.45ACP question
- Thread starter Zygy
- Start date
To crimp your .45 acp if you have new DIES the crimp die that comes with the set is all you need. If you have older second hand .45 dies and are having problems ,a LEE FACTORY CRIMP die can help, but if you have new LEE dies it doesn't do anything that the ordinary crimp die does. Other die sets have their own taper crimp dies, that usually work well.
I also recommend a taper crimp die because the cartridge headspaces on the front of the case. I had problems at first using a roll crimp die which came with the die set, then switched to the taper crimp die and haven't had a problem in many thousands of reloads.
OneBarfly
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I have found that in order to allow for proper chambering in differing .45's, I need to put a rather firm taper crimp on the round, or stove-piping occurs.
One easy test is to remove your barrel from the pistol and try dropping a few of the reloaded rounds into the loose barrel - you should just be able to turn the barrel upside down to allow the round to drop out. If it's stuck in the chamber, it would have likely caused a failure by the slide to go into full battery at the range. You can then adjust your die down furtheras required.
One easy test is to remove your barrel from the pistol and try dropping a few of the reloaded rounds into the loose barrel - you should just be able to turn the barrel upside down to allow the round to drop out. If it's stuck in the chamber, it would have likely caused a failure by the slide to go into full battery at the range. You can then adjust your die down furtheras required.
I agree. The taper crimp die is the one to use, but it's not actually putting a crimp in the mouth of the case, it's just straightening out the bell that was put there to seat the bullet. When set up properly you end up with a straight-walled cartridge (well, okay, with a straight-walled bulge along the bullet; that's how it grips the bullet, not with a crimp). That's how the cartridge is designed. It headspaces on the mouth of the case. No crimp.
It can take some experimenting to get it set up properly, but once it is you won't actually need the factory crimp die. I know it has lots of fans, but honestly I think it's to make up for people who don't have the crimp die set correctly in the first place. Harsh, maybe, but that's my opinion.
It can take some experimenting to get it set up properly, but once it is you won't actually need the factory crimp die. I know it has lots of fans, but honestly I think it's to make up for people who don't have the crimp die set correctly in the first place. Harsh, maybe, but that's my opinion.
