I have a couple of die set-up questions for my Springfield .45 using 200 grain SWC bullets. I have a Redding die set with four dies: Sizing, expander, seating and tapered crimp die.
1. Bullet seating
How do you tell how much bullet jump you have with pistol bullets ? The rifle bullets are easy with a Stoney Point tool and a comparator, but this is more difficult than I thought. I loaded some dummy rounds at 1.275" as per the maximum OAL listed in one of my manuals and they fit in the magazine with no problem. They just barely fit, but it doesn't feel like they rub on the front of the mag when I feed them. I assume it's not good to have pistol bullets jammed too far into the rifling, correct ? I'm not sure about how to seat them properly without seating them too long (assuming too long will still fit in a mag) or too short.
2. Crimping:
When I bought my Redding expander die, It didn't come with directions, so I called Redding to ask them how to set it up. The guy I talked to told me to expand the brass just enough to be able to get the bullet started. He said anymore, and you'll be over working the brass. I did that and then made up a couple of dummy rounds. To see what effect the crimp die had, I over-crimped one round and didn't crimp the other. Both fit in the barrel with no problem. I can't detect any sign of a flair on the non-crimped case. It looks as straight as can be. If I measure it with calipers, the middle of the case on the dummy round measures .467", three quarter of the way up where the base of the bullet probably is measures .472", and at the very top of the case at the case mouth measures .471". When I measure the over-crimped case, the first two measurements are identical, but the measurement by the case mouth is .462" showing definite signs of tapering in towards the bullet. In fact, the rim of the case mouth can't be seen because it is pushed into the lead of the bullet. Is crimping really necessary if the case is straight ? How do you know how much to crimp ? Thanks in advance.
1. Bullet seating
How do you tell how much bullet jump you have with pistol bullets ? The rifle bullets are easy with a Stoney Point tool and a comparator, but this is more difficult than I thought. I loaded some dummy rounds at 1.275" as per the maximum OAL listed in one of my manuals and they fit in the magazine with no problem. They just barely fit, but it doesn't feel like they rub on the front of the mag when I feed them. I assume it's not good to have pistol bullets jammed too far into the rifling, correct ? I'm not sure about how to seat them properly without seating them too long (assuming too long will still fit in a mag) or too short.
2. Crimping:
When I bought my Redding expander die, It didn't come with directions, so I called Redding to ask them how to set it up. The guy I talked to told me to expand the brass just enough to be able to get the bullet started. He said anymore, and you'll be over working the brass. I did that and then made up a couple of dummy rounds. To see what effect the crimp die had, I over-crimped one round and didn't crimp the other. Both fit in the barrel with no problem. I can't detect any sign of a flair on the non-crimped case. It looks as straight as can be. If I measure it with calipers, the middle of the case on the dummy round measures .467", three quarter of the way up where the base of the bullet probably is measures .472", and at the very top of the case at the case mouth measures .471". When I measure the over-crimped case, the first two measurements are identical, but the measurement by the case mouth is .462" showing definite signs of tapering in towards the bullet. In fact, the rim of the case mouth can't be seen because it is pushed into the lead of the bullet. Is crimping really necessary if the case is straight ? How do you know how much to crimp ? Thanks in advance.