Need guidance: Large Diameter expander funnel on Dillon XL750 when loading unjacketed lead bullet handloads?

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

21 minutes ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

 

No, but I am using the KNIFE BLADE portion of the Mitutoyo digital caliper jaws, NOT the "wide" portion of the jaws that would give an erroneous thickness. I do also have the Mitutoyo set of gages for measuring blind hole diameters:

 

 

When I use the correct gage from that set (0.3 to 0.4") to measure the ID, and subtract from the case OD as measured with my Mitutoyo digital micrometer, which is properly mounted in the Mitutoyo clamping base to prevent affecting the reading via body temperature transmitted through the hands, the result confirms the difference between measured ID and measured OD is indeed .0200" which is double the wall thickness of .0100".

Use a pin gauge.

Only a tube mic will give you consistent measurements here.

[Mysterious Stranger]

5 minutes ago, Preacherman said:

This may sound crazy, but I cast my own bullets and one of my favorites is .361". I  don't size them. I tumble lube, load, crimp with Lee carbide factory crimp die and shoot. A Lee tech guy once told me, "if they'll chamber, shoot 'em". I've even been known to just decap and load without sizing and they'll still work fine. For cowboy we're good. Another can of worms,  but slug your cylinders if you're shooting Rugers as they may be undersized, creating undersized bullets entering the barrel. Are we having fun yet?

 

Thanks for your posting! I actually HAVE been considering the idea of NOT sizing already-fired cases. They run about .3760 to .3765" after firing in my revolvers. I have inserted several samples of already-fired and tumbled (only) cases SUCCESSFULLY into the .357 Magnum cartridge gauge, and they go in fine and fully. If I decap them, run them through a larger diameter expander funnel than the Dillon funnel (e.g. the UniqueTech funnel), and then seat and crimp the .3578" diameter bullets into them, they should work. Using a Lee Factory Crimp die would ensure that they will fit into any .357 Mag firearm that meets SAAMI chamber standards.

 

But, it si probably a lot easier to just buy the RCBS Cowboy dies and go that way.

 

As for the revolver chambers, I have a pair of Cimarron Model P revolvers, and they are if anything, on the loose versus tight side, which makes undersize bullets even less desirable.

[Mysterious Stranger]

2 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Use a pin gauge.

Only a tube mic will give you consistent measurements here.

 

I can see that a tube micrometer would be advantageous, but $139 US becomes $199 Canadian BEFORE shipping, duties, and Canadian Federal sales tax. The theoretical improvement in accuracy over using the knife edge contact points of the digital caliper jaws is not enough to justify that cost.

 

The money is probably better spent on the RCBS Cowboy die set.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Just now, Mysterious Stranger said:

 

I can see that a tube micrometer would be advantageous, but $139 US becomes $199 Canadian BEFORE shipping, duties, and Canadian Federal sales tax. The theoretical improvement in accuracy over using the knife edge contact points of the digital caliper jaws is not enough to justify that cost.

 

The money is probably better spent on the RCBS Cowboy die set.

Check pawn shops and garage sales

[Mysterious Stranger]

6 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Check pawn shops and garage sales

 

Good point. Maybe even Facebook.

[Texas Jack Black]

 There are plenty of cast bullet suppliers in Canada  and mold sellers call them  for their input.

 

Best wishes.

[Mysterious Stranger]

24 minutes ago, Texas Jack Black said:

 There are plenty of cast bullet suppliers in Canada  and mold sellers call them  for their input.

 

Best wishes.

 

Yeah, I may have to repeat the search for bullets. It has not been an easy search. No one seemed to have much of any when I did my last search a few weeks ago. That may have soemthing to do with the Government's current efforts to outlaw handguns permanently. That may have discouraged both local handgun bullet makers and importers. Why produce bullet inventory for a category of firearms the government has already temporarily outlawed and is trying to outlaw permanently? And of course any current handgun owner probably bought up as many bullets, primers, handgun powder, etc  as he or she could afford. Hence the lack of inventory.

[Eyesa Horg]

Do you have any friends in the States that might be able to get them for you?

Missouri Bullets also makes a 12bhn bullet, give em a call to see if they will ship north. Good Luck

[Texas Jack Black]

14 minutes ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

 

Yeah, I may have to repeat the search for bullets. It has not been an easy search. No one seemed to have much of any when I did my last search a few weeks ago. That may have soemthing to do with the Government's current efforts to outlaw handguns permanently. That may have discouraged both local handgun bullet makers and importers. Why produce bullet inventory for a category of firearms the government has already temporarily outlawed and is trying to outlaw permanently? And of course any current handgun owner probably bought up as many bullets, primers, handgun powder, etc  as he or she could afford. Hence the lack of inventory.

