When to use the chamfer tool?

[BPE]

Ok guys - I'm totally new to the reloading scene. I just picked up a Lee 50th Anniversary kit last week at the fairgrounds. I've been reading books on reloading now for almost a month or so and I still have questions. In my first round of reloading I used ~20 rounds of spent .40 S&W Remmington brass. The entire process took me about 3 hours since it was my first time and I had to setup everything up on my work bench. Also just pointing out the fact that I was reading the instructions 2-3 times for each step before I tried anything. Everything sized perfectly and I was sure to use a digital micrometer I had lying around, don't ask - it's for another project, and made sure that everything was to specifications with my reloading information on this size cartridge. I haven't shot the rounds I made yet but I'm sure they'll all go bang. The question is when should I concern myself with the included chamfer tool included in the kit as well as the lock stud for tirmming the case? I guess in all my reading I really am not clear on the purpose of the tool. Sorry if this is a question that's been answered before or in great length. I just want to know with 100% certainity that what I'm doing is correct and safe. It's not worth saving a few pennies a round if I don't have full sight, hearing and both hands still intact at the end of the day.

[leroy]

Had lots of experience with the case chamfer issue -- all of it bad. Always chamfer the inside of every new case mouth before you try to seat the bullet. I do mine in batches. I size them, then chamfer. When you size a case you shrink the case mouth back down to hold the bullet tightly. That makes an interference fit between the case mouth and the bullet; especially on auto pistol and rifle cases. When you chamfer the inside of the case mouth (you only need to do it once unless you trim the brass); you provide a ramp for the bullet base to enter the case smoothly without hanging on the square edge of the case mouth. It just takes a touch to provide this chamfer.

If you try to reload and don't ensure that the case mouth is chamfered; you will most likely not be able to seat the bullet without bothering the base; and the base is the steering end of the bullet; you don't want it deformed in any way. What always happened to me, was that i would crush the mouth of the brass trying to seat the bullet if i didn't chamfer the cases first. This ruins both the brass and bullet. Case trimming is an issue unto it's self; and ill let the rifle guys tell you about it.

Hope this helps,

LEROY

[BPE]

Thanks for the information Leroy! Much appreciated. Now that you mention it I did destroy the first case I tried to seat a bullet into. It was completely demolished and I wasn't quite sure exactly what took place. I thought maybe I didn't have the brass positioned correctly in the holder when I drove the ram home. Other than that one the other bullets seated smoothly and are nice and snug. I did seat the first one a bit low in my attempt to get it right the first time until a friend who was reloading with me pointed out that we should seat real loose and then continue to adjust the press as needed to get the correct seating. "Eugene you genius," I exclaimed quietly in my mind. Thanks again for the response, though. I don't quite have the inclination to go out and buy brass at the moment until I get through using up all of my factory loads and reloading those.

[Guest GimpyLeg]

Are you asking about chamfering the case or expanding the case? I always took those to mean two different things. In my mind, chamfering is removing metal, while expanding is stretching the mouth of the case slightly larger than the OD of the bullet so it will not hang and seat properly. Skool me if I am wrong.

[timcalhoun]

OK, IN GENERAL there is no good reason to use chamfer tool if you are reloading pistol rounds (40,45,9mm etc.). It is a complete waste of time. The only exception is if you are loading for extreme accuracy. I load and shoot approx 15-20K rounds a year (mostly all 40 and 45) and my ammo will print as good or better than any factory ammo at 25 or 50 yards. The only thing you may want to do is buy and use a chamber check so that no fat rounds cause a jam. Now, loading for extreme accuracy in a rifle or hunting pistol where you might take really long shots is a total different matter.

[timcalhoun]

Are you asking about chamfering the case or expanding the case? I always took those to mean two different things. In my mind, chamfering is removing metal, while expanding is stretching the mouth of the case slightly larger than the OD of the bullet so it will not hang and seat properly. Skool me if I am wrong.

You are correct.

[leroy]

OK, IN GENERAL there is no good reason to use chamfer tool if you are reloading pistol rounds (40,45,9mm etc.). It is a complete waste of time. The only exception is if you are loading for extreme accuracy. I load and shoot approx 15-20K rounds a year (mostly all 40 and 45) and my ammo will print as good or better than any factory ammo at 25 or 50 yards. The only thing you may want to do is buy and use a chamber check so that no fat rounds cause a jam. Now, loading for extreme accuracy in a rifle or hunting pistol where you might take really long shots is a total different matter.

