Armory Sponsor
Posted: 2/28/2009 2:39:26 PM EDT
|
The .223 reloading tutorial is great. I wish there was one for pistols since I'm trying my hand at .45 ACP. I will use 230gr FMJ and the RCBS carbide 3-die set. I have some cases deprimed and sized, but have questions on details after that.
How do I set up the flare/bell die? Trim length after flaring? .898 case length? Any tips on seating and crimping? Is it even necessary to trim for taper crimp? |
|
.45 ACP is way easier to reload than .223.
My steps: 1) Tumble brass clean 2) Resize/decap. No trimming, no lube (carbide dies) 3) Bell case mouth. You want to set your die to bell it as little as is needed in order to get your bullet to seat without shaving. If you bell too much, it weakens the case mouth for future reloading. 4) Powder. 5) Seat bullet 6) Lee Factory Crimp Die. This step is optional - I like it, 'cus it also full-length resizes just to verify my rounds are all uniform. That's it. |
|
Straight wall pistol reloading is a breeze compared to necked rifle calibers. One of the easiest is the 45acp as it is a low pressure cartridge and is therefore easy on the brass. As far as case processing on the 45acp, I check them to see if they are split and if not, they are good to reload. I do nothing further than tumbling them to clean them. Trimming is really unnecessary as the case length is really stable. I know of no one who even cleans the primer pockets before reloading them. Heck, I'm considered a bit anal here because I bother to keep track of how many times I've reloaded the cases. Many 45acp reloaders don't even bother with that and just chuck the case when it splits at the mouth or on the side. I tumble clean my fired cases when I get home from shooting while I'm cleaning my equipment. When it comes time to reload, I take the cleaned cases and run them through my press (which has a carbide resizing die) without any lube. Its as simple as that. BTW, I'd suggest using Lee Deluxe Carbide 4 die pistol die sets. They are cheap at $30 per set and they include both a bullet seating and famed factory crimp die. My 45acp set has performed flawlessly for 10s of K reloadings. |
|
Thanks for the replies so far.
Quoted:
3) Bell case mouth. You want to set your die to bell it as little as is needed in order to get your bullet to seat without shaving. That's it. Do I turn the die body down until it touches the shell holder first? What steps to adjust the flaring portion? I already bought the RCBS dies. Is it OK to seat and then taper crimp in a separate step, or should you do both in one step? |
|
Quoted:
Thanks for the replies so far. Quoted:
3) Bell case mouth. You want to set your die to bell it as little as is needed in order to get your bullet to seat without shaving. That's it. Do I turn the die body down until it touches the shell holder first? What steps to adjust the flaring portion? Raise bell stem, and install die body to press. Raise shell into die, and adjust flare stem to flare case enough to allow bullet to set in the top of the case. I already bought the RCBS dies. Is it OK to seat and then taper crimp in a separate step, or should you do both in one step? Best way to do it is to seat the bullet first, then raise/remove the seat stem out of the way, and adjust die body down to get desired crimp. I run DILLON 650 and a Square Deal B, seat first, crimp in the next station. |
|
Quoted:
The .223 reloading tutorial is great. I wish there was one for pistols since I'm trying my hand at .45 ACP. I will use 230gr FMJ and the RCBS carbide 3-die set. I have some cases deprimed and sized, but have questions on details after that. How do I set up the flare/bell die? Trim length after flaring? .898 case length? Any tips on seating and crimping? Is it even necessary to trim for taper crimp? I use the same dies you're using. Have been for years, and they're great. No, no need to trim .45ACP. I never have, never will. The flare? Just barely enough to get the bullet started in the case. Some bullet types may require more or less flare, but expand the cases as little as possible, they'll last longer. Then adjust the taper crimp so that it's just removing the flare, straightening the case, and no more. I really like the seating-and-crimping in one operation, as I use a single stage.  Works just fine for me. Take your time getting it adjusted, be patient with it, as you're really adjusting 2 things at once: COL, and the amount of crimp. Once it's adjusted though, your'e good to go.
|
|
Almost no bell if reloading jacketed, if reloading lead just enough so you are not shaving a lot of lead.
Some like the Lee factory crimp, I have always used taper crimp. Use either a case gauge or your gun barrel to check the amount of taper crimp. Follow the loading manuals and be conservative , 45acp with its unsupported chamber (most stock guns) is not the choice to turn into a magnum If you change bullet style,weight or nose shape (varies with brand) do some test firing to insure your load and length functions well in your gun or guns before you load a large amount. Compared to bottleneck rifle 45acp is really simple, no sorting cases by brand or trimming length . Just a quick re size and your case prep is done |
|
Re-Loading Pistol Ammo…..
http://www.reloadammo.com/relsteps.htm HTH. Aloha, Mark PS...........Re-loading Die Adjustments http://www.chuckhawks.com/adjust_reloading_dies.htm |
|
Quoted:
.45 ACP is way easier to reload than .223. My steps: 1) Tumble brass clean 2) Resize/decap. No trimming, no lube (carbide dies) 3) Bell case mouth. You want to set your die to bell it as little as is needed in order to get your bullet to seat without shaving. If you bell too much, it weakens the case mouth for future reloading. 4) Powder. 5) Seat bullet 6) Lee Factory Crimp Die. This step is optional - I like it, 'cus it also full-length resizes just to verify my rounds are all uniform. That's it. Need to prime in there somewhere.......I do it between steps 2 and 3, but you could do it after belling the case mouth. I like the crimp die too. |
Armory Sponsor