 Buy a mold and make your own 

 

Best wishes

[Mysterious Stranger]

39 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Do you have any friends in the States that might be able to get them for you?

Missouri Bullets also makes a 12bhn bullet, give em a call to see if they will ship north. Good Luck

 

I don't know anyone in The u.S. who could buy and send bullets to me, and I am pretty sure it is not legal for me to import any as a private citizen anyway. You have to have an import licensetot import anything firearm-specific.

[Mysterious Stranger]

30 minutes ago, Texas Jack Black said:

 Buy a mold and make your own 

 

Best wishes

 

Playing with molten lead is not in the plan for me.

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

2 hours ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

Yes, but the cases are ENDING UP at .375" OD, which means that the bullet is ending up at .355" given the case wall thickness.

You keep saying this but this is not the case.  First have you measured your Dillon powder funnel?  We have given you the dimensions.  It should be .354-.355.  The case mouth SHOULD be .355 as that is what is needed for proper case tension on the bullet.  If the case mouth is .355 after sizing and expanding that is what it should be.  The bullet is not swaged down, the case expands up.  I have had several sets of RCBS Cowboy dies and other than being pretty and case hardened they do not vary from the normal range of specs you will get with any brand of .357 dies.  Just buy a set of Dillon dies.  The sizing die is beveled for use in a progressive machine and they come apart easily for cleaning.  Case mouth flare is not something you can measure with a caliper with precision.  There is no set dimension.  Flare is set by EYE.  You flare the case and then set a bullet on the case mouth.  The base of the bullet should be a few thousands below the case mouth.  One other thing MIGHT contribute to your problems.  (Again MIGHT contibute.)  The bullet you are using is a Hornady.  If the advertising photo is correct this is a flat base bullet.

 

 

Most bullets used in progressive machines and for CAS shooting are bevel base.  Flat base bullets are harder to align and seat properly and generally require more flare.  This bullet is from a Magma Engineering print.  Magma makes the vast majority of molds for the commercial casters.  Notice the base has a distinct bevel.

 

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

2 hours ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

I'm going to at least TRY these Hornady 10408 SWC bullets in the rifle, since they are all I have at the moment.

 

Just make a couple of dummies - no powder and primer. Highly unlikely they’ll feed reliably, if at all. 

[Mysterious Stranger]

6 minutes ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

You keep saying this but this is not the case.  First have you measured your Dillon powder funnel?  We have given you the dimensions.  It should be .354-.355.  The case mouth SHOULD be .355 as that is what is needed for proper case tension on the bullet.  If the case mouth is .355 after sizing and expanding that is what it should be.  The bullet is not swaged down, the case expands up.  I have had several sets of RCBS Cowboy dies and other than being pretty and case hardened they do not vary from the normal range of specs you will get with any brand of .357 dies.  Just buy a set of Dillon dies.  The sizing die is beveled for use in a progressive machine and they come apart easily for cleaning.  Case mouth flare is not something you can measure with a caliper with precision.  There is no set dimension.  Flare is set by EYE.  You flare the case and then set a bullet on the case mouth.  The base of the bullet should be a few thousands below the case mouth.  One other thing MIGHT contribute to your problems.  (Again MIGHT contibute.)  The bullet you are using is a Hornady.  If the advertising photo is correct this is a flat base bullet.

 

 

Most bullets used in progressive machines and for CAS shooting are bevel base.  Flat base bullets are harder to align and seat properly and generally require more flare.  This bullet is from a Magma Engineering print.  Magma makes the vast majority of molds for the commercial casters.  Notice the base has a distinct bevel.

 

 

Well I'm glad you said that the RCBS Cowboy dies would not hlep because I juts spent 90 minutes looking for them anywhere in Canada and they do not exist anywhere in Canada - probably because no one wants to import handgun dies for handguns that cannot currently be legally sold or transferred.

 

Here's my updated plan:

 

I don't like that the Dillon resizing die is sizing the case down to .373" but if i can expand the case properly to accept the bullet at Station 2 powder drop, so be it. I don't like the extra unnedded "working" of the brass cases down to .373" and then up again to accept the bullet, but can't seem to avoid it.

