Full sizing rimmed brass
 I have been reloading my .357 brass for years. For the first few years, I was placing too much crimp on the cartridge which caused a bulge at the bottom of the case that many of you are familiar with. My Smith & Wesson model 686 6" had no problem with these brass. They were snug but they fit. Once in a while I would have one that was reluctant to come out but I  never had a problem.
Well, I have asked around and I have not yet found someone with the solution to this. You know, "buy this expensive widget ken and it will fix any problem". It seems to be generally accepted that if the case is bulged near the rim on a .357 mag then the case is bad. Now I  fired those cases their first time and had then done them wrong by placing too tight a crimp and bulged out the case. I just don't agree that these cases are finished. You can see how the case fits in the case gage. Also you can see me measuring the end of the case. I'm wearing gloves in another fruitless attempt to keep my hands clean because I'm really a hand model in a better economy.
I have an old RCBS full sizing die from which I removed the decapping rod, thru which I placed a push rod. (in this case, my field expediant allen wrench) Now, as this is a die that was up for  experimentation and had crummy threads (AND is not a dillion die), I was not concerned about hurting the threads inside. You might be with yours. The ram I am using is out of the Remingotn .40 S&W full sizing die set that I got thru Midway.com.
I used that thick RCBS case lube that we all seem to have laying around. I spread quite a bit on then rammed it into the die. I felt some resistance as the case neared the rim but I forced it thru. Now, I had a picture here of the underside of the press and die. I would show it to you but it seemed impolite. no  really the picture didn't turn out. The case head was pushed up in die flush with just the rim left outside of the die.
Now with a just quick but easy tap, (I hit my finger right there) and the brass came right out. After wiping off the goo, (and blood), you can see now that the case goes easily into  the case gage as well as measuring up with the caliper. I gave the die a quick wipe inside after sizing 50 to keep the lube from becoming excessive and going inside the cases.
I would be mindfull of over stressed brass. These cases have a finite life span. I am doing this to twice fired brass that I believe  has some life left. If you dont know how many times it has been fired, I would use some caution. That same point that I am trying to reach with the sizer with this operation is also the same stress point that will eventually fail. I noticed that some older cases I have are .001 longer than they should be. So I would say that if the used case is new to you, is a little long, won't fit in the case gauge after normal sizing and has the stress "ring" around the case... Well I'd say its bad brass. You could mike the walls and see... but loading it is up to you. ( It's your brass, your cash and it's your ass.. )
I think that I will have to find a better tool to ram the case back out. The allen wrench worked well, right place-right time, but I would like to do this operation with style so I look good when I work and that will impress the chicks. Something out of brass might be nice.
-ken
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