I went over to assist a friend last night with loading some .45 ACP for a Colt 1911.Been loading for 30 years but couldn't get the crimping die to grip the bullet tight enough to hold it during cycling.It either was over crimped and wrinkling the case mouth or 1/32 of a turn less it wasn't holding?Pi$$ed around for 2 hours with no luck.I have mostly RCBS dies and have loaded straight walled cases with rims but not for auto pistols.Just 44 mag ,.38 Special and 38-55 I figure the bullets were slamming into the feed ramp during loading and getting knocked back into the case and other times getting longer during the slamming chambering.It did this with factory ammo as well! We were loading Win 230 gr FMJ's and latter tried Barnes 185 HP's neither had a cannalure for crimping.Any ideas as the Hornady intructions required about 14 steps .Never had this crap with RCBS..................Harold
Trouble with Hornady .45 ACP crimping
- Thread starter mbogo3
- Start date
Some hornady TN sizing dies don't size enough(giving insufficient neck tension), especially with thin wall brass(some nickel brass). Then no amount of crimping seems to work. May or may not be a factor in your case. Hornady sent me a replacement sizing die, with identical fault in it(I gave up). good luck
Try a different brand of case to see if the cases are the problem, not the dies. I have had certain brands of cases that could not be sized down enough to get proper tension to hold the bullet.
Also, when you are crimping the .45 on a jacketed bullet that does not have a cannelure, you are only trying to remove the bell that you put on the case to allow bullet seating. The case tension should be holding the bullet. If you get a taper crimp die (Lee sells them separately for the .45), it will squeeze the case in a bit.
Also, when you are crimping the .45 on a jacketed bullet that does not have a cannelure, you are only trying to remove the bell that you put on the case to allow bullet seating. The case tension should be holding the bullet. If you get a taper crimp die (Lee sells them separately for the .45), it will squeeze the case in a bit.
Yes, taper crimp instead of roll crimp. You don't need a cannelure to use Lee's Factory (taper) Crimp Die.
Al-Sway's right though, you really don't want to crimp too much when loading rounds for autoloaders. Just enough to remove the bell and tighten things up a bit. The crimp shouldn't be visible to the naked eye.
Al-Sway's right though, you really don't want to crimp too much when loading rounds for autoloaders. Just enough to remove the bell and tighten things up a bit. The crimp shouldn't be visible to the naked eye.
One of the reasons the bullet is pushed in is due to slamming on the feeding ramp. That is the point in having cases that will be resized down enough to give enough tension to hold the bullet in place during the feeding cycle.
I don't know if remington cases are the problem. I suggest you try a couple of other brands to see if they will work better.
A test at the bench is to seat the bullet, and then push it against the bench. If you can move the bullet, there is not enough tension.
I don't know if remington cases are the problem. I suggest you try a couple of other brands to see if they will work better.
A test at the bench is to seat the bullet, and then push it against the bench. If you can move the bullet, there is not enough tension.