 

When the UniqueTek expander funnel arrives, I'll have both it and the Dillon one. The UniqueTek one issuppsoed to be a larger OD. than the Dillon one.ONE of them has to work.

 

I have the Lee Factory Crimp die coming, and that will ensure an acceptable crimp AND a case oD that will be guaranteed to fit into any SAAMI-compliant clyinder.

 

That leaves only the Redding seating die with the micrometer adjustment that I love, but some of you have suggested it is doing something more than simply setting the COAL to my 1.580" target. So, I am going to find a Dillon seating die and try that just to eliminate the possiiblity that the Redding seating die is doing harm with the unjacketed lead bullet.

 

I don't know what else I can change here.

[Mysterious Stranger]

5 minutes ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

Just make a couple of dummies - no powder and primer. Highly unlikely they’ll feed reliably, if at all. 

 

If I make just 2 dummy cartridges is that sufficient to know if ALL cartridges with that bullet will behave the same? I'm asking because I don't know how sensitive and/or variable an 1873 lever action rifle is.

[Mysterious Stranger]

I just tried feeding 2 dummy cartridges into the 1873 rifle. Abilene Smith was correct. These bullets will not feed in the rifle.  And these were the only bullets I could get in any quantity when I went looking for bullets.

 

I guess though that ANOTHER search for bullets is now required.

 

At this point, I feel just a bit overwhelmed with the sheer number of apparent roadblocks in getting set up for CAS again. It was never this hard before.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

 Two'll do 'er.   Unless you are right on a max or min length, you will get just about 100% proof of function.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Just now, Mysterious Stranger said:

It was never this hard before.

For other shooting sports "before"?

 

Yes, It's harder (or at least different) getting started if you have not been shooting old west guns and loading cast bullets all your life.   For some of us, it's natural as picking Daisy's.   Pun and Gun intended.

 

It's why we have an active forum, and a long standing recommendation: 

"Before you buy anything, come out to matches, watch like a hawk and ask lots of questions."

 

good luck, GJ

 

 

 

 

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

7 minutes ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

I just tried feeding 2 dummy cartridges into the 1873 rifle. Abilene Smith was correct. These bullets will not feed in the rifle.  And these were the only bullets I could get in any quantity when I went looking for bullets.

 

I guess though that ANOTHER search for bullets is now required.

 

At this point, I feel just a bit overwhelmed with the sheer number of apparent roadblocks in getting set up for CAS again. It was never this hard before.

You can still use ‘em in your pistols. 

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

2 hours ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

current handgun owner probably bought up as many bullets, primers, handgun powder, etc  as he or she could afford.

 

Have you not heard there is a real serious lack of loaded ammo and reloading components and equipment right now, due to the previous pandemic and supply chain failures and the defense of Ukraine?  This is just about the hardest time to start new loading efforts or acquiring firearms of the last 70 years, going back to right after WW II when demand also outstripped supply.

 

good luck, GJ

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Stranger, before you go any further, pick up a copy of this book if you don’t already have one. Probably the most valuable book ever printed for our game. Don’t let the title fool you as it’s not all about casting bullets. Read it from the beginning, it will answer a lot of your questions about loading lead bullets. 
 

https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Bullet-Handbook-Multiple-Model/dp/B086R4SPC2

 

 

[Mysterious Stranger]

1 hour ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

Stranger, before you go any further, pick up a copy of this book if you don’t already have one. Probably the most valuable book ever printed for our game. Don’t let the title fool you as it’s not all about casting bullets. Read it from the beginning, it will answer a lot of your questions about loading lead bullets. 
 

https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Bullet-Handbook-Multiple-Model/dp/B086R4SPC2

 

 

 

Yes, I can see the value in doing that. Clearly, there is a lot more to unjacketed lead bullets than I currently know. Interestingly, that link you gave me to Amazon.com says what I so used to currently seeing: "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."

 

I ordered another book, "The Top Shooter's Guide to Cowboy Action Shooting" by Hunter Scott Anderson, at the beginning of February from The u.S., and it has not yet arrived. The latest postal tracking says "Item delayed — stay tuned for updates".  It'll probably warn me after it finally arrives about not using SWC bullets in 1873 rifles. It never occurred to me  that Hornady would offer an unjacketed lead SWC bullet labeled "Frontier" that would not feed in a CAS rifle. 

 

I WILL look for that Lyman cast bullet book.

[Sedalia Dave]

99% of your problem is caused by those Hornady swagged bullets. 

