New owner of Star Lubrisizers, have some questions.

[Two Alpha]

I've just gotten started with bullet casting and managed to purchase a batch of gear from a gentleman that included quite a few Hensley and Gibbs molds as well as three Star Lubrisizers.
Two of the Lubrisizers seem to be of a fairly recent vintage while the third looks to be a fairly early example. They came with a decent selection of sizing dies and top punches.
Cast my first bullets a week ago, I've mainly been trying to sort out the different molds to see exactly what bullets they cast. Now it's time to get going with the Lubrisizers.
Is it much better to size the bullets "base first" with the correctly shaped top punch, or is it just as good to size "nose first" with just a flat top punch?
If .38 super is .356, is it best to size your cast bullets to.357?
What size would you suggest for .40 and .45?

[Ross Chesley]

The base of a bullet is most important for accuracy so I like to size them the way I plan to shoot them -- nose first.

Bevel base bullet designs are easy to feed into the sizing die and I use a flat punch to assure I put even pressure over a large surface area on the bullet base. If you select a top punch you can often use one punch for many different calibers because the base is flat and the punch is flat too. For seriously hard alloys I select a punch a few thousandths smaller than the die size.

Top punches for base-first seating should be designed to conform to a specific bullet nose contour. Pushing bullets with an incorrectly matched nose punch can slightly deform the nose. The best results with nose punches means you need a custom nose punch for each bullet style -- it gets expensive compared to nose first seating where one punch can be used to cover say 9mm to 45acp no matter what the nose shape is.

To address the question of sizing die selection: measure your barrel's bore diameter for a good starting place. Another general guide is to remember a cast lead bullet is sized .001 larger than a jacketed bullet for the same caliber. It is meaningless to claim authority on selection for your barrel unless you measure the bore diameter specifically and select best bullet and diameter for that barrel.

Here are common sizes recommended by caliber and sizing die:

22cal - .225die
432cal - .244die
25cal - .258die
6.5mm - .265die
270cal - .278die
7mm - .285die
30cal - .309die
31cal - .311die
32cal - .313die
8mm - .323/.324die
9mm - .356die
38super - .356/.357die
9.2mm - .365die
38/357/35cal - .358die
375cal - .376die
40cal - .401die
10mm - .401die
41cal - .411die
44cal - .430die
45cal - .452die


If you do not already have a good book on cast lead bullets I recommend one such as the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook.

[Two Alpha]

Thanks for the good info Ross.
Included with the lubrisizers I purchased were nine top punches, one of which was a flat one for "nose first" sizing.
It makes sense to me to size the bullets in the same direction as they go through the barrel but I suspect that "base first" must have some advantages as well.
Five of my dies are marked "STAR SAN DIEGO" with the diameter engraved, while three others have no markings on them whatsoever and one just has the diameter engraved. The marked ones are .355, .356 (x2), .358, .400, and .451. I will have to press a bullet through the unmarked ones to see what exactly I have there but it looks to me like I will be needing a .357, .401. and a .452.
The one book I do have is "Jacketed Performance With Cast Bullets" by Veral Smith. My next purchase along with the dies will have to be a Meister "slug your own barrel" kit in order to know what my bullets should be sized to.

[FredClepper]

I am a new member of this forum and the proud owner of a Star Luber/Sizer.  I reload ammo for ten different military rifles using Lee and RCBS presses and dies.  I have only one die for my Star Luber/Sizer and wonder where I can obtain more dies.

Thanks

Fred

[Two Alpha]

I know of two places where you can get new dies...

http://www.magmaengr.com/index.php

http://www.sizingdie.com/index.htm


Another option is to keep an eye on E-bay for used dies but that is hit and miss for sure, might take you quite a while to get what you need.

[FredClepper]

Thanks Two Alpha.  I'll keep my eyes and ears open and check ebay.  I find that sometimes ebay costs more that going to a manufacturer.  Shipping costs are going up and some people pad the shipping costs!

[Two Alpha]

At our local range yesterday I was talking with one of the regulars who, apart from a number of other talents, happens to be a gunsmith/machinist  with a fixation on quality.
He related to me that the best sizing die to use for a particular .308 rifle that he owned was a .311! He said that while he had sizing dies in .309, .310, and .312 as well, the .311 was the one that gave the best accuracy. This is not a situation where the barrel was old and worn out or anything like that, it was a high quality match grade aftermarket barrel in very good condition.

I'm thinking that a guy has to "slug" his barrel and then compare accuracy for bullets sized .001. .002 and even .003 over the bore size to see what works best for that particular barrel.

[FredClepper]

I am sure that resizing for a precise fit to a barrel is extermely important.  However, bullet seating for a particular barrel is just as important.  I reload and shoot ten different military rifles.  I find that every barrel has a different requirement for bullet seating and every bullet must be seated to the proper length for the particular barrel.  I prefer to seat my bullets so that the ogive is .003 to .005" from the lands.
The bullet never needs to jump forward more than .005" before hitting the lands and this keeps the pressure up and the bullet doesnt deform as much as it would if seated to a nominal OAL.

[rbwillnj]

Ross's list is a good starting point, but to be sure, you should slug your barrel.   I have a Smith & Wesson Model 52 which shoots 38 Special.  When I first started casting, I sized my wadcutters to .358.  I got a 5 inch group at 25 yards from a Ransom Rest.  Then someone told me that Model 52's usually have a barrel that measure around .356.  I sized some more wadcutters at .357 and got a 1" group.   My Smith & Wesson 686 shoots best with bullets sized to .358

[beardog 410]

I'm new to this board, and hope for some assistance with a Star reloader listed on ebay.  I am trying to get set up to shoot a 1924 Colt Police Positive Special in 32-20 WCF cal.  Would there be any such die sets available for this chambering?  I'm enamored with the design of the Star reloaders, and don't need a progressive unit for my uses.  The one offered on ebay is for 38 and 45 cal.  Is 32-20 a possibility?

Any help appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

beardog 410

[Kenneth L. Walters]

When Star made these I had maybe eight.

Since Magma took over I've bought two from them.? The first was clearly built with Star made parts and worked perfectly.? The second was clearly made with Magma made parts and, well...? I will not be buying a third from them.? Couldn't get the guts out to add more lubricant.? The screw that goes into the rod to pull the stuff out didn't match.? REAL close but, well...? Took me forever to get that darn thing apart.? AFterward I used pair of vicegrips to force those two parts to work together.? Force over brains but it worked.? Still that unit should never have left the factory and Magma should have known better.

I've been a Magma customer for some considerable time but, well, I would NOT recommend their lubricator/sizer.

******************************

Eventually I got so pissed over the second Magma/Star that I sent it back.  They pointed out to me that the warranty was for 90 days not three years.  True.  But the guts were sticking in the mechanism, the threaded rod did not fit the part it needed to to pull the gutts out and, well, I was annoyed.

They fixed it gratis.  Exactly what was wrong with it I'm not all that clear on so I called.  One of the first with all Magma parts, I think, and they hadn't quite got the bugs worked out when they made this one.  BUT it came back in perfect working order.

So, well, I'm probably going to change my mind about recommending the Magma/Star.  Anyone can have a bad day.