Yesterday I bought a set of RCBS carbide dies for .45acp and when following their adjustment directions I cant get this thing to work.

The directions say to stick a charged case into the ram and run it to the top of the press stroke, and then screw the die down until it touches the case mouth, and then back it up one full turn and lock it.

When I do this the die isnt even close to the case and there is 2" of the die sticking out of the top of the press (rock chucker) and with the seater plug bottomed out in the die its still no where close to touching the bullet.

Ive read the directions over and over, am totally missing something here?? I double checked the die and plug to make sure it was actually the correct one, double checked case lenght ect..ect...

What am I doing wrong??

It sounds like you have instructions for a sizing die.
Raise the ram to top of the stroke with the shell holder installed. screw down the seat die till it touches the shell holder. lock the die. install a dummy round of the correct seating depth. screw down the seater plug until it touches the bullet.. at this point you can adjust the seater plug up or down as needed to get the length you want.. if you do not have a dummy round. use an empty with the type of bullet you plan on using and set he plug to start the bullet into the case and then screw it down a little at a time to get the desired length if the die has a crimp built into it you will want to back the die off a 1/4 of a turn untill you are not crimping the case

Here's what I'd do.....

Raise the ram with the case in the shell holder all the way up. Screw the seat die down till you feel the resistance of the crimp starting on the case mouth.
Turn the die up 1/2 turn.
Turn the seater plug down till it seats the bullet so that the edge of the case mouth is about 1/4 the way into the space of the cannelure.
Then I'd turn the die down until you get what you feel is the proper crimp with the edge of the case mouth going into the space of the cannelure.

28

the other 2 guys gave you good instructions. Either way will work

As to your original problem - I have a feeling that the case is contacting the bottom of the die. When you raise the ram make sure that the case is entering the die body. When you have it adjusted correctly there should be no more than 1/8" to 1/4" betewen the bottom of the die and the top of the shell holder when the ram is all the way up.

One little helpful hint for loading the 45 ACP. If you are using cast lead bullets it will work a lot better if you first seat the bullet to the depth you want, then readjust the die to do the crimp. Trying to simutaneously seat and crimp a lead bullet in a straght case like the ACP is always difficult because it tends to shave lead frtom the bullet. Most 45 ACP handloaders will have two seating dies - one to seat and the other to crimp. That way you don't have to keep adjusting them.

And be careful how much you crimp. The ACP headspaces on the case mouth and too much crimp will increase the headspace.

Ray

The case mouth is touching the bottom of the die, it will not enter the die at all without resistance. Could the case mouths possibly be over expanded? I expanded the mouths to where the bullet freely drops about 1/8" into the case, is that too much?

28

that's what i thought was happening. No, that's not too much case mouth expansion but you need to cut it back a little for your particular seating die. It won't hurt if the case mouth rubs the inside of the die so reduce the bell just enough so that you can still start a bullet in the case and also start the case into the die.

What you are experiencing is very common in loading the 45 ACP so don't let it frustrate you. The 45 is one of the hardest cases to get your dies adjusted. Once you learn how to load it, all other pistol cartridges will be a snap.

Good Luck

Ray

I prefer 4 die sets for my handgun loading just because of this type of trouble. I`d pick up a crimp die and set the seater to seat with out crimping then go back with the crimp die and crimp.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?s...id=480528&t=11082005

quote:

Originally posted by 28sstony:
...I expanded the mouths to where the bullet freely drops about 1/8" into the case, is that too much?

Hey 28sstony, That would be a good bit more than I "Expand" the Case Mouth. I Expand them just barely enough so that the Bullet Base will be Inside the Casemouth. With the Case setting in the Shell Holder, when I put the Bullet atop the Casemouth, it just barely snugs in.

Unless they have changed the Owners Manual, it should say something similar to that. Over Expansion leads to shorter Case Life. When I Expand the Casemouth and then Form it back during the Seating Operation, I prefer for the Brass to be "worked" as little as possible.
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quote:

...The directions say to stick a charged case into the ram and run it to the top of the press stroke, and then screw the die down until it touches the case mouth, and then back it up one full turn and lock it.

That is what I do when I want to do the Crimping in a separate operation. After I do the above, then I set the Seating Stem to push the Bullet into the Case so it is at the correct height; for proper feeding and so it clears the Lands. You verify this Height with a set of 0.001" capable Calipers.

If I want to Seat and Crimp in the same operation, then:
1. I first do all of the above and Seat one Bullet.
2. I back the Seating Stem way out and screw the Seating Die down until it makes contact with the Expanded Casemouth.
3. I lower the Case and screw the Seating Die down slightly.
4. I push the Case in, which begins to reform the Expanded Casemouth(aka Crimp), remove the Cartridge and take a look at the Casemouth. If the Casemouth is flat against the side of the Bullet, then I have the Seating Die adjusted properly. You want the Casewall to be straight all the way past the Casemouth - because - the Cartridge "Headspaces" on that small bit of Casemouth.

NOTE: I have the Barrel removed from my pistol and try this First Cartridge in the Barrel to make sure it Headspaces properly. If you are not sure what that looks like, stick a Factory Cartridge into the Barrel, notice where the Casehead is in relation to the end of the Barrel and then insert the Cartridge you just Reloaded.

5. I put the Cartridge back in the Shell Holder and raise it back into the Seating Die. Now I turn the Seating Stem "in" until it is snug against the Bullet and lightly secure the Lock Ring.
6. I Seat/Crimp a Second Bullet and verify the Overall Cartridge Length(OCL) when measured against the First Cartridge. If the Second Bullet is a bit High, I re-adjust the Seating Stem, resquash the Cartridge and check it again - until they match.
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RCBS makes Roll Crimp, Taper Crimp and Profile Crimp Dies for semi-auto Pistol Cartridge Reloading. You can do the above with any of them, but it is easiest to do with the Taper and Profile Crimp Die Sets.

I "Trim" Cases after EVERY shot to make sure the Headspace remains the same.

If you shoot a lot of Lead Bullets(which ensures l-o-n-g Barrel Life), be sure to clean the end of the Seating Stem because stray Lube will attach itself to the end of it and result in the Bullets being Seated deeper. Check the OCL every 20 Cartridges or so and you will catch it before it creates a problem.

Best of luck to you.