Is there a way to safely resize a cartridge after it is loaded?

[oli700]

It does work. I lightly resized about 400 rounds one time doing it with a body die. There was a discussion about it on Accurateshooter one time about it. The majority voiced the same opinion voiced here, but a few of the more credible members said they did it. So I gave it a try while hiding on the other side of my fridge. Nothing blew up. 400 rounds later they all chambered just fine.

isn't this how the net works ? a few regulars with standard canned answers and good guesses then you got the few who have actually done a thing that no one listens to because they don't post enough canned answers .....generally

 

[gundog10]

When I was young a friend and I used to race our motorcycles to work. We were wide open and passing cars on both left and right sides of the single lane road. What a rush. Would I recommend it to my grandkids or anyone else asking for advise? No, I'll stick to my safe Canned answer, be safe because I want you around.

 

[fxdc]

It does work. I lightly resized about 400 rounds one time doing it with a body die. There was a discussion about it on Accurateshooter one time about it. The majority voiced the same opinion voiced here, but a few of the more credible members said they did it. So I gave it a try while hiding on the other side of my fridge. Nothing blew up. 400 rounds later they all chambered just fine.

Where did you get the body die. Brand? More info, please.

 

[Otter]

I was using Redding Competition dies, which comes with a body die. You can buy from Redding just the body die.

This die, if set up right, will slightly reduce the diameter of the body as well as bump the shoulder back. My problem was the cases were slightly too fat above the web. The body die addressed that issue and I was able to get that done and only bump the shoulder back about .001 or so.

 

[JustShoot]

I was using Redding Competition dies, which comes with a body die. You can buy from Redding just the body die.

This die, if set up right, will slightly reduce the diameter of the body as well as bump the shoulder back. My problem was the cases were slightly too fat above the web. The body die addressed that issue and I was able to get that done and only bump the shoulder back about .001 or so.

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that Redding body-Only die is a good one to use . I have used it over many years, many times with Empty brass, Primed Brass and live Rounds and never a problem .
You will find the practice of sizing body-only gets more prevalent with the more strait-walled Brass over the formed Brass with a good body tapper . Especially if your neck-sizing only for reloading . (example) - Big differences in the body tapper shape of .308 Win or 300wm , to a 6BR or WSM that is more strait-wall .
About the best body only die that I have ever had was the arbor press Wilson body-only dies . more expensive than Reddings . but The Wilson's had separate individual bushings that you could pick and choose to slide in the body-only die . It was pretty sweet and 'precise' on bumping just the amount you need to chamber with a body-only bump .
.

 

[rpatton]

This discussion seems to be mostly about rifle rounds as near as I can tell. What about straight walled pistol rounds? Specifically 357 Magnums that do not want to drop all the way into the cylinder. There is a slight bulge in the case at the base of the bullet, no visible problems with the cylinders themselves.

 

[orygun]

If the round hangs up on that bulge, you're doomed. It's usually not a problem, though.
Has the gun been fired with 38 Specials? That could leave enough residue to make it difficult to chamber a 357. If it truly is the bullet not being seated enough and the bullet isn't crimped, you should be able to put it back in the press and seat the bullet a little deeper. If it's crimped, you'll probably have to pull the bullet forward to break the crimp, then re-seat and crimp.

 

[ditchtiger]

Lee Bulge Buster Kit - Lee Precision
check specs for 308 to 45acp

 

[EricJK]

Yes, resizing a loaded round CAN be done safely. I have done this with 100 .308 Winchester rounds. As long as primers are seated below flush, it is no more "dangerous" than putting a heavy roll crimp on a cartridge.

I used a Redding full-length bushing die to resize .308 ammunition that I had neck sized and that would not fit either of my rifles. This could be done with any full-length bushing die (Redding, Hornady, et cetera). You need to remove all of the hardware associated with the decapping rod so that the bullet will not hang up on anything.

The point where you have to be very careful - you MUST lube the cases and you MUST clean off all of the lube before trying to fire a round. Unlike empty cases, you cannot throw the rounds into a tumbler to clean off the lube (most manufacturers of tumblers say this will degrade your powder) - you have to wipe each one down with a rag or paper towel.

I would recommend - though it is not required - to use either the Imperial sizing lube or Hornady paste lube, as these clean off easier. You can also adjust the amount of lube used more easily. In my situation, I needed the paste lube as my standard lube (Lyman) was not slick enough for the cases to completely enter the die.

For what it's worth, the same can be done with rimless handgun rounds. I have resized over 500 loaded .40 S&W rounds using a Lee Bulge Buster (which pushes cases through Lee's carbide taper crimp die after the crimp collar and adjusting knob are removed). Lee's kit concerned me at first because the supplied press "button" that pushes cases through the crimp die only appears to be about the diameter of a large primer.

EricJK