help loading .45 acp on hornady

[puRe59]

Hey guys, I'm about to get my press setup. It seems like adjusting these dies is going to take a bit of work. I'm having trouble with the seating/crimping die.

How do I know whether or not it is providing the right amount of crimp? Should the top width of the case be the same diameter as the base width?

[Waldog]

I highly recommend you seat bullets and crimp separately. I use a Taper-Crimp die for 45 ACP. You get a much nicer product if you taper crimp separately. You want your crimp diameter to be .469-.470.

Most (Not all), die sets come with a seating/ROLL crimp die. Thus the need for a separate taper crimp die.

[puRe59]

I've got the 3-die set that specifically says "TAPER CRIMP". It's the Hornady Custom Grade Dies, I guess they started making sets with the taper crimp?

How do I adjust the crimp? The videos I've seen seem to have a different die from the one I got. Instead of there being 2 adjustments (die adjustment and seat adjustment), there's another one in between those adjustments. Anyone know how this works?

[EL_NinO619]

Back off the seating depth/steam all the way, so it wont even seat a bullet. Flare a re sized case and slowly adjust the seating die down (not the seating steam) until the crimp is gone on the empty case. After you have adjusted for removing flare make a dummy round and adjust seating depth.

As for crimping, removing the flare is all you want to do unless loading for a revolver. Hence setting the die until flare is completely gone on empty case, you can use your caliper and a manual to get outside diameter of the shell your loading and measure till its to spec and flare is gone..

[halifax]

My first set of 45 ACP dies were Hornady New Dimension. Racked my brain trying to figure out why the bullets didn't feel tight, the brass wasn't holding them. Tried all sorts of crimping schemes until I bought another brand of dies (Dillon). Hornady's were not sizing down enough to hold the bullet tight. Now I don't even need to crimp but I do with my Lee factory crimp die (taper, BTW).

Just a story that may or may not have anything to do with your issues unless you are trying to compensate for loosely held bullets by crimping.