reloading dies, 45acp

classic question.. 

reloading dies for 45acp that can handle lead and jacketed

Would like to avoid lee. Personal reasons.  Not keen on using Hornady as the seating die on my 357/44 magnum seater dies have that little metal washer on the rubber washer that NEVER gets tight, and likes to come loose during use. 

dont know if i actually need the micrometer adjustements for seating or crimping.

Not a fan of Lee either. I have 2 sets of 45, Dillon and Lyman. I either use lead or coated bullets and they work fine in either. One thing I've noticed is I always have sizing issues with the Dillon where it wont always go fully into a case guage.  Never an issue with the Lyman. I just got set up for 32 acp and bought Redding pro series dies. Haven't used them much yet but like what i'm seeing plus they are made for progressives and come with the separate crimp die

Any die set with a carbide or equivalent sizing die will be suitable. I've used RCBS and Lyman with good results. If you have a Dillon press, Dillon dies seem to work slicker and are easy to clean without changing settings. Redding and Forster have great reputations, but are very expensive. Whatever you decide on, get a separate taper crimp die and crimp in a separate operation from seating.

RCBS, Lyman, Redding. I have used just about every major make of die and found them to work well when used correctly.

I currently use Dillon dies for 45 but I do still have a set of Lyman dies for 38/357.  Lyman dies work well but they do tend to break the primer punch pins.  Used to break one every month or so when I first started so I bought a pack of replacements to have on hand.  Switched to Dillon dies 25+ years ago and bought a pack of replacement pins for them - haven't broken one yet so their design/materials seem superior to me.

I will recommend that you use a seating die that will seat on the shoulder vs the nose.  You'll be able to change bullet profiles and/or vendors without changing the seat.  My friend Steve made me one for the Dillon dies but I think they can be bought as well. 

John

IMO, RCBS, Lyman, Dillon and Redding make the best dies.  Others like Lee and older makes can make very good ammunition but I found them less easy to adjust.

I agree wholeheartedly with using separate dies for seating and crimping as well as seating on the shoulder of SWC bullets.  Given that, my .45 ACP die arsenal includes a seater and a crimper set up for SWC, and a second pair of those dies for jacketed.  There is enough difference in my setup between those two bullet types that it’s worth it to me to have the extra two dies.

Most all of the brands can be found at my bench but lately I’ve been leaning towards Redding.

I have a vast assortment of die brands on my bench, my 45 die head has three different brands in it but they work. I started out with RCBS 45 dies in the early 70’s and used them till I traded into a set of Dillons. The Dillon sizer works well on the progressive due to the larger entry taper and seems to size a little tighter than the original RCBS carbide die. I really like the spring loaded decapper that mostly prevents spent primers sticking to the decap pin. I too seat and crimp separately in all calibers.

I use RCBS dies with a carbide sizing die, and a taper crimp die.  No complaints

I use Dillon decapping and seating die, but on the last stage for crimp I use the Lee Factory Crimp die, I found that it produces the most consistent results. Also highly recommend the HTC Powder Transfer Unit from PhotoEscape.

RedBand wrote:classic question.. 

reloading dies for 45acp that can handle lead and jacketed

Would like to avoid lee. Personal reasons.  Not keen on using Hornady as the seating die on my 357/44 magnum seater dies have that little metal washer on the rubber washer that NEVER gets tight, and likes to come loose during use. 

dont know if i actually need the micrometer adjustements for seating or crimping.

Well, I held as long as I could trying to refrain from answering...... because I do not view OP's question as a classic one.  Or I should say that IMHO it is not the question I would expect from someone who reloads for competitive shooting.  But then OP clearly stated that he doesn't shoot, and that might be an explanation for posted answers.  And I'm totally on board with all of them - any die set from any manufacturer or set of dies from various manufacturers can be used for loading plinking ammo using lead, jacketed, plated, coated, full copper, etc. bullets.  Thus, under these premises avoiding Lee (and I can guess as to why), and not using Hornady seating die (and I know exactly why), and not using micrometer dies (once again, I know exactly why) is totally fine.

However if stipulation for reloading ammo for competitive shooting is added, my answer would be totally different, and it would start from .... it depends!  Firstly, it depends of chamber and bore dimension of the gun one will be using.  Although these parameters are mostly standardized, there are some variables depending on barrels used, chamber reamers, etc.  Next in line will be bullets - jacketed versus lead and bullet's dimensions (OD/OAL).  Next would be selection of brass cases and figuring out predominant wall thickness.  After that, and only after that I would start selecting dies, or I should say parameters/configuration of dies. I.e. ID of the carbide ring for sizing die, - most definitely it should be different for jacketed versus lead.  Then profile of the seating steam for the seater, - for sure it must be different for jacketed versus lead even if profiles of the bullets are the same.  I.e. loading jacketed SWC versus loading lead SWC, - former can be seated on the cone while latter, IMO, must be seated on shoulder.  And finally crimp die, - lead / coated bullets require much tighter crimp then jacketed, and yet you don't want it become a roll crimp unless you plan on shooting ammo through the revolver.  Many manufacturers machine crimping dies that do both, - light taper crimp and then roll in heavier one.

