neck expander?

[leadchucker]

Do you need to use a neck expander if your using a gas check?
Using lee .309 molds for 30 30 and win brass. 113 and 150 pills.
thanks
john

[Nora]

I use a neck expander for everything with a bottle neck that I load in cast both with or with out GC's. It gives me the ability to match the final neck ID to the boolit I'm using. It also give a slight flare to the case that allows for easier and straighter seating.


Nora

[Doc Highwall]

I would say yes! Loading dies as manufactured today are made for jacketed bullets and jacketed bullet diameters. Example when loading a 308 Win with jacketed bullets every thing is made for a .308" diameter bullet but your cast bullet is measuring .309" to .310" or .001" to .002" larger.
What happens when you don't use a case neck expander is the force required to seat the bullet is greater causing run out of your loaded ammo and you could even have troubles chambering it. If expander's were not needed or just did only so so for accuracy and reliability they would not have been designed. The Lyman M-die is highly recommended more then any other brand and is what I use other then a modified version of it.

[462]

I use the M-die for every cartridge. The fact that it incorporates the expanded step versus just a flared mouth makes for correct bullet-to-mouth alignment and improves accuracy.

[stubshaft]

It is one of the only ways to insure that the boolit will not be swaged when seating it.

[geargnasher]

Yes.

Gear

[cbrick]

leadchucker, welcome to Castboolits,

The short answer is yes.

The long answer is absolutely and for all the reasons listed above.

Rick

[leadchucker]

Thanks guys for your informative comments, seems like lm on a steep learning curve at the moment but enjoying it. Better get a 30 cal expander then.
cheers john

[blackthorn]

Good advice above! You also might want to stop using medication (pills) and try using bullets (or boolits, if you will) instead. Sorry--couldnt resist. LOL

[Nora]

As an after thought, using a case neck expander is a necessity for the way I load. I've pulled all the decapping pins from my sizing dies. I deprime as a first step before tumbling the brass to clean the range off of it. I also don't like the "feel" of the expander ball being pulled back threw the neck on the way out. I'm sure that it is just in my head but it greats on my that the added pull will somehow stretch the brass slightly in the neck. (Kinda like the chalk board thing.)

Nora

[mpmarty]

"M" dies are your friend. Get some you will be glad you did.

[USSR]

I also don't like the "feel" of the expander ball being pulled back threw the neck on the way out.

+1. With rifle cartridges, I do away with the expander ball and control the ID of my necks by using a bushing die. This results in my brass not being overworked. My Type M die is then used to provide the "step" for easy bullet seating.

Don

[watkibe]

All straight wall cases always get the mouths flared, with cast (with or without GC) and jacketed bullets, to keep the case from crumpling. I always flare the case mouths on all bottleneck cartridges that will be loaded with cast bullets.
Jacketed bullets in bottleneck cases do not usually need flaring.
I use the Lee universal expanding die, and I love it. It's a little mis-named though: it doesn't really "expand" the neck , it flares the case mouth enough to ease bullets entering the case for seating.