reloading procedure for 45acp

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iluvmy300

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While waiting for my Norc 1911 to show up, I picked up a set of 45acp dies and some brass from a fellow CGN'r. The dies and brass have arrived and I'd like to get some rounds loaded up for the big day when my pistol shows up. I have experience loading for my rifle and was wondering if the procedures were the same for a pistol. From what I've gathered from books and this forum, things are pretty much the same. Most seem to make sense except for a few things.

Case trimmming.
I always trim my cases for my 300WM and 222 when loading. I can't seem to get a clear answer as to if its required to trim 45acp cases each time. What is recommended?

To crimp or not to crimp?
That is the question. It seems some do, some don't. My Lee manual mentions crimping but doesn't explicitly say "YOU MUST CRIMP FOR THE 45ACP". According to this procedure here it would appear the author is not crimping, but then again his procedure is not explicitly for the 45ACP. One thread here mentions "belling" the case. Is this done using a factory RCBS die as I have or is there some other tool I need?
 
1. Don't bother trimming the brass. Waste of time, IMO.
2. I use a Lee taper crimp, haven't had a FTFeed since I started doing this.
 
No trim, crimp the bell out only, cause the case headspace is on the rim. Can try them out in a barrel that is removed from the gun, listen for that sweet sound of clunk as it bottoms out . Only issue I ever had was using a certain cast bullet that I had to seat a hair deeper.
 
The .45acp case shortens NOT lengthens over time so like othrs have said there is no need to trim .45acp brass.

The .45acp bullet is retained by case tension NOT by a crimp so what you want to do is remove the bell, necessitated to ease bullet insertion. Case mouth "crimp" will be .469 - .471 which essentially is a straight case. You will hear of the "taper" crimp which is all that I have described.

A powder I favour for the .45acp is Win 231. Relatively clean, economical and 5.3 gr under 200 gr LSWC is very accurate in all my 1911's. Load makes power factor for both IPSC and IDPA if that is a concern.

The .45acp cartridge is very easy to load for with a variety of powders available and a good selection of bullets.

Enjoy.

Take Care

Bob
 
Reloading .45

I agree with the others, no need to trim, I have yet to trim one case in my last 20,000 pistol reloads.

Watch your powder load, with most rifle loads (at least the ones I use) it is essentially impossible to get a double charge to fit into the case. With .45 ACP it is easy to get a double load in and seated.:mad:

Watch seating depth, small differences can make a big difference the the amount of BANG you will get, this is not always a good thing:rolleyes:

Finally, with an autoloader some sort of crimp is important, especially if you are shooting competitively it is easy to bang a cartrige around and wind up with a shorter COL, which may end up with a FTF, or a big bang. Also if you have a misfire and rack the slide it is easy to pull the cartrige apart and wind up with an action full of powder, I have seen this at least 3 times in IPSC competitions. Finally with once fired brass you will get some that has been fired in chambers that do not fully support the base of the case, this results in a bulge of ~ 1-2 thou, when you reload this and seat a bullet the bulge increases, this results in FTF. I once used a casepro to roll size my brass, but found that a Lee carbide, factory crimp die is just as good as the laborious process of roll sizing.
 
I second Lee crimp die.
Works well. First time, when I loaded for my .45ACP, I haven't done crimp and the loaded case gor stuck.

God Luck

PS
Remove the barrel and use as a gauge
 
Forgive my neivity, will the 3 die RCBS set that I purchased provide the tapered crimp or will I have to buy a special die?
 
Taper crimp

I cannot comment on the RCBS dies, but my dillion taper crimp die did not do the job. The only one that solved all the problems was the Lee carbide factory crimp die. You can buy this one die on its own, my resizing, and seating dies are dillion, I use the Lee die as the final step after seating. If you call Lee they will give you the order # you need to get the die all on its own, as I recall it was $30 CDN delivered to my door.
 
OK, so I have determined my RCBS seater die is not one that does tapered crimping.

Before I phone Lee, I'll see if I can track one down here in Canada. There's a few on eBay, but some guys want $19US to ship $10US item. Ouch!
 
iluvmy300 said:
OK, so I have determined my RCBS seater die is not one that does tapered crimping.

Before I phone Lee, I'll see if I can track one down here in Canada. There's a few on eBay, but some guys want $19US to ship $10US item. Ouch!
Click to expand...


Call Higginsons.
 
