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Post by 22boomer on Jul 19, 2011 7:26:02 GMT -5
I've reloaded my Tok brass but always with something other than the orignal 85 grain bullet. I finally tried some yesterday and the bullets went into the brass really screwy -- like off-center. I thought maybe I needed to bell the mouth of the cartridge case a bit more but that didn't help. I wound up making my own expander ball for the case since the thing that comes with the Lee FL die didn't seem to be working at all. Has anybody else had this problem with the Lee 7.62X25 Tok die set?
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Post by HMC710 on Jul 19, 2011 17:28:15 GMT -5
Mine run like a Timex
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Post by 22boomer on Jul 19, 2011 21:24:08 GMT -5
I never had any luck with the decaper/expander on the Lee FL die. After posting this thread I checked the internet and found others with the same problem. What they did was use a universal decaper and go to a Lyman 30 caliber M type case neck expander. I made my own expander and it works like a champ but I may still get the Lyman M type die since it only costs like $19 and bells the case mouth. I know this sounds like a lot of work but the Lee expander ball (if you can call it that) just would not work for me. Obviously the Lee Tok/Mauser FL die works for a lot of people -- just not me -- and a couple of other guys. |
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hk91666
New Member
"Si Vis Pacem Parabellum"
Posts: 48
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Post by hk91666 on Jul 19, 2011 23:24:31 GMT -5
My Lee dies were giving me problems with Sabots I have not tried regular bullets yet, This is with S&B brass.
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Post by 22boomer on Jul 20, 2011 5:00:38 GMT -5
My Lee dies were giving me problems with Sabots I have not tried regular bullets yet, This is with S&B brass. I was having trouble with both S&B and Starline. The problem for me is the expander did not want to go into the necks, even if the necks were belled. It would drag enough to cause the shoulder of the case to be deformed. I measured the expander and it was right on at .307" -- I can only guess it had too much angle to the leading edge. |
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Post by HMC710 on Jul 20, 2011 6:44:50 GMT -5
You try moving the "expander" down? I had the same exact issue with the 300 BLK until GW reminded me how to set up my loading dies  Expander was up too high binding the neck of the case - can't squeeze and expand at the same time..... Thanks GW |
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Post by greywuuf on Jul 20, 2011 14:52:51 GMT -5
I was going to mention the discrepancy in neck and bullet diameters, euro tends to think of .30 cal as .311-.312 and sometimes the expanders are a little generous. You have however measured yours and are aware of that. I would think .307 would be a little loose for neck tension, unless you get a lot of "springback" on the brass.
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Post by greywuuf on Jul 20, 2011 14:59:26 GMT -5
One other thing. Those little 85 grain pills are almost round and exceedinly short, they are going to be a problem to center well any way. You might take a look at your seating stem and see if it can fit better as well. I have gone as far as "bedding" a bullet in epoxy (later removed) to get a particular style bullet to work with some dies.
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Post by 22boomer on Jul 20, 2011 18:28:42 GMT -5
It's really kinda funny about the expander in my Lee/Tok die set. Since I made an expander that works I decided to take some off the the expander section of the decapper tip -- down to .305 and polished it really nice -- and the darn thing still refused to go down into the case neck -- it actually pushes the decapper rod up in that jam nut on the top of the die. I even put some neck sizing wax on the expander and it will not go into the case neck. I figured "the heck with it" and turned the expander down so it will fit and I can still use the thing as a decapper instead of using my universal decapper. The strange part is I could insert heavier bullets that go all the way to the base of the neck or further and they were fine but the little 85 gr bullets are short and only go in the neck about 3/4th of the way and some caused bulging. Since I made the new expander the problem is cleared -- the little bullets go in nice and straight.
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Post by greywuuf on Jul 20, 2011 19:34:41 GMT -5
Glad you got it all working, but it really sounds like the factory expanders is to "high" inside the case and is trying to expand while the sizer portion is try to squeeze. I run mine to where the expander "ball" almost hits the inside of the flash hole.
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Post by greywuuf on Jul 20, 2011 19:37:11 GMT -5
Almost forgot to ask... What kind of velocity are you expecting out of them little bullets? And have you tried any of the 110grain softpoints? Plinkers I think they are called. Designed as a cheap bullet for the 30 carbine.
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Post by 22boomer on Jul 20, 2011 20:28:22 GMT -5
Glad you got it all working, but it really sounds like the factory expanders is to "high" inside the case and is trying to expand while the sizer portion is try to squeeze. I run mine to where the expander "ball" almost hits the inside of the flash hole. I know what you mean about the expander portion being too high -- no it was not. I actually took the decapper pin out of the little screw-on piece and had the whole thing right at the mouth of the FL die. I noticed that Lyman has a decapper with a carbide expander that's shaped like a ball and fits in the same place that the Lee expander is. Problem is Lyman doesn't make a 7.62 Tok die set and I believe the Lyman decapper setup is not at all like the Lee so I can't swap them. I have some velocity info that I got from Accurate Arms and I'll try to find it and post it. The AR I'm using has the gas port in the pistol length position -- one of the original DI setups actually built for the 7.62 Mini-Whisper. This was built back in 2005. |
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Post by 22boomer on Jul 21, 2011 8:04:15 GMT -5
GW,
Sorry to say I don't have any info from Accurate Arms on the 7.62X25 loads -- only for the 22 Reed Express and 17 Reed Express. I don't have Quick Load so I can't do it myself.
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Post by greywuuf on Jul 21, 2011 13:10:15 GMT -5
No sweat on the speed question, just kinda curious if you was shooting for a factory dupe load or if you were trying to heat it up a bit. Some of the prettiest expanders I have seen are the Hornady elliptical expanders, I love them I am able to make .358 win brass from LC 7.62x 54 once fired in a single resizing pass. I think that Hornady had replaced RCBS as my standard in reloading dies. hmmmm speaking of that I really should go get that 358 FAL running again.
good luck
Dan
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Post by 22boomer on Jul 21, 2011 14:48:03 GMT -5
By the way, the picture below is the little 7.62 mini-whisper AR.  The magazine is a cut-down PPS-43 I use for the range. |
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