Reloading 😁

[woodperson]

Best thing I did was to add the LNL bushings to my single stage press. I have not been at all interested in a turret press after I made that move. I do seat and crimp separately. Dies can be removed and replaced instantly and hold their adjustments when doing so.

 

[MHtractorguy]

Old trick, but just for those who don't know it...
Save an empty, unprimed case, seat a bullet and crimp it perfectly.
Next time, use that case to adjust your dies.
Just don't over crimp it while setting your dies.

 

[Aqualung]

Old trick, but just for those who don't know it...
Save an empty, unprimed case, seat a bullet and crimp it perfectly.
Next time, use that case to adjust your dies.
Just don't over crimp it while setting your dies.

Beat me to it.

For every caliber & bullet combo I use, I have a dummy round with which I adjust my dies.

And I seat and crimp in one operation unless it's a caliber for which I have the Lee FCD.

Aqualung

 

[Xrayist]

Not sure how you are ruining your brass/bullets, but I can make on suggestion. Invest in a separate crimp die. Use the bullet seat/crimp die only to seat bullet and then use the new crimp die to crimp the bullet. In essence, you will have a 4 die set. I do this for all calibers I reload, both rifle and pistol. I never seat/crimp bullet in one motion.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Beat me to it.

For every caliber & bullet combo I use, I have a dummy round with which I adjust my dies.

And I seat and crimp in one operation unless it's a caliber for which I have the Lee FCD.

Aqualung

Same here. I now have a couple of factory crimp dies which not only crimp they size to factory spec.

This pile of 38,357,and 45 colts was done with seating/crimp die. I guess I didn't know any better

 

[Pál_K]

Best thing I did was to add the LNL bushings to my single stage press. I have not been at all interested in a turret press after I made that move. I do seat and crimp separately. Dies can be removed and replaced instantly and hold their adjustments when doing so.

That LNL concept is a clever system!

 

[contender]

"That LNL concept is a clever system!"

It is,, unless you have about 40 sets of dies,, some which are 4-die sets,, and need bushings for all of them. Then there are the different bullets & loads you want to test & try because you have 3-4 guns in the same caliber.
For me,, it wasn't an idea I could use,, because of how many bushings I'd have to buy,, AND how I'd still be adjusting dies for different loads.

But to those who only do a few things,, & have just a few calibers & such,, they are fine.

 

[NC FNS]

"That LNL concept is a clever system!"

It is,, unless you have about 40 sets of dies,, some which are 4-die sets,, and need bushings for all of them. Then there are the different bullets & loads you want to test & try because you have 3-4 guns in the same caliber.
For me,, it wasn't an idea I could use,, because of how many bushings I'd have to buy,, AND how I'd still be adjusting dies for different loads.

But to those who only do a few things,, & have just a few calibers & such,, they are fine.

I put "permanent" bushings on the whole set for calibers I reload often, and keep 2 loose ones for the other calibers.

 

[crow#2]

mobuck and kmoore I'm doing exactly as both of you reccomended. Thanks

I never prime or put powder in until I get the dies set.

 

[crow#2]

Me too another thick head

 

[Pál_K]

"That LNL concept is a clever system!"

It is,, unless you have about 40 sets of dies,, some which are 4-die sets,, and need bushings for all of them. ...

I have only 20 dies, 2 or 3 die sets. Most of these bought 20+ years ago.

 

[the_leper_colony]

FWIW, I use both quick change bushings and turrets, because that fits how I reload, which I guess is a combination of single stage & semi-progressive (for handgun cartridges, at least).

Midway sells 1-1/4"-12 conversion kits for both the Lee & Hornady quick change bushings:

Lee Breech Lock Bushing Press Conversion Update Kit 1-1/2-12 Thread

The Lee Breech Lock Update Kit will convert your green or red press to allow use of Lee's Breech Lock quick-change bushing feature. Kit...

www.midwayusa.com

Hornady Lock-N-Load Press Die Conversion Bushing Kit

The Hornady Lock-N-Load Press and Die Conversion Bushing Kit is a great accessory for your reloading press. Simply insert the Lock-N-Load conversion...

www.midwayusa.com

I installed one of the Lee kits in my old Rockchucker, and have all of my sizing dies (plus a few misc. dies) mounted in Lee breech lock bushings. After sizing a bunch of cases, I prime with a hand tool or press-mounted tool, and then load propellant in the cases as a separate step/stage. That lets me weigh as many as I want (10% to 100%) and visually check 50 or 100 at a time, for double charges or squib loads.

At that point, I load each one in an auto-indexing turret press with a flare die, seating die, and crimp die mounted in the 3-hole turret (different turret for each caliber). Loaded cartridges come out of the turret press.

