pro 1000

[jamesob]

quick question. i recently picked up a pro1000 in 223, and need advice on the bullet seating die. i plan on using 55gr. fmj with the groove for the crimp ( gas ring ?) and was wondering if the lee die that comes with it is fine for these bullets without the crimp die. as far as i can tell the die does not put a crimp at all. i'm sur this is a question for cowboy t since he is the pro1000 guru.

[pisarski]

yes the lee die is fine you just need to adjust the die lower to get it to crimp

[jamesob]

yes the lee die is fine you just need to adjust the die lower to get it to crimp

will do, thanks...james

[Cowboy T]

Actually, a Pro 1000 in .223 is on order, so I'll be finding that out pretty soon myself. Hmm...sounds like a subject for another Pro 1000 vid. :-)

[WILDMAN442]

Do it Cowboy! I would love to see that video.

Justin

[GeoffLinder]

.223 does not really need a crimp. If the expander ball is doing it's job on the sizing die, the case mouth is enuff undersize that the friction there when a bullet is seated will be plenty to hold the rounds.

DO NOT just crank down a seating die to attempt a roll type crimp, this is a blown-uo rifle waiting to happen at the worst and a round stuck in the chamber at the best. All this will do is deform the case and crush it a down if you crank it down enuff to get some crimp going in a seating die.

Doing a roll crimp this way is best done only with straight-wall pistol cartridges like .357 .44 magnum. Even then, a separate crimping step is always preferred.

IF you feel you MUST crimp, I highly recommend a taper crimp die in it's own station so crimping done as a separate step AFTER bullet seating. I little dab will do ya' here. Too much crimp can jack pressure way up.

No need to crimp into a cannelure anyway, I always set OAL for the range of 2.225-2.230 and let the cannelure fall where it may.

Also, crimping cases that have not been trimmed after sizing can actually make the ammo less accurate because the case length will not be the same from case to case and some rounds will get correct crimp, some none and some too much. This large variation in release tension will cause pressure variations from round to round and increase the SD (standard deviation) of that load across the chronograph.

[stewiegriffin]

I have loaded hundreds of 223 on a Lee 1000 and a Hornady LNL using the Lee die. I have never crimped my .223 and have had zero problems.