One other thing to get is a case gauge for your loads. I bought one for my 45 reloads, and it was one of the best $15 I ever spent! It helps to ensure your loads will work reliably in your gun.
PS: I like 200gr FMJ over 5.0 gr of Bullseye :)
 
My RCBS dies take the "bell" out nicely - just follow instructions in the box - seat the bullet to depth - I use 1.250 , then back out the seater and slowly adjust the die down until it straightens the expanded "bell" out ( gradual adjustment and trial,) then tighten the locknut and setscrew and bring the seater die down to touch the top of the bullet and tighten that locknut. Check the next couple of cartridges for desired COL and casemouth smoothness - deburring helps too - it doesn't have to be perfect . Like Levi said - as long as it bottoms out "clunk." Be careful of oversqueezing the case mouth as it will scar the metal jacket as the bullet is still being pushed in as the case mouth is being squeezed tight against it. I anneal after maybe a dozen reloads 'cause the case begins to grip the ingoing bullet so hard as to damage it. Okay - so I reread your first message and realize that you asked about "belling" - sure your RCBS dies will have an expander die - just set it to go in about 1/16 of an inch into the case - just so's the bullet won't snag.
 
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Thousands of reloads later and you tell me the Dillon die does not apply a taper crimp. Not likely! The Dillon and the RCBS both apply taper crimps you just have to set them up correctly. The Lee FCD certainly works but I am not sure what it fixes.

Loading lead bullets that are sized correctly at .452 as opposed to jacketed at .451 will cause in some brass a slight bulge in the case. When you run the cartridge through a FCD all you do is squeez the lead bullet. Not sure what that does to overal accuracy but something tells me it can't help.

Since the .45acp cartridge requires a taper crimp do you really think Dillon or RCBS would make dies that don't apply the required crimp?

Graf & Sons is about the cheapest source of reloading equipment I have found south of the border and they ship to Canada and their postage charges are actual charges not inflated.

Take Care

Bob
 
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Awesome thread here folks, very timely. Anyway,
about the 3 pcs. RCBS die set (.45 auto) there is a;
sizer,
expander and a,
seater die.
Now, which one does the crimp'n (taper), the seater ?
Or is there other/different 3 die sets guys are talk'n about ?
Thx.

...WW
 
In a three die set you should haved a sizing die, a seater die and the crimping die is the third one. The Crimping die will apply the proper taper crimp. Set the die in you r press so that it just removes the belling that you applied earlier.
With that you should be good to go.

Understand when you are shooting lead bullets either yours or bought they will be sized to .452 as they should be. (Lead is normally sized 1/1000 over bore diameter) and may cause a slight bulge in some cases. Those cartridges should load fine. They do in my four 1911's. Do not set your crimping die so it applies a rolled crimp to your bullet. As already been mentioned the .45acp cartridge is supposed to headspace off the case mouth and it is important not to have the mouth of the cartridge roled into the bullet.

To set your dies take a belled case, without a bullet and run it into your crimping die. The die is set right when the bell is just removed and you have a straight walled case.

If you are loading lead bullets you will get a certain amount of lube build up in your crimping die that should be cleaned out occassionaly. Dillon dies are nice in that regard as the sleeve is easily removed for cleaning. I use a cotton patch with Hoppes#9applied.

Trust this helps.

Take Care

Bob
 
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You may want to hold off on loading until your gun shows up.

I load .45 for my Glock and USP and all of my loads work great and are within max specs. When I got a 1911, all the bullets were hitting the lands before chambering fully, and either not going into battery or getting locked up tight in battery and you could barely pull the slide back. Needless to say I didn't shoot any of my old loads in my 1911 and had to work them all up again with a shorter OAL.

You probably want to check that your reloads headspace properly in your particular gun's chamber before cranking out too many.
 
"In a three die set you should haved a sizing die, a seater die and the crimping die is the third one." Canuck44

I agree, that's what I SHOULD have, however,
in my RCBS set, I have a sizer, expander and
a seater. The seater I assume provides the crimping.
But from what I gather here, it's best to taper
crimp as a seperate operation, no ?

...WW
 
WithoutWarning said:
"In a three die set you should haved a sizing die, a seater die and the crimping die is the third one." Canuck44

I agree, that's what I SHOULD have, however,
in my RCBS set, I have a sizer, expander and
a seater. The seater I assume provides the crimping.
But from what I gather here, it's best to taper
crimp as a seperate operation, no ?

...WW
Click to expand...

If the die seats and crimps properly, I can't see a problem doing it in one step. I haven't seen a combo seat/crimp pistol die though.

Have you checked the seater for a crimping capability? Is there a screwy thing on top of the die you can adjust the height of, in addition to changing the height of the whole die? Did it come with instructions?
 
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