Reloading .45 ACP with RCBS dies

LawrenceN

LawrenceN

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I'm not new to reloading by any means but I am fairly new to reloading for pistols. I'd picked up a set of RCBS dies and I have to admit to some confusion. It's an older 3 die set so I'm asking you good folks for some input. The set comes with a sizing die, a de-capping die, and a bullet seating die. First question, why a sizing die? Doesn't the de-capping die resize the cases? I believe that I'm missing a die, specifically the case mouth flaring die. If any of you folks could check out the pic of the die set and steer me in the right direction, I'd be most appreciative.
 
RCBS pioneered and developed 3-Die Sets for straight-wall rifles and pistol cases. These sets for straight wall pistol cases build off of that legacy. Each set features a Carbide Sizing die that requires no case lube to speed up your sizing. The Expander die expands the case to the proper diameter to accept the bullet and also imparts case mouth flare/bell for easy bullet feeding. The bullet seating die then seats the bullet and puts on the appropriate crimp for the round being loaded.
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www.rcbs.com/dies-and-shell-holders...group-b---popular-pistol-cartridges/1831.html
 
I have an older RCBS die set in 44mag but i suspect that yours might be similar. It has die 1 as just a sizer then die 2 is a decapper with a belling flair on the decapping stem. Die 3 is seating and crimping.

Pull the dies apart to give them a good clean and take a look at the design of the decapping rod.
 
Die 1 sizes the exterior, die 2 deprimes and flares, 3 seats and crimp. You will see a 1,2,3 ontop of the die.

I added a lee crimp die to my 3 die RCBS on my 30 carbine and 357 mag.
 
Well thats not what RCBS says and my set are not like yours: sizing die- expander die and bullet seater.
There is no external sizer and then a separate decapper. Maybe this ia a mismatched set ?
 
Janeau said:
Well thats not what RCBS says and my set are not like yours: sizing die- expander die and bullet seater.
There is no external sizer and then a separate decapper. Maybe this ia a mismatched set ?
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Well there are 2 types of RCBS 3 die sets. I'm looking at the manual.

My 30 carbine and 38/357 RCBS dies are like the first pic, and the OP die set.


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Janeau said:
Well thats not what RCBS says and my set are not like yours: sizing die- expander die and bullet seater.
There is no external sizer and then a separate decapper. Maybe this ia a mismatched set ?
Click to expand...
OP has already stated it is an older set. I have a 357 set made the same. RCBS changed the way they set their dies up a few years ago. Some of the oldest RCBS dies didn’t have a carbide sizing ring so pistol cases needed to be lubed.
 
To all of you, many thanks. I took the spindle out of the decapping die and indeed, it has the flare built into the body of the spindle. I have powder, primers, projectiles, and cases so now I'm all set. I have only to trim the cases to length and I'm ready to go.
 
RCBS has two different types of 3 die sets for straight wall cases. Best to read the instructions, from the manual, it'll explain how it works. If you don't have a manual, look online or ask someone to scan the necessary portions to you. Once you learn how the different sets operate it's easy.
 
LawrenceN said:
To all of you, many thanks. I took the spindle out of the decapping die and indeed, it has the flare built into the body of the spindle. I have powder, primers, projectiles, and cases so now I'm all set. I have only to trim the cases to length and I'm ready to go.
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Trim pistol cases?
 
I don’t trim pistol cases. They don’t lengthen enough to worry about. The taper crimp takes care of any minor length issues. Cases will wear out before they need trimming I have 38 and 357 that have been used enough that the nickel plating is almost all worn off them and never bothered trimming them.
 
Ganderite said:
Trim pistol cases? Never done it.
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Me either. Most if not all case are already shorter than specs.
Been shooting all pistol caliber from .380 to .500 s&W.
I shoot easy 10k rounds a year of pistol rounds alone…On top of it..I don’t know anybody that does trim pistol case.
Been reloading for close to 50 years by the way..
 
Again, thank you all. You guys are one of the reasons I love this site. I've predominately reloaded rifle but I'm fairly new to pistol. My instinct was to always trim-to-length but as was pointed out, variations in case length are of minor consequence. I was thinking mostly of the crimp and I was thinking that consistent case length should result in consistent crimp without the fear of over crimp and over pressure. I'll load a couple of test cases and see how solidly the bullets sit with minimal (if any) crimp.
 
Never trim pistol brass, but I would buy a Lee Taper crimp die. I use a 4 die system when reloading .45acp. I feel it gives me better quality ammo by separating the seating step and the crimping set.
 
45 is low pressure, unless you are loading beyond max with a heavy crimp, you won't see over pressure. Crimp will vary as cases have variation of thickness of the case wall, or some bullets are under sized, or over sized.

Garand said:
Never trim pistol brass, but I would buy a Lee Taper crimp die. I use a 4 die system when reloading .45acp. I feel it gives me better quality ammo by separating the seating step and the crimping set.
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I did that with both RCBS die sets. Bought the Lee crimp die. So my seater is backed off so it doesnt crimp, but just seats the bullet.
 
DAMN! I think the resizing die is pooched! It's very hard to cycle the cases through requiring a lot of muscle, and the cases are coming out scored. I have a sneaky suspicion that whoever owned these before ran dirty cases through and scored the inside of the die. Unless I'm mistaken, the walls of the die should be dead smooth and they're not. Here's what the cases look like after running them through the die. I'm suspending any further operations until I contact RCBS. I wonder if they'll replace the die for me?
 
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