Old 45 Colt Dies

[bamagreg]

I have some old Lyman A-A 45 Colt dies that just don't seem right.  After resizing and expanding the case a "Matt's" 260 grain bullet will just drop right into the case and rest on the powder.  I first thought maybe the expander was too big so I tried a bullet without expanding the case mouth and it dropped right in too.  I bought these dies used almost 40 years ago and have not really used them much.  Has anyone ever worn out a re-sizing die (these are not carbide)?  I'm getting new dies, just wondering if anyone has ever had this situation?

[Encore64]

Many of the old dies sized the brass for .454" bullets. Perhaps the case with your dies?

[boolitdesigner]

That old die will make an excellent neck sizer for the 45 caliber rifles...................

[magnumwheelman]

Thought I was going to see an old SAA worn out or broken

[nicholst55]

People HAVE worn out steel sizing dies, but typically they were commercial reloaders who loaded hundreds of thousands or even millions of rounds of ammo. More likely as stated earlier, the die was intended for .454" (or even larger) diameter bullets.

[Ramar]

Inclined to agree with encore64. Depending on the age of the dies, my old Colt SAA chamber mouths are probably about 454.
Another thought, since it's not a carbide die, could the die interior be tapered? If so, it would need touch the shellholder with a case being sized to get to the smaller diameter at the case mouth.

[boolitdesigner]

A lot of older dies are set up to size enough for the bullet and size only slightly below that to the case head. About like a bottle type sizing for a straight case. This was common from RCBS and others before the late 60's.

[AxeHandle]

My RCBS 45 Colt dies are virtually 50 years old and work fine. I have seen what you describe with new 45 Colt cases that have not been sized. I'd think your fix is a new carbide sizer... You will love it!