Reloading problem

[ldsparamedic]

Hi all, I am reloading .357 for my wife's Taurus single shot revolver. If I use new brass, the rounds fit properly in the cylinder. Once the brass has been fired once, the round no longer fits the cylinder.

I clean them in a tumbler, lube them and run them through the sizer. I cycle each piece of brass in the sizer until there is no resistance. What I notice is the reloaded rounds do no fit on the bottom half of the round, towards the base. My friend who has a colt law enforcement .357 revolver has no problem loading the rounds. My wife's revolver is brand new. The reloaded rounds are the proper length.

I was thinking of having the cylinder honed by a gunsmith, the minimal amount necessary. My buddy says his pistol is "broken in" as it is over 15 years old and has enough wear on the cylinder so as to not have factory tolerances, thus accepting the slightly larger in diameter rounds.

Help!

[kawalekm]

Hi
Since you are lubing your cases, I assume you are using steel (not carbide) dies. The statement

"I cycle each piece of brass in the sizer until there is no resistance",

suggests that you might not be adjusting your dies correctly.

First, place your shell-holder into its slot on the reloading press ram. You then lower the lever of your press so that the ram raises to its highest position. Screw in your sizing die till the bottom of the die just touches the top of the shell-holder. You then lower the ram slightly and then screw IN your die another 1/8 turn towards the shell-holder. Now your cases should be sized enough to fit back in the chambers.

By the way, I gave up on using steel dies a long time ago. Carbide dies are great because you never have to lube cases again. Here's one you could get.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=630528

You adjust the carbide dies slightly differently. You repeat the first part where your screw the die down till the bottom touches the shell-holder. At this point lean over and look closely at the meeting of the die and shell-holder. Un-screw the die just a faction of a turn just enough to see a crack of light between the bottom of the die and the top of the shell-holder. The carbide insert is very fragile, and hitting the bottom of it with the ram is enough to crack it.

I hope that solves your problem.
Michael

[CastIronCook2]

The hubbest had a similar problem with 7 small mm rounds. He attributed the problem to the Lee dies he was using. When he switched to RCBS dies the problem went away. You might try using different dies before you take the honing approach.

[ldsparamedic]

Hey all, I went and spent 52.00 on a set of RCBS carbide dies. Problem solved. The reloaded round drop in the cylinder just like factory rounds, and fall out after firing as well. I don't know if it was the Lee brand or steel but problem solved. Thank you for your advice.