Good sizing die for .45 colt?

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gyppo

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Hi guys,

I just got Lee some .45 colt carbide dies for an upcoming gun purchase; I've been using the Lee .44 mag carbide dies for a long time and I love them. Lubing and cleaning rifle cases has turned me off of rifle reloading and I now almost exclusively load and shoot pistol cartridges.

The Lee dies I have size .45 colt cases too small, and loaded rounds end up looking like an hourglass. The case head is fatter than the sized portion, and where the bullet seats (even a .452 jacketed bullet) bulges.

I've considered just sizing the "neck", or getting one of the Redding 2-ring sizing dies (these dies have one larger ring to size the bottom of the case and a smaller ring to size the mouth), but they are EXPENSIVE! I'll be loading to the ruger/TC/freedom arms level and I've heard the brass takes a beating due to the 45 colt's more generous tolerances than .44 mag.

How do you guys resize .45 colt? I'm really not keen on a steel die that will require lubing to get the proper taper to match the chamber, but if that's what I need so be it.

Thanks!

B
 
I've reloaded my ,45 LC cases about 6 times now, using RCBS carbide dies. No issues yet. Well other than my cases are getting a bit short and I'm not sure if that's even a issue.
 
My .357 are quite hour-glass shaped and they work fine. Using both .357" and .358" bullets.
My .44 mag and .45 colts are only hour-glassed by a few thou and I'm using .432" and .454" cast respectively. It's too small to notice with the naked eye.

My .357 are mixed brass, mostly Win and Rem, but my .44's and .45's are almost all Starline. Maybe the brass has something to do with it?

All using Lee carbide dies.
 
The hourglass shape means that you will be getting maximum neck tension, which will help to keep bullets from jumping the crimp under recoil and tying up the cylinder. This is especially important with heavy loads.
 
I neck size my revolver brass with a RCBS carbide sizing die, and use a Lee carbide factory crimp die to crimp. The carbide ring on the crimp die does not size the brass at the base of the case down as much as would the sizing die if I full length sized it, but gets it down enough so that it will fit in any chamber. Same result as the Redding dual ring die, and much less cost.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. The concern I have stems from a post by Ranch Dog over on his forum about the generous chamber dimensions on Rossi rifles, which is what I'll be using, when pressures are up in the ruger/TC range - he states that his cases only last about 4 firings at 35Kpsi because they expand so much in the sloppy chambers, then are worked hard by the resizing process. I figured the excessive sizing near the case head would only compound this problem.

I'll have to try it out and see how the cases do, I'll try to report back when I've had a chance to try.

Anyone else using Ruger/TC data in their .45 Rossi care to comment on the case life issue?

Thanks again!
B
 
I've just started reloading for my 45Colt Rossi. Bought a set of Lee deluxe pistol dies (4 die set). Have only done a couple hundred rounds so far. Loaded cases look normal. I've used Starline and Win brass so far. Got some older Dominion brass on hand as well. Bullets are cast sized 452. Going to try some 454 next. I'm only loading "plinking" loads using Unique and Trail Boss. Great little plinking rifle. May try some CAS shooting down the road.
 
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Generous chamber sizes in .45Colt seems to be a regular thing. My buddy that shoots .45Colt from a Winchester carbine and older large frame Ruger Vaqueros gets lots of sooting on the outside of the cases due to this issue.

FWIW he also uses Lee dies and with .453 cast bullets he's got very little hourglass shape in his loads. If you can measure the outside size as it comes out of the die I'll find out from him what size his brass comes out as being to compare.

Also what brass are you using? You might want to also check the wall thickness. A thicker wall can also produce the hourglass bulge.
 
I think you're on to something BCrider. I'm using Barnes brass, and the hourglass part is .471-.472 in diameter. The neck of a loaded case (.452) is .477 as is the case head.
I've also loaded some cut down Hornady .454 brass and the diameter of the neck is .474-.475, meaning the Barnes brass is thicker.

I will order some Starline brass soon and see what the thickness is like, I'll report back on it.

BCRider said:
Generous chamber sizes in .45Colt seems to be a regular thing. My buddy that shoots .45Colt from a Winchester carbine and older large frame Ruger Vaqueros gets lots of sooting on the outside of the cases due to this issue.

FWIW he also uses Lee dies and with .453 cast bullets he's got very little hourglass shape in his loads. If you can measure the outside size as it comes out of the die I'll find out from him what size his brass comes out as being to compare.

Also what brass are you using? You might want to also check the wall thickness. A thicker wall can also produce the hourglass bulge.
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Old Ranger said:
I've just started reloading for my 45Colt Rossi. Bought a set of Lee deluxe pistol dies (4 die set). Have only done a couple hundred rounds so far. Loaded cases look normal. I've used Starline and Win brass so far. Got some older Dominion brass on hand as well. Bullets are cast sized 452. Going to try some 454 next. I'm only loading "plinking" loads using Unique and Trail Boss. Great little plinking rifle. May try some CAS shooting down the road.
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I tried some really light loads last week-end in my .44 for the first time, 4 and 5 grains of titegroup with 215 grain bullets. My wife really loved them, hardly any recoil in the ranch hand :)

I'll try ordering Win or Starline cases and give it a shot.
 
My Starline brass was from a box of Wolfe reloads purchased at Williams Arms Port Perry. Brass looked new. 50 rds was 32.00 bucks (I think) Cast RNFP bullets. Loaded mild. Good plinking load. Nice brass.
 
gyppo said:
Hi guys,

I just got Lee some .45 colt carbide dies for an upcoming gun purchase; I've been using the Lee .44 mag carbide dies for a long time and I love them. Lubing and cleaning rifle cases has turned me off of rifle reloading and I now almost exclusively load and shoot pistol cartridges.

The Lee dies I have size .45 colt cases too small, and loaded rounds end up looking like an hourglass. The case head is fatter than the sized portion, and where the bullet seats (even a .452 jacketed bullet) bulges.

I've considered just sizing the "neck", or getting one of the Redding 2-ring sizing dies (these dies have one larger ring to size the bottom of the case and a smaller ring to size the mouth), but they are EXPENSIVE! I'll be loading to the ruger/TC/freedom arms level and I've heard the brass takes a beating due to the 45 colt's more generous tolerances than .44 mag.

How do you guys resize .45 colt? I'm really not keen on a steel die that will require lubing to get the proper taper to match the chamber, but if that's what I need so be it.

Thanks!

B
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I know the is an old thread but inquiring minds might like to know....

The carbide ring in the sizing die is made to size the case neck, unfortunately it also sizes the case body below the neck to. That’s why you get the hour glass shaped finished cartridges that go from the solid case head to over sized body to bullet stretched neck.

Old fashioned non carbide steel dies won’t created hourglass shaped cartridges. But you must lube the cases I use Imperial Sizing Wax to lube because I found it the easiest to wipe off.
The expensive alternative to the steel die is the Redding dual carbide ring dies. No lube is necessary but I still lube every 3 to 5 cases I go by feel.
I have these dual ring dies for 38 Spl. 357 Mag and 45 Colt the duke rings are different diameters. Due to the length of the cases unique spacing of the carbide rings are necessary to avoid creating hourglass cases therefore individual sizing dies are required.
With the knowledge I gained using the Redding dual ring dies I say buy them if you really hate the case lube process, other wise stick with the old style steel must lube dies and save a bunch of bucks.
 
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