1.) Wild Bob - 12/23/2014

So I started the first step in working up some reloads for that .416 Taylor...a couple of interesting points I thought I'd share with anyone that might be interested:

I'm using .458 Win Mag casings (brand new; unfired) and I'm necking them down to accept the .416 bullet...

1) I'm also using some Hornady dies for this caliber...this is my first time using Hornady dies (my other dies are all Lee), anyway I learned a particular to the Hornady dies: You really need to tighten the heck out of the spindle pin / expander or it'll have a tendency to pull out on the downward stroke of the resizing/expanding operation. I mean really tighten it!

2) Also, when necking down casings; you may find it necessary to use a little more lube on the inside of the lip of the casing than you might normally use. I.E. during resizing a regular case, that has only been used for the intended caliber - I (as I'm sure many others have experienced) I have learned to be very sparingly with the lube on the inside lip; or it is very easy to get too much built up in there and 'wrinkle' the neck of your case. In this operation (necking down) a little more lube makes the process much easier and smoother, and you won't have issues with deforming the neck.

So here is the finished result:

2.) bluecat - 12/24/2014

I don't know much about reloading but am trying to slowly learn. Snap a picture of you necking down a casing sometime so I/we can see what it is you are doing.

3.) Wild Bob - 01/13/2015

Here you go Bluecat: see additional pictures and hopefully that will clarify things a bit. Sorry for the delay in response; but I've been out of pocket recovering from back surgery for a bit.

First: This is a picture of what I'm starting with - a new unfired .458 Win Mag casing. As you can see, this casing has no shoulder, and that is what we are doing is necking it down to accept the .416 dia. bullet.


Second: This is a picture of the expander die, and the circled part is the spindle pin that I referenced in the first post. This is the part that needs to be really tight, or it will pull loose as you run the ram in the downward stroke; which is shown in the third picture below.


Third: This picture shows the amount of necessary lube which I also referenced in the orginal post. In normal resizing operations (which you always do to all casings that you are reloading to resize them to the correct dimensions before reloading) this would be too much lube and would result in an unsightly crease or dent in the shoulder of the resized case. How ever, since in this operation we are actually reworking the brass into a completely new shape (in shoulder area); this much lube is needed so that you don't have to forcefully work the ram to reshape the casing. (I marked the area, but its still a little tough to see clearly.)



Fourth: Just for reference, here is a before and after picture.


Last: Just for kicks and comparison; the first picture is of a 350 grain .416 Taylor bullet compared to a 100 grain .270 Win. bullet. The last picture is of that same .416 Taylor bullet sitting next to a loaded .223 round.

4.) bluecat - 01/13/2015

That's pretty cool Bob, thanks. Are the taylor casings hard to come by? Is that why you are creating one from the WinMag?

5.) Wild Bob - 01/13/2015

Right-on, there are only two companies that make the .416 Taylor casings with the headstamp, and they are pretty pricey (about 3 bucks a case). The plan is to load my good hunting loads in those with the appropriate headstamp, but use these others for practice loads. I got the 458s for free.:grin:

6.) bluecat - 01/14/2015

One last question. What are going to kill with that thing, Sasquatch?

7.) Wild Bob - 01/14/2015

Yup!

I plan on using it for that Bison tag that I'll probably never draw, and then if by some remote chance, any of my good buddies on HC invite me on an all expense paid safari to Africa...I'll have the big bore ready to go! :lol:

Seriously, I hope to sink my kids college fund into a brown bear hunt on Kodiak. ( :shh:Ssshhh, don't tell anyone about that.)

8.) bluecat - 01/14/2015

Okay, good, I thought maybe we were compensating for something.

9.) Wild Bob - 01/14/2015

:grin:

Na, now if I owned three more guns like that...then I'd say may be! :wink