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Posted: 2/18/2013 5:40:36 PM EDT
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I need your help. I am very paranoid about making sure my seating/crip die is set up right so I want to describe what I have done up to now. (I am using a lee 3 die set for 9mm) (I will be loading lead and copper plated rounds)
First i followed the instructions. I screwed the die in until it made contact with the shell holder. I then backed the screw part out 3 turns. Then I used some sized brass and my lead 115gr bullets to make some practice rounds to dial in the OAL (I did not use primers or powder). My manual says my OAL should not be less than 1.070. My first attempt was not seated enough and the gas check was sticking out so I screwed the nob in some more. I eventually got my OAL to 1.104 and stopped there. I made about three of these all at 1.104-1.105. I then put one in mag magazine and racked the slide on it very hard to see if it would move. I repeated this about 5 times with each round. All of the rounds stayed put at 1.104. I am confused because I do not know anything about the crimp. I'm guess its crimping right now since the bullet is not moving. The bullets are seating very easily and there is not much force at all applied to seat the bullet, and the bullets are staying still. Am I good to go? It says if I want to crimp more than I should screw the die in more, but I should be good if the bullet isn't moving right? I am a little paranoid because I saw a video of a guy blow up a glock because he said the bullet was crimped too much and the brass when too far into the chamber (or something to that effect) Is it true that I seat my bullet to an arbitrary OAL, as long as it is in between the min & max and the gun functions well? Thanks for your help, Marshall |
| The best way to test if you need to crimp is to take a round (I usually use an unprimed case with just a bullet in it) and press it (hard) against something like the edge of your work bench. Then measure it to see if the OAL has changed if not then there is enough tension on the bullet, if it does move increase the crimp accordingly. In my own experience you only need heavy crimp if you anticipate a lot of recoil from a gun. Too much crimp can be a bad thing, the pressure has to go somewhere. For 9mm I use a very light crimp. Usually you will be able to visually see when you have too much crimp. Another thing to consider about bullet seating "easy" is that the press is a lever and you can exert a lot of pressure with very little effort. As always with reloading, proceed with caution. |
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To set your crimp die up back the die out then run an empty case all the way up, now screw the die in until it makes contact with the top of the case. Lower the handle and the case then screw the die in 1/2 turn (more for more crimp). Now, use the bullet you made with your desired OAL and put it up into the die, screw the seating stem down until it touches your bullet. You should now have a light crimp and your OAL set.
If you're shooting lead in a Glock I'd recommend using an aftermarket barrel. |
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Quoted:
To set your crimp die up back the die out then run an empty case all the way up, now screw the die in until it makes contact with the top of the case. Lower the handle and the case then screw the die in 1/2 turn (more for more crimp). Now, use the bullet you made with your desired OAL and put it up into the die, screw the seating stem down until it touches your bullet. You should now have a light crimp and your OAL set. If you're shooting lead in a Glock I'd recommend using an aftermarket barrel. I was planning on getting a lonewolf 40-9 conversion barrel for my glock 27 since I dont really shoot 40 S&W. Thanks for the info |
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Dogue has his method dead on and likely his 1/2 turn is spot on too. I like to run an empty case up, run die down to case mouth, then turn 1/4 way down and adjust in 1/8 turn increments. Of course, after seating stem is set for oal. Any adjustment in crimp is made by running die down so seating stem will have to be run up again as die was adjusted down.
Should be clear as mud, right ? dc. |
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If your bullets are moving inside the case after loading, you probably started with brass that was de-primed but not sized. Lots of bulk brass places out there are selling it like that. The bullet should not move inside the case even before it gets to the crimp.
Crimp/seater die: Put a charged case in your shell holder and run it all the way to the top. Now screw in your seater/crimper die (no bullet yet) until you can feel it just touch the case mouth. Back it OUT one turn and lock it down. Now run the ram down and insert a bullet. Screw the bullet seat down on your die little by little until you get the proper loaded length. Now you have the bullet seated but no crimp. Once you have the proper length, back out the bullet seat several turns. Run the ram back up to top with your proper length cartrige and screw the die body down again until it contacts the case mouth. Once it contacts the case mouth, screw the die body in an additional 1/4-1/2 turn and lock it down. Now screw back down the bullet seat until it firmly contacts the bullet and lock everything down. You are set. |
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^ this doesn't make a lot of sense. ^
There's no way oal can be "set" by running seating stemming up two turns and die down 1/4 to 1/2 turn. For every adjustment down with die to set crimp there has to be an equal adjustment up with seating stem to maintain target oal. These are calibrated by measurement. dc. |
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^ this doesn't make a lot of sense. ^ There's no way oal can be "set" by running seating stemming up two turns and die down 1/4 to 1/2 turn. For every adjustment down with die to set crimp there has to be an equal adjustment up with seating stem to maintain target oal. These are calibrated by measurement. dc. I wonder if what he meant to say was first seat your bullet to the OAL without any crimp applied, then back off seating stem, turn down die until desired crimp is acheived on that round, then once crimp is set, turn seating stem back down to touch the bullet. That makes more sense. |
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^ this doesn't make a lot of sense. ^ There's no way oal can be "set" by running seating stemming up two turns and die down 1/4 to 1/2 turn. For every adjustment down with die to set crimp there has to be an equal adjustment up with seating stem to maintain target oal. These are calibrated by measurement. dc. I wonder if what he meant to say was first seat your bullet to the OAL without any crimp applied, then back off seating stem, turn down die until desired crimp is acheived on that round, then once crimp is set, turn seating stem back down to touch the bullet. That makes more sense. This ^ |
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That makes more sense, but its easier to set die the way Dogue and I describe. Not as much back and forth. Both methods are similar and net gain the same, setting crimp, then oal minimizes up and down between die depth and threading oal up.
One method is to measure sized case mouth, then bell. Accounting for spring back I set crimp portion of die to return empty case mouth to sized diameter. Afterwards set oal. This usually gives me a light crimp. Math being, bullet diameter + ( case wall thickness x 2 ) = sum of components or zero sum for crimp reference. Light crimp, 0.001 under zero sum. Medium crimp, 0.002 under zero sum. Heavy crimp, 003 under zero sum. Clear as mud, right ? dc. |
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So is pressing a round against the bench with all your body weight on it an good enough test to see if the bullet will set back at all? I have a very light crimp and my body weight on the bullet does not change the OAL. I have also cycled the round through the gun by racking the slide 5 or so times and OAL is still the same. It sounds like I am good to go as far as a crimp is concerned right?
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So is pressing a round against the bench with all your body weight on it an good enough test to see if the bullet will set back at all? I have a very light crimp and my body weight on the bullet does not change the OAL. I have also cycled the round through the gun by racking the slide 5 or so times and OAL is still the same. It sounds like I am good to go as far as a crimp is concerned right? Yup your good, don't have to go that far actually. Just push the bullet against the bench w/half your weight. |
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