45 acp, crimping

[gatorbone]

I'm just getting back to casting and reloading after a whole lot of years. Have forgotten way to much and will probably ask some silly questions. I've3 cast some 242 gr. LRN bullets, sized and lubed them with some old Alox. Now for the silly question. Is it necessary to taper crimp these bullets. I'm sure roll crimping is out of the question. Any advice is certainly welcome.

[joem]

I don't cast my own bullets but I load cast lead. I only crimp them enough to take the bell out. I have maximum length case gauge to check my die set up.

[gatorbone]

I do't have a taper crimping die, will the other die work if used gently?

[joem]

what other die are you talking about? Pretty sure your die would be a seat and crimp die, Mine are.

[Matt Anthony]

I do't have a taper crimping die, will the other die work if used gently?

NO, it won't work because it's not a taper crimp tie. Purchase the proper taper crimp die, RCBS has one as that is what I use as my last step. Please, for the sake of others, always follow the correct loading protocol so you don't kill yourself or someone else!
Matt

[m1ashooter]

I also crimp enought to take the bell out. My seating die does it.

[da gimp]

I also crimp enought to take the bell out. My seating die does it.

ditto............. all my RCBS .45ACP's seating dies do this also, have 4 sets of std & carbide dies set up for my presses, they all work well, have never needed a Lee taper crimp die yet.......for .45ACP , 9mmP, or .223Rem/5.56mm

[rider]

I never thought it was a good idea to roll-crimp a case that headspaces on the case mouth. AFAIK, all the die manufacturers make taper crimp dies for 45ACP, not just LEE. Mine's an RCBS.

[Johnny in Texas]

I always taper crimp just enough to straighten the case mouth out.

[Johnny P]

In an auto pistol the cartridge seldom headspaces on the shoulder of the chamber. As the cartridge feeds out of the magazine it slides up the face of the breechblock and under the extractor. The extractor holds it through the firing process. In Hatcher's Hatcher's Notebook he describes firing .380 ACP (9mm Kurz) in a 9mm Luger. The .380 cartridge slides up under the extractor and fires normally even with over 70 thousandths excessive headspace. Naturally the .380 cartridge wouldn't cycle the action of the Luger, but it safely fired.

[Hefights]

Get an RCBS or Lee taper crimp die and use it for the last step, follow the instructions, it will be good. The case headspaces on the mouth as stated previously. Crimp just enough for the mouth to to be snug to the bullet with case mouth still having that easy to feel "edge" all around the bullet, i.e. don't overcrimp the mouth into the lead.

[gatorbone]

Thanks to all for the sage advice, Ill double check my dies (Lyman) and see for sure what I have. Invest a few bullets and cases to see whats actually happening.

Thanks again.

[da gimp]

might mike the expander plug on your decapping rod, a very few slip thru quality control that are over sized...........also mike your bullets & make sure that they aren't undersized, some lead alloys shrink quite a bit as the bullet cools after they are dropped from the mold.......sorry I didn't think of this before.Lyman makes daam good dies too.

[DaveL]

I've been loading 45 ACP for 40 years. I never owned a taper crimp die. Every standard bullet-seating die ever made was made to role crimp. Taper crimp dies came into vogue when 10mm and 40 S&W with their high pressures became popular. If you had said you were loading either of those caliber’s then I would say you MIGHT need to use a taper crimp die but with 45, 9mm, 38 special, 357 mag and any of the old S&W or Colt caliber’s taper crimp dies are an unnecessary expense IMHO. It is however VERY IMPORTANT to have all your brass uniformed in length when using a role crimp and you must pay close attention to your die setup and be careful not to over crimp which can result in bad head-spacing and or failure to chamber from bulged cases.
HTH

[psteinmayer]

In an auto pistol the cartridge seldom headspaces on the shoulder of the chamber. As the cartridge feeds out of the magazine it slides up the face of the breechblock and under the extractor. The extractor holds it through the firing process. In Hatcher's Hatcher's Notebook he describes firing .380 ACP (9mm Kurz) in a 9mm Luger. The .380 cartridge slides up under the extractor and fires normally even with over 70 thousandths excessive headspace. Naturally the .380 cartridge wouldn't cycle the action of the Luger, but it safely fired.

That may be true of firing a luger... but a .45 does headspace on the case mouth. A .45 that doesn't properly headspace could result in a release of potentially hazardous gasses... just the same as a improperly headspaced 30-06. The best bet IMHO is to stay away from roll-crimps. Lee has a factory crimp die for .45 ACP which forms a proper crimp and resizes the case from expansion, creating a cartridge that should never jam or foul. It's the only crimp I use and I've never had a problem!