45 acp reloading problems...HELP!!!

[BUTTS]

My father is reloading 45acp on a Dillon 550b press. He is having problems with about half of his reloads. When he checks them with a Dillon 45acp gauge they won't slide all the way into the gauge by themselves. You have to press them in, then they get stuck. The dies are new carbide, but the brass is mixed up floor sweepings. His load is 7.7 grains of HS-6, Sierra 200 grain FPJ. It looks to me like the cases are bulging at the base of the bullet and about .25 inches from the base. Are these shootable and then trash the brass and get new? Or should we pull the bullets and start over with new brass? Thanks in advance for the sugestions. Chris

[MZ5]

Could be that he's over-crimping with the seating die, causing the cases to slightly buckle as the crimp is FIRMLY applied but the seater is still trying to push the bullets slightly deeper into the case.

Another thing that could be happening is that there isn't enough crimp on the case to allow it to chamber in your checker gauge, but that doesn't seem very likely to me with the bulge you're seeing below the bullet base.

Try backing off the seater/crimper die a bit (not the seater plug, the die body itself).  To maintain the same COAL while you do this, hold the seater plug still with one hand while you back the die itself out half a turn with the other hand.

[Luckyducker]

I have never used a Dillon press or the above mentioned check gauge but have loaded 45ACP.  I had the same problem with bulges in the cases which often would cause a fail to chamber in my S&W 4506-1.  I remedied this problem with the use of a Lee Precision Factory Crimp Die.   This die will reshape the outside dimensions of a loaded round so that it will chamber, and since using this die have not had a single round fail to chamber, shoot and eject properly.  As the name of this die implies it also crimps the case mouth as a seperate step from bullet seating.  I don't like Lee Precision equipment, as I consider their dies to be inferior to those from other manufacturers, but this die has retained it's usefulness and I highly recommend it when loading auto-pistol ammunition.

[Davemuzz]

MZ5 has some good suggestions. Just for kicks, once you size a piece of brass and before you do anything else to it, take it out of your press and see if just the brass alone will insert smooth and easy into your cartridge gauge. If your brass (and I would try this with about 10 or so) checks out OK after the sizing, then your problem is occurring after the sizing step.

[OR-E-Gun Bill]

"The dies are new carbide, but the brass is mixed up floor sweepings."

Not sure what mixed up floor sweepings means but I will assume you are referring to mixed headstamps?

Is he checking & trimming all the brass to equal lengths? I could see where some might be bulging and others not if the lengths were different and the die was set for the shorter of the bunch.


Bill

[woodchuckssuck]

Another problem I could see, which would be made worse by too much crimp, would be NOT belling the case enough before seating and crimping the bullet. You don't want TOO much case bell, but just enough to help the bullet slide in easier. Cast bullets seem to need less bell than FMJ, in my experience at least.

What is he crimping to? My crimp is 0.471" on 45acp, and OAL is 1.240" with 200gr LSWC bullets.

Is he an experienced reloader? or not really? Shouldnt be hard to track down the problem. If you can pull the bullet and its not mangled, try adjusting and loading with no powder or primer (dummy load) till he gets it down right.

Good luck to your dad!

[Mikey]

(1) go with what Davemuzz sez.  If your sized brass fits the gauge, or the chamber of the barrel, then your problem occurs after sizing and you are probably bulging the case when you crimp.  (2) If the cases do not chamber all the way after just sizing, then lower the sizer a bit until you get full length sizing and the cases should drop into the chamber.  (3)  When you seat the slug and crimp, don't roll crimp the case too tightly - just a slight crimp to hold the bullet in place until you taper crimp using the sizer or a Lee Taper Crimp die.

Lee Factory Crimp dies are good for crimping factory style - a taper crimp.  This should work properly for even mixed brass.  Another trick you can try in the interim is to take your 45 acp sizer, remove the decapping pin and rod, and run the loaded cases back up through the sizer to remove any bulges.  This technique will also work to taper crimp the brass.  On occasion you may find a couple of cases that are thin and don't hold the bullet as tightly as others when you crimp using the sizer, and that is when the Lee dies should work better. 

I use a old 30-06 sizer to taper crimp my 45 acps.  The only time I have a loose slug is when I use mixed brass and with some of those I then use the acp sizer if it tightens things up a bit...  HTH.

[Savage]

You've gotten some good suggestions as to where to look. In my experience, when using mixed brass, various case thickness case most of these problems. Using the sizing die to post size as Mikey suggested will help the problem, but putting the LFCD (Properly Adjusted) in the 5th station of your press will eliminate it completely. Adjust your seating die to seat the bullet only, and do your crimping at the LFCD. They'll all drop in the chamber gauge. Never had to trim a pistol cartridge case.
Savage

[BUTTS]

Thanks fo all the help! I will pass the info.