The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Question about Dies and Lead Bullets for .45ACP

tom234 · April 5, 2008, 12:05 AM

The general consensus [for .45 ACP] is that one should have a tapered crimp that gives you .469 to .471" and no more than .473" [spec OD]. For decades I used 3 die sets but recently changed to a LEE 4 die set in .45 ACP where the 4th die is a Factory Crimp Die [FCD]. You may want to consider adding a FCD to your Hornady die set to crimp separately and straighten out the bulge in your cases. The FCD works fine for me and I have since retrofitted my other 3 die sets with FCDs.

April 5, 2008, 12:05 AM	#5
tom234 Senior Member Join Date: February 14, 2008 Location: Kansas Posts: 753	The general consensus [for .45 ACP] is that one should have a tapered crimp that gives you .469 to .471" and no more than .473" [spec OD]. For decades I used 3 die sets but recently changed to a LEE 4 die set in .45 ACP where the 4th die is a Factory Crimp Die [FCD]. You may want to consider adding a FCD to your Hornady die set to crimp separately and straighten out the bulge in your cases. The FCD works fine for me and I have since retrofitted my other 3 die sets with FCDs.