands/makes to see if the same issues arise? If I saw shaved lead rings or lead being squeezed over the case mouth I would make the case mouth bell a bit bigger until they seated smoothly.

It sure seems like a fact of life that bullets made/shaped/lubed and heavier or lighter than the nominal caliber weight sure have their own set of particulars to be dealt with by reloaders.

Zee

Big Chief wrote: »

Well, bevel based bullets will help by being easier to start (Gas Checks are not once one is put on). Also, over/excessive case mouth belling will cause the brass to work more and maybe split sooner. Then again, if you really over do it, they won't fit into the seating die or will be hard to.

I am at the point of belling that it takes a wee bit of effort to get the case started in the seating die.

I know you have earlier, but have you CAREFULLY re-read the instructions. Almost all the reloading issues I've had were maladjusted dies, my own fault from doing things from memory, especially if it has been awhile switching from rifle to pistol. If something doesn't feel or look right as you reload , stop immediately backup and find out why.

Yeah, when I loaded the first batch and was shaving brass off the bullet, I read the expander directions again and adjusted it deeper to get the expansion that worked.

Maybe it's just a an idiosyncrasy with how those particular bullets are made. Have you tried other hard cast brands/makes to see if the same issues arise? If I saw shaved lead rings or lead being squeezed over the case mouth I would make the case mouth bell a bit bigger until they seated smoothly.

All the other cast bullets I use are GC and I've not had these problems.

It sure seems like a fact of life that bullets made/shaped/lubed and heavier or lighter than the nominal caliber weight sure have their own set of particulars to be dealt with by reloaders.

.

breamfisher

Zee wrote: »

Those are my current dies (Lee) and I'm glad to hear that your cases are lasting. I was just surprised at the greater amount of case mouth expanding I was having to impart with the non GC bullets in the .357 Mag. To the point it is a tight fit in the seating die!

I was just curious.

Yeah, that's kinda normal. Also remember: lead bullets are a nominal .001" to .002" wider than jacketed. That's not much, but it can add up to extra effort. In my experience.

Teach

The ultra-hard bullets that I cast and quench in icewater as they drop from the mold have a habit of ending up a little bigger and harder to size than softer ones. I routinely use a sizing die .001" or sometimes.002" smaller than I do with softer alloys, and it's not uncommon to get a little spring-back to a larger diameter as they come out of the lubersizer.
Jerry