 

Quote

For cowboy shooters, authenticity is a strict requirement. That's why we build our Cowboy™ bullets to SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) specifications while holding them to the same stringent production standards as all our products.

 

The above quote is from Hornady's website. It is 1000% BS. Let me say that again so there is NO misunderstanding. The above quote is 1000% BS. 

 

Except for the requirement that they are unjacketed, THERE IS NO SASS SPECIFICATION FOR BULLETS. If there were, it definitely wouldn't specify a SWC bullet design. 

 

I strongly suggest you read  "From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners" Even if you never cast a bullet there is a lot of invaluable information there about bullet hardness and the purpose of bullet lubes.

 

Next you need to read everything you can get your hands on written by Elmer Keith. He forgot more about cast bullets than most people will ever know.

 

BTW Yes we shoot thousands of cast lead bullets however CAS/SASS is not Bullseye. Almost all of the handguns we use in CAS do not have sights accurate enough for Bullseye competitions.

Minute of pie plate accuracy is more than accurate enough for 99.99% of CAS shooters.

 

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

59 minutes ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

 

Yes, I can see the value in doing that. Clearly, there is a lot more to unjacketed lead bullets than I currently know. Interestingly, that link you gave me to Amazon.com says what I so used to currently seeing: "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."

 

I ordered another book, "The Top Shooter's Guide to Cowboy Action Shooting" by Hunter Scott Anderson, at the beginning of February from The u.S., and it has not yet arrived. The latest postal tracking says "Item delayed — stay tuned for updates".  It'll probably warn me after it finally arrives about not using SWC bullets in 1873 rifles. It never occurred to me  that Hornady would offer an unjacketed lead SWC bullet labeled "Frontier" that would not feed in a CAS rifle. 

 

I WILL look for that Lyman cast bullet book.

Huh. In my browser, it shows in stock and can be delivered Wednesday. It's also available from Cabelas, Midway USA, etc. You can also get it direct from Lyman. 

 

https://www.lymanproducts.com/cast-bullet-handbook-4th-edition 

 

Every cast bullet shooter needs this book. Not only for the excellent info about cast lead bullets, but it has loading recipes for any cartridge you can think of.

 

From the synopsis of the book you ordered, I don't think it's going to tell you a thing about reloading except maybe in very general terms. Let us know what you think of it after it arrives.

 

 

 

 

[Cholla]

I got the understanding that you did this before from your SASS number and comments. What did you change from when you did this before? I recommend going back to what worked 20 years ago.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Lyman CBH In stock or not - One's an Amazon link.  One's direct from Lyman.  They will be very likely not to show the same status.

 

good luck, GJ

 

 

BTW -

"Lead bullet" is a complete description of the bullets we shoot.  Or "cast bullet" if so made.  No need to add "unjacketed" (a non-word) in front of it.

[Mysterious Stranger]

7 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

99% of your problem is caused by those Hornady swagged bullets. 

 

 

The above quote is from Hornady's website. It is 1000% BS. Let me say that again so there is NO misunderstanding. The above quote is 1000% BS. 

 

Except for the requirement that they are unjacketed, THERE IS NO SASS SPECIFICATION FOR BULLETS. If there were, it definitely wouldn't specify a SWC bullet design. 

 

I strongly suggest you read  "From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners" Even if you never cast a bullet there is a lot of invaluable information there about bullet hardness and the purpose of bullet lubes.

 

Next you need to read everything you can get your hands on written by Elmer Keith. He forgot more about cast bullets than most people will ever know.

 

BTW Yes we shoot thousands of cast lead bullets however CAS/SASS is not Bullseye. Almost all of the handguns we use in CAS do not have sights accurate enough for Bullseye competitions.

Minute of pie plate accuracy is more than accurate enough for 99.99% of CAS shooters.

 

 

Yes, I agree that the current biggest problems are caused by the Hornady 10408 bullet and its rather untruthful advertising by Hornady. They should be ashamed.

 

But, it was also the only bullet available to me in more than random occasional boxes, and given the Hornady advertising, and the current unavailability problems with every other bullet I tried to get, I bought a supply of that bullet. And here's the thing: unless the availability of other bullets has improved miraculously within the past few weeks, I am probably going to have to make that bullet work for the revolvers.

 

But that leaves a kind of overwhelming list of OTHER things that also need correction:

 

- Those bullets won't fed in the rifle at all, so I still need to find SOME other bullet that is (a) available, (b) cast lead, (c) will feed in the rifle, and (d) will actually shoot reasonably accurately in that specific rifle.

