Sizing problem 500 S&W mag

Varmint Hunter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2001
Messages
7,113
Location
Long Island, New York
Sometimes you just buy something for the heck of it. That's the case with the 20" 500 S&W mag barrel I bought for my T/C Encore receiver.

New brass was run through the Redding dies and loaded fine.
Once fired brass that was loaded with a mid-range load proved to be difficult to resize. I used an ample amount of Imperial sizing wax on the cases and made sure that the brass was completely lubed. Running them into the die took some effort, almost to the point of not getting them fully sized. Extracting the cases was also difficult and you could hear them drag out squeaking. When the case was extracted, the top 1/3 (near the mouth) was completely dry. This same scenario was repeated with case after case even though I tried to maximize the lube.
Reloading after sizing was no problem and the cases fit in the chamber without a problem.

One thing I did notice:
I used two different loads which both produced similar velocities with the Sierra 350 JHP bullet, CCI 200 primer and Starline cases; 36.5gr LilGun @ 1,862 ft/sec and 41.5gr H110 @ 1,875 ft/sec. Most of the cases from the LilGun load were particularly difficult to size & extract. The H110 cases were a bit easier but still not normal.

My velocities were measured over an Oehler 35. They are higher then the books indicate BUT I am shooting a sealed breech rifle with a 20" barrel so that didn't surprise me.

Any ideas as to what is causing this?
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top