Tim is exactly right if you are using bevel base bullets and flare the case mouth quite a bit (enough for the bullet to start in). If you want a tight fit to the case neck and are using flat base bullets (in the case of pistol reloading, most all of which are hard cast lead. In the case of rifle rounds; there are lots of flat base bullets out there); you need to chamfer the case mouths. By the way, you only need to chamfer the case mouths once. It will last until you have to trim the cases. I've been doing this about 30 years now; only had to trim bottle neck rifle cases.

Ditto on the checker.

NOW TO GIMPY'S COMMENT:

Are you asking about chamfering the case or expanding the case? I always took those to mean two different things. In my mind, chamfering is removing metal, while expanding is stretching the mouth of the case slightly larger than the OD of the bullet so it will not hang and seat properly. Skool me if I am wrong.

You are not wrong, my explanation was too brief.

We shoot lots of big bore revolver stuff. We always resize every new batch of cases before they are first reloaded -- thats the resizing and squeezing down thing -- it makes sure the neck is exactly the right size and uniform. We then chamfer (thats metal removal, just as you said) the case mouth. Some folks like to bell the case mouths pretty big; I dont -- we just bell em enough for the bullet to sit on top of the case; thats why you need the chamfer.

Lots of folks (like Tim, i suspect), will bell the mouth of the case (that expands or stretches it) and use bevel base bullets in a progressive reloader or turret press. When you do that, it speeds up things quite a bit; you do not need to do the chamfer. Both ways work; but either way, the case must be chamfered if you have a tight bullet pull or belled enough for the bullet base to start into the brass.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

LEROY

PS: I like a tight neck pull on both pistol and rifle bullets, and the "long way" i described will give a tight bullet pull for rifles and heavy hangun loads. Some of the real slow powders need lots of bullet pull (read that tension on the bullet by a smaller neck) plus a heavy roll crimp in order to burn clean or prevent an occasional squib or hang fire. Examples of these powder are Winchester 296 and Hogdon H110. You dont have to worry about this with most of the powders for autoloading pistols; and the powder container or the handload data should mention it anyway.

[Guest GimpyLeg]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. You (both Tim and Leroy) have taught me things I did not know. Thank you!

[timcalhoun]

Tim is exactly right if you are using bevel base bullets and flare the case mouth quite a bit (enough for the bullet to start in). If you want a tight fit to the case neck and are using flat base bullets (in the case of pistol reloading, most all of which are hard cast lead. In the case of rifle rounds; there are lots of flat base bullets out there); you need to chamfer the case mouths. By the way, you only need to chamfer the case mouths once. It will last until you have to trim the cases. I've been doing this about 30 years now; only had to trim bottle neck rifle cases.

Ditto on the checker.

NOW TO GIMPY'S COMMENT:

Are you asking about chamfering the case or expanding the case? I always took those to mean two different things. In my mind, chamfering is removing metal, while expanding is stretching the mouth of the case slightly larger than the OD of the bullet so it will not hang and seat properly. Skool me if I am wrong.

You are not wrong, my explanation was too brief.

We shoot lots of big bore revolver stuff. We always resize every new batch of cases before they are first reloaded -- thats the resizing and squeezing down thing -- it makes sure the neck is exactly the right size and uniform. We then chamfer (thats metal removal, just as you said) the case mouth. Some folks like to bell the case mouths pretty big; I dont -- we just bell em enough for the bullet to sit on top of the case; thats why you need the chamfer.

Lots of folks (like Tim, i suspect), will bell the mouth of the case (that expands or stretches it) and use bevel base bullets in a progressive reloader or turret press. When you do that, it speeds up things quite a bit; you do not need to do the chamfer. Both ways work; but either way, the case must be chamfered if you have a tight bullet pull or belled enough for the bullet base to start into the brass.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

LEROY

PS: I like a tight neck pull on both pistol and rifle bullets, and the "long way" i described will give a tight bullet pull for rifles and heavy hangun loads. Some of the real slow powders need lots of bullet pull (read that tension on the bullet by a smaller neck) plus a heavy roll crimp in order to burn clean or prevent an occasional squib or hang fire. Examples of these powder are Winchester 296 and Hogdon H110. You dont have to worry about this with most of the powders for autoloading pistols; and the powder container or the handload data should mention it anyway.

+1

I chamfer all my hunting and varmint loads and load just as Leroy describes. In fact when I'm really trying to build a tack driving load, I mostly fire form my brass, then trim, then neck size, then chamfer and so on.

On a progressive press for pistol rounds I use a EGW undersize sizing die that sizes further down on the case than normal and gets rid of any glock bulge, I bell the mouth of the case before seating the bullet and then my crimp die is a Lee factory crimp die that as well as crimping the round it sizes the entire round once again. With this combo, chamber checking rounds is almost an exercise in futility. It totally rocks.