 

- Both my revolvers have the absolute worst authentic sighting system I have ever owned. They make the Schofield sights I used to have seem like super target sights in comparison. It is currently taking me several seconds to get a sight picture good enough to pull the trigger. I sure hope you guys are serious when you say that the handgun distances to target are short enough to just point.

 

- Both revolvers have now been proven by laser boresighting to have significant built-in sight windage errors

 

- Each revolver has a DIFFERENT windage error, with one of them being close to twice the error of the other. This means I have to remember which revolver I am currently firing on each and every string to make the right compensation in my sighting. And that compensation is evidently important. Shooting at the knockdown target rack of 8" disks at the CAS part of the local range, which is set at 17 yards (Hey, don't adk ME why 17 yards), I couldn't SEE the black front sight against the dark gray of the target steel, ut when I finally got a half-assed sight picture, I found that the 158g 770 fps bullet would "ring" the targets but NOT knock down the targets unless I hit them pretty high, where their leverage against their mounts was sufficient to have them go down. That was a little disappointing because trying to hit the circular targets high where they are smaller is hard to do with 4" of built in windage error in the sights.

 

- It's still WINTER here, with temperatures below freezing, lots of wind, and snow many days (today for example), so visits to the range are not feasible most days. I have to look for a weather forecast that is above normal in temperature and with no snowfall having occurred  within the past couple of days at least, since the range driving paths are basically "unimproved" prairie open to the wind. The 2nd last range session covered even the side mirrors on the all-wheel drive pickup with mud, since everything was flooded with melting snow. The one before that I was glad I had studded aggressive winter tires that leave tracks that look like a tank made them, because the snow had not yet melted! I need to make this questionable range access work because there are only a few weeks to CAS match season, and I am basically nowhere on load development because of that damn Hornady bullet.

 

- NONE of the TiteGroup loads work as well as the Trail Boss loads did, but Trail Boss is no longer being produced.

 

- Most of what I need or would like to try, like the UniqueTek expander, the "slip-on" Sure Hit front sight cover, and any books on CAS equipment / techniques /quirks,  are only available from the U.S., and with the current shipping costs and delays, actually GETTING them has been problematic. I had to wait FOUR MONTHS for my Mernickel holster rig. The CAS book I ordered literally weeks ago made it to Canada Post, but Canada Post appears to have lost it somewhere about a week and a half ago.

 

- The first 1873 rifle I bought came from Cimarron with a chemically damaged barrel bore. Cimarron said they would replace the barrel but because Uberti is backordered so badly, it will be about a year before I will get the replacement barrel, so Ihad to buy a 2nd rifle just to be able to shoot CAS at all before next winter. Then, when I do finally get the replacement barrel, I get to pay a gunsmith locally to do the physical replacement.

 

I really don't know now how I can possibly get all the issues addressed and resolved before CAS match season begins here sometime in May. There's probably not enough time and not enough money. And, truthfully I am just getting tired of dealing with it all. Learning aluminum TIG welding has been far easier and far less costly than getting back into CAS.

 

 

 

[Mysterious Stranger]

22 minutes ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

Huh. In my browser, it shows in stock and can be delivered Wednesday. It's also available from Cabelas, Midway USA, etc. You can also get it direct from Lyman. 

 

https://www.lymanproducts.com/cast-bullet-handbook-4th-edition 

 

Every cast bullet shooter needs this book. Not only for the excellent info about cast lead bullets, but it has loading recipes for any cartridge you can think of.

 

From the synopsis of the book you ordered, I don't think it's going to tell you a thing about reloading except maybe in very general terms. Let us know what you think of it after it arrives.

 

 

 

 

 

Abilene, remember I am in Canada, not in The U.S. As I mentioned above, the last book I ordered from The U.S. was in early February, and it has STILL not arrived, and now Amazon Canada says it's probably lost, and Canada Post basically admitted that about a week and half ago. That book cost me $40 CDN because we pay more for everything here because of the current dollar exchange rate. So, there will be no further book orders by me from The U.S.

[Mysterious Stranger]

9 minutes ago, Cholla said:

I got the understanding that you did this before from your SASS number and comments. What did you change from when you did this before? I recommend going back to what worked 20 years ago.

