RCBS 44 Mag. cardbide 3 die set ??'s

[ruger44]

okay my dad wants to know which seater plug he should use to reload 44 mag shells and how to setup for the roll crimp. the dies are rcbs carbide 3 die set which has 3 seater plugs. the bullets are nosler 240gr. jhp any info would be greatly appreciated. THANKS

[WIL TERRY]

Tell your father to read the instructions that came with the dies for the correct way to set them to seat the bullets and simultaneously crimp them. You can also seat the bullets first and crimp later. This is CLEARLY explained in the RCBS die set instructions.

[Edward429451]

Try the bullets in the seater plug for fit while out of the die to see how they fit the nose and use the one that fits best. When you go to seat them if the fit is less than optimal and leaves a ring on the bullet, he could always use a flat WC seater plug.

Set up for the roll crimp by putting an empty case in the press and run it up. Screw the die into the press until it touches the case, then back it out 1 full turn and tighten it down on the big lock ring. After bullets are seated, back out the seater plug way up so it will not contact the bullet when you lower the die to set the crimp. Loosen the die lock ring, and run a case with bullet up into the die and screw the die down until you feel it contact the case again, then lower the press ram and screw the die down 1/4 turn more and lock it down. Crimp the bullet and check the crimp. If enough, go to crimping. If not, repeat with 1/8 or 1/4 turns of the die until you get to where you want to be. Remeber to note how much crimp in your reloading notes for the load (1/4 turn crimp, 3/8 turn, 1/2 turn etc..). Remeber that too much crimp can be worse than no crimp when it comes time to drop the hammer...

[cheygriz]

It is a good policy for any round that will be crimped to seat and crimp in separate operations. I use separate crimping dies, but it can be done with the same die and a little extra work.