Making 45 colt dies work

garryc · April 29, 2006, 10:19 AM

Having loaded many 45 colt rounds I found that the accuracy was often below my standards. Obviously, the chambers in a SAMMI spec gun are way oversized, they are made for 454 bullets and black powder loads. Here's what I did;
First I abandoned the use of carbide dies. They size the case to the same dimension it's full length. Taking a lesson from rifle reloading, I only wanted to size enough to hold the bullet.
Using CERROSAFE CHAMBER CASTING ALLOY as a measurement tool. I progressively lapped out a steel die until the back 2/3's ( actual measurement was the length of a 310 cast GC to the base of the bullet) of the die was the same diameter as the fired case. A simple brass rod, slit in the center to the desired length, wrapped with cotton cloth and a drill was all I needed. I used medium grit valve compound at first, then as I got close I went finer. The last step was to polish the entire die with Flitz.
The result were impressive. groups cut in half.
Yes I have to lube the cases, but with the spray lubes that?s no big deal

BigJakeJ1s · April 29, 2006, 09:39 PM

Couldn't you just leave a carbide die high in the press, so that the brass only goes into the die as far as you want it, even at the top of the stroke of the ram?

Or am I missing something...?

Andy

garryc · April 29, 2006, 09:53 PM

I tried that and it was ok until I busted a decapping pin because it was unsupported. With my dies the case is fully supported and kept straight

BigJakeJ1s · April 30, 2006, 08:41 PM

Good point. I didn't think about that since I deprime with a universal deprimer prior to tumbling.

Andy

dodgestdshift · May 4, 2006, 12:44 PM

Why don't you consider depriming in a separate step, and then using the carbide die set high. Separate depriming has several advantages:
1) The cases can be cleaned (tumbled) before being inserted into the resizing die. This allows the primer to be removed first and some cleaning done in the primer pocket by the tumbling step.
2) You can now use the carbide die and not have to lube and clean the cases after resizing.

I use the RCBS universal decaping die and love it.

April 29, 2006, 10:19 AM	#1
garryc Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2005 Posts: 2,536	Making 45 colt dies work Having loaded many 45 colt rounds I found that the accuracy was often below my standards. Obviously, the chambers in a SAMMI spec gun are way oversized, they are made for 454 bullets and black powder loads. Here's what I did; First I abandoned the use of carbide dies. They size the case to the same dimension it's full length. Taking a lesson from rifle reloading, I only wanted to size enough to hold the bullet. Using CERROSAFE CHAMBER CASTING ALLOY as a measurement tool. I progressively lapped out a steel die until the back 2/3's ( actual measurement was the length of a 310 cast GC to the base of the bullet) of the die was the same diameter as the fired case. A simple brass rod, slit in the center to the desired length, wrapped with cotton cloth and a drill was all I needed. I used medium grit valve compound at first, then as I got close I went finer. The last step was to polish the entire die with Flitz. The result were impressive. groups cut in half. Yes I have to lube the cases, but with the spray lubes that?s no big deal

May 4, 2006, 12:44 PM	#5
dodgestdshift Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2002 Location: Marilla, N.Y. (outside Buffalo N.Y.) Posts: 113	Why don't you consider depriming in a separate step, and then using the carbide die set high. Separate depriming has several advantages: 1) The cases can be cleaned (tumbled) before being inserted into the resizing die. This allows the primer to be removed first and some cleaning done in the primer pocket by the tumbling step. 2) You can now use the carbide die and not have to lube and clean the cases after resizing. I use the RCBS universal decaping die and love it. __________________ The shortest distance between two politicians is through your wallet. Don N.

April 29, 2006, 09:39 PM	#2
BigJakeJ1s Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2005 Location: Arlington TX Posts: 663	Couldn't you just leave a carbide die high in the press, so that the brass only goes into the die as far as you want it, even at the top of the stroke of the ram? Or am I missing something...? Andy

April 29, 2006, 09:53 PM	#3
garryc Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2005 Posts: 2,536	I tried that and it was ok until I busted a decapping pin because it was unsupported. With my dies the case is fully supported and kept straight

April 30, 2006, 08:41 PM	#4
BigJakeJ1s Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2005 Location: Arlington TX Posts: 663	Good point. I didn't think about that since I deprime with a universal deprimer prior to tumbling. Andy