With that said, for my 45 ACP tool heads I use Lee Carbide Sizing dies that have rings with IDs specific to bullets and brass I'm using.  Based on my observation Lee dies size cases to the lowest level out of all manufacturers I checked.  Yes, some of them are custom, 45 Colt for 0.452" lead/coated using mostly Winchester cases. I use modified Hornady seater with micrometer (custom steam and additional changes to eliminate drifting that OP doesn't like.  I don't like it either, but I do like "skirt" part.) for SWC, and Redding micrometer dies for jacketed.  Crimp dies - Dillon, Redding, or Lee FCD (once again particular ID for the ring, although Lee pays more attention to tolerances on FCDs than on sizing dies.)  

That is my take on the "classic" topic.

AP

Frankly, I'd like to hear from fc60. He regularly posts photos of phenomenal 10 shot groups at 50 yards from a barrel tester with his reloads!

RCBS has M expanders.

I use a Redding dual ring sizer die on a Forster Co-Ax with Imperial wax. Ultrasonic clean, but I leave a light wax film on the brass. Lee powder-through expander. Hornady new dimension seater die with a micrometer installed. Two Lee FCD dies last step...one set up for JHPs and one for coated lead. The new Lee split lock rings are okay (I've broken a couple of them), easy on and off, so no adjustment necessary.

PhotoEscape wrote:

RedBand wrote:classic question.. 

reloading dies for 45acp that can handle lead and jacketed

Would like to avoid lee. Personal reasons.  Not keen on using Hornady as the seating die on my 357/44 magnum seater dies have that little metal washer on the rubber washer that NEVER gets tight, and likes to come loose during use. 

dont know if i actually need the micrometer adjustements for seating or crimping.

Well, I held as long as I could trying to refrain from answering...... because I do not view OP's question as a classic one.  Or I should say that IMHO it is not the question I would expect from someone who reloads for competitive shooting.  But then OP clearly stated that he doesn't shoot, and that might be an explanation for posted answers.  And I'm totally on board with all of them - any die set from any manufacturer or set of dies from various manufacturers can be used for loading plinking ammo using lead, jacketed, plated, coated, full copper, etc. bullets.  Thus, under these premises avoiding Lee (and I can guess as to why), and not using Hornady seating die (and I know exactly why), and not using micrometer dies (once again, I know exactly why) is totally fine.

However if stipulation for reloading ammo for competitive shooting is added, my answer would be totally different, and it would start from .... it depends!  Firstly, it depends of chamber and bore dimension of the gun one will be using.  Although these parameters are mostly standardized, there are some variables depending on barrels used, chamber reamers, etc.  Next in line will be bullets - jacketed versus lead and bullet's dimensions (OD/OAL).  Next would be selection of brass cases and figuring out predominant wall thickness.  After that, and only after that I would start selecting dies, or I should say parameters/configuration of dies. I.e. ID of the carbide ring for sizing die, - most definitely it should be different for jacketed versus lead.  Then profile of the seating steam for the seater, - for sure it must be different for jacketed versus lead even if profiles of the bullets are the same.  I.e. loading jacketed SWC versus loading lead SWC, - former can be seated on the cone while latter, IMO, must be seated on shoulder.  And finally crimp die, - lead / coated bullets require much tighter crimp then jacketed, and yet you don't want it become a roll crimp unless you plan on shooting ammo through the revolver.  Many manufacturers machine crimping dies that do both, - light taper crimp and then roll in heavier one.

With that said, for my 45 ACP tool heads I use Lee Carbide Sizing dies that have rings with IDs specific to bullets and brass I'm using.  Based on my observation Lee dies size cases to the lowest level out of all manufacturers I checked.  Yes, some of them are custom, 45 Colt for 0.452" lead/coated using mostly Winchester cases. I use modified Hornady seater with micrometer (custom steam and additional changes to eliminate drifting that OP doesn't like.  I don't like it either, but I do like "skirt" part.) for SWC, and Redding micrometer dies for jacketed.  Crimp dies - Dillon, Redding, or Lee FCD (once again particular ID for the ring, although Lee pays more attention to tolerances on FCDs than on sizing dies.)  

That is my take on the "classic" topic.

AP

the hornady skirt is nice, the double stems are nice.. 

however on the sizing die i cant for the life of me get the damn thing readjusted to work.  The lee hand press i had, I had what turned out to be the typical "monday morning hangover" machining quality on Lee shell holder, and the shell holder was installing the cases into the die at an angle that allowed the decapping pin to hit OUTSIDE the primer and popping it.. and i cant get it to come through the flash channel on a deprimed case.

RedBand wrote:

however on the sizing die i cant for the life of me get the damn thing readjusted to work.  The lee hand press i had, I had what turned out to be the typical "monday morning hangover" machining quality on Lee shell holder, and the shell holder was installing the cases into the die at an angle that allowed the decapping pin to hit OUTSIDE the primer and popping it.. and i cant get it to come through the flash channel on a deprimed case.

I can't imagine any bullseye pistol shooter using a Lee hand press to reload the amount of ammo needed to train for and shoot in matches. I'm not a huge Lee fan, but I bet if there is a defect in the Lee shell holder, that Lee will make good on it.

Howdy All
I'm a newbie on here but longtime reloader.
I use a a mixture of dies when I reload 45ACP/9mm. I size with Dillon catbide die, seat with Redding Competition seating die and final crimp with a Lee crimp die. Run on either a Dillon 650 or S 1050.