Rossi Rifleman

If I knew how to change the title of my other post I would. I don't want to give the NOE bullet a bad reputation. It should read..."Another one of DON'S stupid mistakes" or "things to watch for when reloading one bullet, for multiple guns".

So I go and check the NOE slug against my old Lyman, cussing under my breath the day I ever tried a new mold. And sure nuff, the NOE was a tad bigger at the meplat. A very little tad mind you, but the nose section from crimp groove to nose was shorter by .030. AH HA!!! well.... wait a minute. I was complaining bout the rounds being too long in the other post(?) So I look through some of my recent loaded ammo and find a 1/3rd box of 100 that I remember shooting without problems, and they were loaded with the new slug. And the loaded OAL was .030 shorter than the old lyman slugged ammo measured. So I loaded up a few in the 92 and sure nuff, they cycled perfectly

Totally confused, I put the two NOE loaded rounds side by side for a comparison and the problem was plainly obvious. While reading about 45Colt revolver accuracy. I had read more than once about neck sizing the brass. (blasted internet). It seems that most mfgs tend to make 45 colt chambers rather large, and ruger followed suit with some of the biggest. So in my search for accuracy, I gave it a try and neck sized the brass at the last loading session. This left most of the brass rather large in the mid section measuring in at .482. Some were smaller and were probably shot out of the R92 which has a more sane sized chamber. I shot both guns on the same day, so the brass was mixed before it was sized.

Now with the fat boy brass, when the round comes up from the magazine on the carrier. Then the bolt shoves it forward. The guides are tight enough (like they should be on a spec sized case) that the fat boy cant squeeze through the gap, and get on top of the guides. Instead, it goes forward just a tad, and jams, looking exactly like the round was too long, and could not make the curves, jumps, jiggles, and ricochets, that get it into the chamber. I can see how this could be a problem with other reloaders, that are new to the quirks of the 92. And maybe got a gun with tight guides. Thou I have not heard of such a thing but instead, have heard the opposite with the guides being loose.

I guess now I have bout 50 "ruger only" (pun) loads I betcha next time, i resize em all the way to the bottom....like I have been doing for the last 39 years!

Good investigative work Don!

Just got back from the range. I "cycled" and shot about 100 rounds through the 92, without so much as a hiccup.

I also shot up the remains of my ruger only reloads haha. So now, there's no chance of some of them getting into the R92 again and causing problems.

Greetings
This is why I segregate brass to a firerarm. If for any reason I can imagine brass will have to be interchanged between same caliber firearms then it gets FLS. I am willing to sacrifice a few hairs of accuracy for the capability of interchangability.
All my brass resides on containers clearly marked what firearm they are to be used in.
Yea you end up with more brass but then I have never been part of the brass scramble trying to find any.
So I happily neck size only with the bulk of my loadings. Brass lasts a long time and I do not mind that at all.
Mike in Peru

great info don thanks for sharing

Great write up Don!!! Might save some folks some time and fustration.

Mike in Peru..... I thought maybe you had disappeared into the jungle and some wild animals got you..... Good to see you stopping by!

I read some of the same articles probably 20 years ago and tried that partial resize with .30-30 ONE reloading session. Even with brass going back into the same darned gun I had some TIGHT squeezes the Winchester didn't like.

Since then anything for a lever action, everything for a semiauto (or a pump although I don't own one) and everything for multiple guns gets full length sized. I've got chamber gauges for about half the long gun calibers and if it is really important I'll chamber check the ammo before going into the field.

I think I've read the same articles about the .45 Colt as well. I've never been tempted to partly resize straight walled handgun cartridges. Those articles (along with other considerations) may have contributed to my reliance on the .44 Mag instead of the .45 Colt though.

I have neck sized only, bottle neck rifle cases, when searching for accuracy in a bolt action. And while it may give a tiny improvement in that area. My rifles for the most part, are not that type of guns. I have a couple of savages that are extremely accurate and I neck size them. But being 223 and 22-250, the cases are small enough that they chamber easy enough without full length sizing. For everything else, like Mike, I would rather have maximum functioning reliability over max accuracy.

The straight wall pistol cases are a whole different deal though. I just don't see any benefit to doing it with them other that like with the 45C. Where the chamber is usually so large, that it would save the brass to neck size. And doing it for the accuracy in a lever gun is probably just a waste of time.

Earlier I said that the rossi chamber was a little tighter than the ruger. While I still have not measured them to be sure, I had something happen yesterday that I did not mention last night, and it makes me believe that the two guns might be closer to the same size than I first thought. I shot the last round of a magazine full (I usually count my shots) and knowing this, I was kinda easy when going forward with the lever. The empty did not pop out, but rather just sorta jiggled around and somehow the rim got back under the guides. I had a heck of a time getting it back out as the fired case was swollen up to the point that it did not fit between the guides, just like my neck sized only ruger cases did! I had to use a screwdriver to pry it out. Maybe my guides are a little on the tight side.

I tried partially sizing revolver ammo but could find no advantages. With six chambers there can be differences in diameter. I dont like trouble at the range. Might ruin your range day. I use the Lee Factory Crimp die on all my handgun rounds. Much fewer problems. The FCD will iron out most brass problems. It may cause a problem with oversized bullets but can be modded to correct that problem.

Well done Don. Sometimes the hardest problems to solve are the ones we create ourselves!

Jeff