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Old December 25, 2005, 10:29 PM   #1
Kayser
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How do I use this here 3 die set?

My brother very thoughtfully bought me a set of reloading dies for Christmas. A Lee 3-die set in .50 Action Express. I've been reloading .45 acp and .44 magnum for about a year now, but up until this point I've always used the Lee 4-die set - with the 4th die being the factory crimp die.

With the 3 die set, the crimp happens at seating time, yes? How does one go about adjusting this thing? According to the manual, if you want a crimp, you screw the die in a little further. But isn't this going to also result in the bullet getting seated deeper? Or do you do this as a seperate operation with the seating screw backed way out?

Unfortunately, Lee specifically states that they do not make .50ae factory crimp dies because something about them is too large for their manufacturing process. I'm a big believer in getting just the right crimp for optimal accuracy and operation, so....inquiring minds want to know.
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Old December 25, 2005, 10:40 PM   #2
BigJakeJ1s
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Once you have the seater set for the oal you want, back the seater plug out a ways, then screw the die in until you get the crimp you want (on the cartridge you just seated). Once there, screw the seater plug back in until it hits the top of the bullet.

You can also just buy a 2nd seat/crimp die, and use it without the seater plug installed as a separate crimp die.

Andy
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Old December 25, 2005, 10:49 PM   #3
Kayser
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Ah, that makes sense.

So I guess the combo seat/crimp dies start to have some taper near the trim length of the cartridge? Sounds like a physically different process from the way the factory crimp dies work, since theoretically the crimping applied at the same time the bullet is being seated could cause shaving/shredding of the bullet itself?

Learn something new every day Man, those 4 die sets have me spoiled.
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Old December 26, 2005, 04:32 PM   #4
JJB2
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that's the way i do it too jake... i keep a perfectly oal cartrage on my bench measure 9 mms though.......
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Old December 27, 2005, 12:06 AM   #5
BigJakeJ1s
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The seat/crimp die, at least one for a roll crimp like the 45 colt, if set up properly, will start to roll the case mouth in at the bottom of the canelure, so the bullet has room to keep coming down while the crimp is finished at the upper edge of the canelure. Naturally, deep, wide canelures are advantageous, as are uniform length cases. The #1 reason separate crimping is advantageous is that it is less sensitive to case trim (or untrimmed, as the 'case' may be!) length. However, once trimeed, most pistol brass does not grow very much very quickly, so it is not much of a problem keeping them uniform.

I also keep a dummy round (no powder/primer) that is seated to correct OAL, and crimped the way I like it, to help re-set the dies should I need to. Back out the seater screw, then screw the die down until the die stops on the crimp, then run the seater screw down til it stops on the bullet. Just minor tweaking from there...

Besides the excellent sliding alignment sleeve design of the hornady seat/crimp dies, I also like that they can be cleaned without removing the die or changing the setting. A spring clip on the bottom is removed, and the sleeve and seating plunger both fall out the bottom. This is nice when working with lubed, cast bullets, since the lube tends gunk up the insides after a lot of rounds. Dillon seating dies also have an easy cleaning setup, but not the sliding alignment sleeve of the hornady.

Andy
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Old December 27, 2005, 12:28 AM   #6
Jbar4Ranch
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Some die sets will have a thin 5/8" washer included that is used as a spacer so you can seat and crimp in separate operations without continually adjusting the die lock ring. After you have the crimp adjustment set where you want it, put the spacer washer under the die when seating the bullet so that you seat the bullet w/o crimping, then after seating all the bullets, unscrew the die, remove the washer, screw the die back into the press, back out the seating stem about three turns, and crimp all your loaded rounds.
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Old December 27, 2005, 09:11 AM   #7
WESHOOT2
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adding to your list

Hornady One Shot case lube.
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