These rifles have a very short throat. Mine measures 0.045". The 215 grain cast bullets from my custom Boomer bullet mould would protrude way too far into the rifling if I seated them in the case to obtain a normal overall cartridge length of 2.795". The other option would be to set the bullet set way back in the case, but I didn't want to do that. I decided that to solve the problen all I needed to do was modify the shape of the bullet's ogive. Here's how I do it.
My rifle's bore dia. is .340", so I took a 7/8 - 14 bolt, bored a hole through it and polished it to .340". I chamfered the mouth of the hole so the bullet would enter easily. This home-made die will now extend the length of the bullet's ogive so that it doesn't engage the rifling when the cartridge is chambered. I made a top punch and a handle (welded to a nut) to push the bullet back out after the ogive is sized. In the photo below you can see a washer between the nut and bolt head. It is the correct thickness so that the die seats to the proper depth when it is threaded all the way down into my reloading press. The steel "button" in the photo replaces the shell holder. The bullet sits on top of it, base down, and in this way raises the bullet into the this home-made sizing die.
My bullets are all powder coated because I like to shoot them at jacketed velocities. In the photo below this cast bullet is gas checked, sized to grouve dia. (which is .347 in my rifle), powder coated, and sized again.
Here is the same bullet after having the ogive pushed back in my home-made die so that I can seat the bullet out to a overall cartridge length of 2.840" which feeds well in my rifle.
Here is the same bullet (different colour of powder coat) loaded in the case.
The case now crimps the bullet in what was the front lubricating groove.
My rifle's bore dia. is .340", so I took a 7/8 - 14 bolt, bored a hole through it and polished it to .340". I chamfered the mouth of the hole so the bullet would enter easily. This home-made die will now extend the length of the bullet's ogive so that it doesn't engage the rifling when the cartridge is chambered. I made a top punch and a handle (welded to a nut) to push the bullet back out after the ogive is sized. In the photo below you can see a washer between the nut and bolt head. It is the correct thickness so that the die seats to the proper depth when it is threaded all the way down into my reloading press. The steel "button" in the photo replaces the shell holder. The bullet sits on top of it, base down, and in this way raises the bullet into the this home-made sizing die.
My bullets are all powder coated because I like to shoot them at jacketed velocities. In the photo below this cast bullet is gas checked, sized to grouve dia. (which is .347 in my rifle), powder coated, and sized again.
Here is the same bullet after having the ogive pushed back in my home-made die so that I can seat the bullet out to a overall cartridge length of 2.840" which feeds well in my rifle.
Here is the same bullet (different colour of powder coat) loaded in the case.
The case now crimps the bullet in what was the front lubricating groove.