I doubt anyone else reloads in the same way (and that's entirely ok ;^), but it suits me fine!

As always FWIW, YMMV, IMHO, etc., etc.

 

[Kevin]

@crow#2 i like all your questions. It brings out lots of good information from the people here.

I've been reloading regularly for only about 15 years and feel like I'm still new at it; so all the answers you are getting are good for lots of people .

Let us know how it all turns out.

There are also lots of good videos on YouTube. Some go step by step. Like Dillon for example. They have videos on how to adjust the dies. And it's the same adjustments for all presses, not specific to Dillon.

Good luck!

 

[Rclark]

I've always seated/crimped Revolver cartridges in one step. Never found it a problem. First run the bullet stem down so there will be no crimp when getting the proper bullet depth in case. Once where you want it, you run the stem all the way out. Now adjust the die for crimp. Set your locking ring. Then run the stem down until it touches the bullet. Done. Once set, never have to change (unless you are one of those that is constantly changing bullet styles... I stick with one bullet, say 240gr SWCs for .44 Mag).

 

[3manfan]

I believe the LEE die to have is the "Factory Crimp", not the "Roll Crimp".

The term 'factory crimp' is a bit of a misnomer, as it depends which 'factory' the writer is referring to. Remington? Winchester? Which cartridge? .45 acp? .357 mag? Who knows unless it's specified. This die from Lyman does however state that it imparts a roll crimp & my experience with the ones I own for both pistol & revo cartridges, is that this is correct. All of them provide a roll crimp, even though a taper crimp would be more suitable for semi-auto cartridges such as .45 acp, 9mm, etc. I'm guessing that Lyman has determined that a roll crimp works well on all types of cartridges, whereas a taper crimp would not work as well, such as on a .44 or .357 mag, etc. A roll crimp is more suitable to be used on bullets with grease grooves or a crimping groove which is common to .44 caliber revolver bullets, which is what the OP asked for recommendations on & why I recommended this die to him. However, I've found that this die also works perfectly well on pistol bullets with no grease or crimping groove, such as 124 grn 9mm plated bullets.. Properly adjusted, it does not cause a significant 'bump' to the brass case mouth at the point of the crimp, which might affect the proper seating within a barrel's chamber. In other words, this die works well for all types of handgun cartridges.

 

[Mobuck]

It appears to me that the difference between the commonly known 'roll crimp' and the LEE 'factory crimp' is the LEE die supports the case during crimping reducing the tendency of the case 'to 'swell' below the crimp as is also common.
The LEE factory crimp die for 9mm seems to fully resize the case while imparting a very snug squeeze rather than 'roll crimp' to the case mouth. Makes the bullet base 'belly bulge' go away.

 

[the_leper_colony]

I doubt that most current production crimp dies for auto pistol cartridges are producing roll crimps. Many years ago, I bought a Lee 9mm Taper Crimp Die, because Midway had the price marked way down (and I like having spare dies ;^). The insert states:

"The Lee Taper Crimp Die greatly improves the accuracy of ammunition reloaded with other brands of dies and with older Lee Dies. There is little or no advantage when used with 1986 or newer Lee Dies as the crimp angle is already a modified taper crimp."

If Lee auto pistol dies have been producing a taper crimp for over 35 years, I'm guessing the "high dollar" dies are doing the same.

As always IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc.

 

[Laserbait]

I believe the LEE die to have is the "Factory Crimp", not the "Roll Crimp".

The Lee factory crimp dies for pistol cartridges do a taper crimp on cartridges designed to headspace off the case mouth. The dies designed for cartridges that headspace off the rim are roll crimped.

 

[MHtractorguy]

I have Lee factory crimp dies for 30-30 and 30-06 rifles and 357 mag, which is rimmed.
I think their collet type crimp dies are available for most cartridges, regardless of how they headspace.

 

[Laserbait]

I have Lee factory crimp dies for 30-30 and 30-06 rifles and 357 mag, which is rimmed.
I think their collet type crimp dies are available for most cartridges, regardless of how they headspace.

The bottleneck rifle dies should be a 3 or 4 finger collet type that squeezes the side of the case mouth into the cannelure of the bullet. It's different than a roll crimp, in that the process does not impart much downward force onto the case shoulder. That downward force can cause the bottleneck case to deform.

The 357 Mag is a roll crimp, that puts a lot of downward force on the case mouth from the mandrel, causing it to curl inwards.

Same basic effect, just different ways of doing it. I love the Lee Factory crimp dies in the pistol rounds, but I dislike the bottleneck collet style. I just don't like the "pinch" marks that it leaves on the case mouth. I usually just do a light taper crimp on my bottleneck rounds, especially 223/5.56, 243 WSSM and 308 Win.