45 ACP Dies

Howdy.  I recently purchased a nice wadgun and am planning on stepping up my reloading game this winter with a 5 station AP.  I'm starting to budget, so I'm compiling a list of equipment and accessories I'd want.

The one area I'm having trouble spec'ing out are dies since there are a lot of different options.  At the moment I plan on using JHPs for the long line and lead SWCs for the short line.  The main questions I have are:

- 3 or 4 die set?  I understand the 3 dies set (decap/resize, expand, seat/crimp) will let me use a powder check die.  I realize I can also run a powder check die with a 4 die set if I incorporate a powder through expander. Regarding a 3 die set it seems a seat/crimp die might be a bit inconsistent when alternating between two bullet types... but maybe not?

- Micrometer seating or crimp dies recommended?  Seems nice for alternating between bullet types, but pricey.  If worthwhile I'll put it in the budget.  I could also by a seating die and a crimp die for each bullet profile and swap in/out of the press as needed since standard dies are pretty cheap.

- Any particular brand of dies stand out for Bullseye?  Sounds like all the usual suspects are all capable of match ammo.  I plan on shooting a looooong time, so I don't mind investing in a nice set if there is a real benefit.

Additional notes:  I currently have a Lee die set (decap/resize, powder through expander, seat, crimp) I got used with some other reloading equipment that gets the job done.  The dies have a number of marks from the prior owner and runout doesn't seem the best.  I also have an RCBS 3 die set I haven't tried.  It looks to be an old 18910 die set: resize only die, decap/expand die, seat/crimp die.  I haven't noticed a new die set that laid out the functions that way across the stations but they look nicely made.

Thank you for any thoughts!

Does the “5 station AP” mean the Hornady?  If so you’ll need one station to have your case activated measure, and one station for a “powder checker” of some sort.

I recommend you setup your press with sizing in station 1, powder thru expander in Station 2, powder check in station 3, bullet feeder in station 4 and seat/taper crimp in station 5.  If you want to seat and crimp in separate ops, you’ll have to hand feed tour bullets.  That gets old really fast.  Primer seating takes place between station 1 and 2.

You can load good enough(note 1) ammo on any decent dies, including cheap Lee dies(note 2).

Why do you want to switch between jacketed and lead? The difference at 50 yards between good LSWC and good JHP is usually pretty small(note 1).




Note 1 - Good enough will get you to Master / High Master. After that you might want to spend more for top end dies to get the last few points when you are competing for the national championship.

Note 2 - Do as I say, not as I do. I really like micrometer powder drop, Redding Pro micrometer dies and other doodads and geegaws. They are so much fun to play with they can distract me from practicing for months at a time.

I have a Hornady 5 station progressive press. I size and deprime in a separate set up from my loading set up (size/deprime die in station one, before cleaning).  For my loading set up loading I use the following:
Station 1:empty
Station 2: expander (Lyman M is my preference)
Station 3: powder drop
Station 4: seating die (Hornady) 
Station 5: Crimp die (lee)

I do not use a powder check die as I visually inspect that the charge was dropped in the case before placing the bullet on the case, fairly easy with 45. Could easily move the expander to station 1, powder to station 2 and add the powder check to station 3.

I typically load lead, but when I load jacketed I have separate seating and crimp dies, I use duplicates of the ones I use for lead. My lead seating die has a modified seating stem to seat from the shoulder of a SWC.

I run a Hornady LNL AP and Dillon dies in the quick change bushings. Here's my layout.

#1 - Dillon Resize
#2 - Powder Through Expander
#3 - RCBS Lock Out Die
#4 - Dillon Seating Die
#5 - Dillon Taper Crimp

The Dillon dies aren't super high tech but they are very high quality and fairly priced, they don't have micrometer adjustments but I don't need one, I set the seating die then leave it. If I have multpile bullet profiles I want to load then I setup a seating die for each, buying multiple Dillon seating dies is still cheaper than the $100 micrometer seaters. Swapping dies takes seconds with the quick change bushings. Also the Dillon seating dies are super quick to disassemble and clean without messing up your settings, if I recall the micrometer ones lose their setting if fully disassembled, they tend to build up wax when using lead bullets.

I also don't think it's worth the money to get a bullet or brass feeder unless you shoot a LOT. I load 5000 rounds a year and it takes no time. I run the press with my right hand on the handle and can pick and load both brass and bullet with my left hand in one movement, takes a bit of practice but is very quick. That is with a Hornady LNL AP, if you get a Dillon 650 it's really inconvenient to run with without at least a brass feeder. I also have a Dillon SDB and it's very nice since it auto advances. I would avoid the Dillon 550 for beginners, it doesn't auto advance nor does ot have a 5th station for a powder check making it much easier to double throw powder, not what you want when new to reloading.

I use Lee for pretty much everything (all pistol calibers) except the crimp die for .45 lead bullets. When crimping lead the only die I found that goes small enough (.463) is the Dillon taper crimp die. I don't use a powder check die because I feed the bullets by hand and inspect when placing bullet. I use Lee presses too.

While I haven't committed to an AP press, I am currently leaning towards the Hornady LnL with the Dillon XL650 or 750 trailing.  I didn't want the thread to become a red vs blue thing, so I tried to leave my initial post brand agnostic.  I don't see needing a case feeder and I will start with hand feeding bullets.  Estimated reloading volume will be 5k-6k rounds a year.  If I can manage 300 rounds per hour I should be able to reload a months worth of 45 in less than 2 hours which seems reasonable. 

I'm on the fence regarding a powder check.  As a baseline setup I think I'll try one.

As for why I'm planning on JHPs and lead bullets, the serious shooters in my club recommend it so I assume I'll end up at that point.  Just like any hobby I'm sure I'll futz around a bit and try different things to find what I like, so having a system that isn't a PIA to adjust would be nice.  With the Hornady LnL I can swap dies very quickly so having extra preset dies for different bullet profiles is probably the way to go - especially since I already have a few dies.

I like zane's setup:
#1 - Dillon Resize
#2 - Powder Through Expander
#3 - RCBS Lock Out Die
#4 - Dillon Seating Die
#5 - Dillon Taper Crimp

If I get tired of hand feeding bullets I can try wobbly's setup since I'll have a seat/crimp die I can swap in to free up a station.

Seems like a lot of different configs work, so it will be fun to play around.  For now I'll price a Dillon die set, powder expander and powder check in the budget.  I'll try the press with the dies I have and if I like the results I'll put the money towards more reloading components.

Thank you everyone for the recommendations!

If you buy the Hornady, it may come with a measure and cas-ooeration linkage.  I have that and it works great.  Hornady also has expanders that go in the powder activation and they work great.  About the only thing that’s fussy on the LNL is the primer feed.  But once adjusted it works great and if you keep it clean it’ll run for thousands of rounds.

I thought I read the newer presses come with the quick change powder through expansion linkage to take stress when using a PTX for expansion.  My league mate just got a new LnL for his birthday, so I'm pretty interested to see what he got with his press.

Both my LNL AP's are about 3-4 years old. The powder drop/expansion setup has a milled aluminum bar that goes behind the spring on the linkage arms. The idea is to adjust that stop versus the old method where I think they just relied on the metering insert bottoming out on the up stroke. The new method is easier to tweak and has less stress on the measure. If I recall a guy on youtube made one of these and Hornady "borrowed" his idea to integrate into production models.

Dillon is guilty of the same thing.  My new 750 borrowed several after market upgrades to the 650 and designed a few more to smooth the system out..