Case Flaring

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Woodsloafer2
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Case Flaring

Post by Woodsloafer2 »

I am new to cast bullets in rifles but have done them in revolvers for years. I am going to load up some cast in the 348 and maybe the 405. Neither die set has a flaring die so I have ordered a universal flaring die. Is flaring always needed for cast? The bullets I am using are gas checked. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Rockrat
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Re: Case Flaring

Post by Rockrat »

Yes, you will usually damage the bullet when seating if you don't flare the case mouth
44shooter
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Re: Case Flaring

Post by 44shooter »

Second that. Doesn’t take much but it is needed. You could probably use a 9mm or 357 flare die for the 348 with a gentle touch. A 41 and perhaps a 40,10mm, or 38wcf expander could work for the 405
Last edited by 44shooter on Sun Sep 12, 2021 11:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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earlmck
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Re: Case Flaring

Post by earlmck »

All my rifles are fed cast bullets and I do have Lee's Universal expanding die for the times am loading for a cartridge for which I don't have my favorite expander. My favorite is the Lyman "M" die, which does a nice little 2-diameter expander plus flare, probably just like your revolver expanders do. Unfortunately there is nothing "universal" about Lyman's die so you need one for each caliber you load. Not for each cartridge, just each caliber.
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piller
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Re: Case Flaring

Post by piller »

I had to do some Southern Engineering on my Lee case mouth expander die for my .40/10mm set. I purchased a bunch of .40 bullets from Three Legged Turtle, and the .40 S&W cases were too short to be expanded. They were left at bullet diameter. A tiny bit of lead was shaved off. I used some brass washers to prevent the sliding portion of the expanding die from going all the way up. The case mouth then was flared just enough that the lead was no longer being shaved. The accuracy with the couple of bullets that had lead shaving was not even something Helen Keller would be satisfied with. Once I got the flaring enough to stop the lead shaving, it worked great. The pistol is a Walther & Wesson. Walther made the upper, and Smith & Wesson made the lower.
Those 155 grain lead bullets for .40 or 10mm are plenty accurate.
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: Case Flaring

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

On the Sharps I always have to flare the case a bit. Of course I am also dealing with very soft cast bullets.
TraderVic
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Re: Case Flaring

Post by TraderVic »

I use a Lyman neck expanding "M" die to bell/flare the end of the 45/70 case prior to loading. This die works very well on straight wall cases.
Woodsloafer2
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Re: Case Flaring

Post by Woodsloafer2 »

Thank you all!
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