 

I'd LOVE to be able to do that. But, I cannot buy a pair of Schofields again because (a) They are very unavailable and (b) It is illegal now for me to buy any more handguns due to the latest Federal Government order-in-council. Likewise I cannot find and buy the same cast bullets I used then. I have the same type of rifle now, but the bullets I have won't feed in it.

 

So yes, I have tried to reproduce what worked well for me in the past, but things have changed, and the powder and bullet issues not going to be easy to overcome given the current unavailability issues here in Canada.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

35 minutes ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

 

Abilene, remember I am in Canada, not in The U.S. As I mentioned above, the last book I ordered from The U.S. was in early February, and it has STILL not arrived, and now Amazon Canada says it's probably lost, and Canada Post basically admitted that about a week and half ago. That book cost me $40 CDN because we pay more for everything here because of the current dollar exchange rate. So, there will be no further book orders by me from The U.S.

There are some fine Canadian pards who inhabit the SASS Wire Saloon, but seldom post on this forum. You might try posting in the Saloon and ask about sources in Canada. 
 

https://forums.sassnet.com/index.php?/forum/16-sass-wire-saloon/

[Texas Jack Black]

6 hours ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

 

Abilene, remember I am in Canada, not in The U.S. As I mentioned above, the last book I ordered from The U.S. was in early February, and it has STILL not arrived, and now Amazon Canada says it's probably lost, and Canada Post basically admitted that about a week and half ago. That book cost me $40 CDN because we pay more for everything here because of the current dollar exchange rate. So, there will be no further book orders by me from The U.S.

I thought you were a postal inspector at one time? .

 

Also there are SASS clubs in Canada maybe you should reach out to one.

 

Best Wishes

[Mysterious Stranger]

7 hours ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

 

I'd LOVE to be able to do that. But, I cannot buy a pair of Schofields again because (a) They are very unavailable and (b) It is illegal now for me to buy any more handguns due to the latest Federal Government order-in-council. Likewise I cannot find and buy the same cast bullets I used then. I have the same type of rifle now, but the bullets I have won't feed in it.

 

So yes, I have tried to reproduce what worked well for me in the past, but things have changed, and the powder and bullet issues not going to be easy to overcome given the current unavailability issues here in Canada.

 

That's a good idea, Abilene. I'll take a look there. (I normally stay out of saloons, as the saloon girls scare me!)

[Mysterious Stranger]

1 hour ago, Texas Jack Black said:

I thought you were a postal inspector at one time? .

 

Also there are SASS clubs in Canada maybe you should reach out to one.

 

Best Wishes

 

Yes, in real life, I worked as a contract project manager at United State Postal for 7 years, and having done so, I get why postal service is sometimes so challenged! The culture there had many ingrained features, including a strong aversion to both change and authority! Postal had the highest ratio of firearms and Harley owners I have ever encountered. Nothing, including the mail, was to be rushed without first savouring the control inherent in actual possession and reluctant release. 

 

Canada Post appears to have copied its U.S. brother, except that it traditionally has a much stronger taste for frequent labour strikes, and seems to play the post-COVID supply line disruption and fuel cost cards even more aggressively. On a recent mailing of an important document package, I paid about $25 for the registered mail and proof of delivery charge, but also paid a $12 fuel surcharge for the package that weighed a few ounces. No exaggeration.

 

In both countries, you cannot fight Postal. You just have to grin and bear it. "Reisstance (or complaint) is futile".

 

The local CAS club is non-SASS, pretty informal, does not have a website, and communication is only via personal interaction at the monthly matches which are shut down for the winter. There is a SASS-affiliated club an hour and a quarter away that has a website and some contact info. I'll give it a shout.

[Mysterious Stranger]

45 minutes ago, Mysterious Stranger said:

 

That's a good idea, Abilene. I'll take a look there. (I normally stay out of saloons, as the saloon girls scare me!)

 

I just posted in The Saloon. Hopefully, there will be some replies. 

[Eyesa Horg]

FWIW.... I have never measured the diameter of my loaded rounds before, just gage checked them. After all your discussion and concern about them measuring .375, I just measured a bunch just a bit below the crimp.

I measured 15 of Ellie's 38s that I have been reloading for over 5 years, 6 Winchester factory Black Talon 357s, and 6 Remington factory Golden saber brass 357s, as well as some jacketed 357 reloads as well as 6 Hornady Critical Defense 38s. Every single one of them measured .375.

With that info, I don't believe you have any issue with your dies, but with those bullets possibly. So don't be bummed when your new bullets or dies make cartridges with the same .375 measurements.