I'm ordering a Dillion case gage today if the local shops don't have one on the shelves to help with this.

RCBS single stage
RCBS three piece die set
45 ACP
X-Treme plated 230 rn
1.260 OAL
.472 crimp

On my "dummy" test rounds, if I seat the bullet and then crimp in a seperate step, the rounds camber find.
If I seat and crimp at the same time, the rounds won't chamber. Stick out a bit from the barrel and slide won't go all the way forward.

Is it better to do the extra step of seating and then crimping on a single stage or should the RCBS Seat/Crimp die work as advertised?

Is there a better die to combine the steps?

I'm new to reloading and want to get it right. Thanks for the help in advance.

I always seat and crimp in separate steps, even in a single stage. It is especially tough to seat and crimp properly in one step as you are still pushing the bullet into the case while the crimp is being applied. This especially bad when adding a very firm roll crimp (i.e. 44 Mag), and huge amounts of bullet deformation can happen.

Even though I'm guessing you have the correct taper crimp die for .45 Auto, it could be you are not removing the belling and the round is hanging, or the bullet itself is striking the rifling and not allowing the pistol to go into battery. G.I. spec chambers are especially prone to this, and why I set my OAL for my G.I. spec 1911 if I plan on using this same ammo in my generous leade P220. You can also run into problems with too much taper crimp where the case mouth is reduced too much, headspacing is not correct, and the round can "wedge" into the leade. Only use enough taper crimp to completely remove belling, and let case tension take care of the rest.

I don't own any case gauges, and let the actual barrel determine what is right or wrong, and don't like/use a Lee factory crimp die either.

I'm a rebel and seat and crimp in the same step. Tried it the other way and had some problems... which makes no sense but that was enough and I decided to go back to what I used to do.

I'm not sure how you mean .472 crimp, but I set up my die this way: back off the crimp and adjust the seating depth. Seat a bullet. Then with the cartridge up in the die all the way, start twisting on the die till you feel you are hard up against the belled case mouth. Stop. Lower the cartridge down, turn the die one half turn more, and run the cartridge up in. Check and see if the case bell is gone and the mouth is flat against the bullet. If not, try another 1/4 turn. That should be plenty.

My goal is only removing the belling and maybe 0.002" impression into the bullet. I measure that by pulling a bullet and measuring diameter.

Have fun and be safe.
rod

ps, you could also just seat and then run a Lee FCD die to taper crimp, but that's heresy to some people. Again, no problems for me and I sometimes do that when I'm acting silly.

I seat and crimp at the same time as well.

Have you compared the OAL and crimp when do it both ways?

I am leaning towards it not seating far enough and having the bullet hit the rifling but I think you wouldn't be able to load mags with very long bullets anyway.

So the second thing I would look at is that you adjusted the crimp far enough. It might not be getting rid of the belling at all.

quote:

Stick out a bit from the barrel and slide won't go all the way forward.

Your OAL is too long, adjust your seating stem in a bit and your problem should be solved.

I've been doing a post on this in the main Sig Pistols forum... I'm having the same problem w/ my 220, except, I'm seating and crimping at a different stage on my Hornady LNL AP w/ a Taper crimp die....I know OAL isn't too long.. but - I've checked the diameter, and it's all within spec according to the Hornady Book... on a side note, I use RCBS 9mm dies w/ Seat/Taper in one step, and never had a problem in my 229

Thanks all for the suggestions. The two different type of rounds I made are the same OAL so I have rulled that out. I'm going to undue the die and set it back up again. Reading your comments above, I think I'm over crimping and that could cause an issue.

The seperate stage seat and crimp rounds have a nice flat end to the case.
The seat/crimp in one stage rounds look to be actually tapered in into the round, too much taper crimp.

Thanks again for your help, back to the press

If you have a chance to take a picture of a cartridge done each different way, that would be interesting to look at.

Also, let me get this off my chest... THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

RCJohnson

Thank you for your support! I updated my signature, I officially retired 1 Nov 09.

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So I reset up the die and all is good now. I'll get some pics later, I'm 99% positive I was over crimping, probably causing the bullet or case to bulge just a bit or just enough to not want to chamber. The comments above about crimping just enough to remove the bellowing made a lot of sense and seems to have been the problem.

Thanks all for your help as well; I realized I was under crimping...

I seat and crimp seperately and always pull a bullet to check the crimp. The Brass OAL can impact the crimp but I have never had a problem with different lengths on straight wall brass. You only need enough to hold the bullet from setback. This is normally around 0.002" - 0.003" which puts the grove in the bullet at only 0.001". Over flaring and crimping can cause the mouths to crack. Only flare enough for it to take the bullet.

Glad you figured out what was the problem. Enjoy your new found hobby.

Been seating and crimping in the same step for over 15 years. Never had a problem.

I seat and crimp in the same step and have been since 1973.