Is it necessary to size bullets

[Dave11]

Going to start making my own 54 caliber bullets for my TC hawken.
Question,.... is it necessary to size the bullets after casting or is the cast bullet size close enough?
These will be hunting rounds with 100 yds being the maximum shot.

Dave

 

[cannonball1]

Back in my TC days we never sized the maxi's for hunting. Consistent target shooting or long range shooting is a different story..

 

[rmark]

Probably not depending on bullet type. A maxi type bullet should slip into the bore up to the oversized top band which is then started into the rifling and the bullet pushed down onto the powder.

Some bullets are parallel sided without an oversized top band and as long as
the as cast bullet is a sliding fit in the bore they won’t need sizing.

A parallel sided bullet that’s over size would need sizing to bore size. It’s usually suggested that they be lubed before sizing to help maintain the lube grooves in the soft lead bullet during sizing.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Some molds will cast the right size bullet. Most will not cast exactly the size your rifle will like,I make my molds a few thousands over the desired size and then size them to exact size desired.

 

[dave951]

If you're looking for best accuracy then yes. Experimentation with your mold will tell the tale.

 

[bang]

I run mine through a sizer just to make sure the projectile does not have any out of round.

 

[Dave11]

Thanks for the advice!
Now I will need to source a 54 caliber mold

Dave

 

[bronko220002]

If you cast with pure lead and can get them down the bore there is no reason to size them. Just seating them will get them to the right size.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I never sized conical or round balls. Always just went by the size on the molds. Never had an issue.

 

[Rifleman1776]

If you cast with pure lead and can get them down the bore there is no reason to size them. Just seating them will get them to the right size.

Agree, but even with some alloy if not too hard can be used as is.

 

[64Springer]

If my cast bullets are going inside a brass case, they get sized.