What am I doing wrong?

[Bisch77]

So I am just getting back into reloading after several years off. When I was reloading, I didn't know what I was doing, so now, it's compounded. But here is what i have, I'm reloading 45acp on a dillon 650xl:

1 - I'm attempting to set up the dies and am having trouble with, I believe, the full length sizer. I will be pushing through rounds and will get one where the bullet will drop all the way down to powder when It moves to seating. Not every bullet will do this. It appears to be random. The die was adjusted by moving plate all the way and dropping the die until it touches plate, then backing off about 1/4 turn.

2- I'm running into this issue (as pictured) where I believe the crimp is off a bit. When I tried to adjust the die down, it totally crushes the while round and/or shaves the brass off. From the picture, is that a huge issue?

Help would be much appreciated, thank you.

[Shadow9mm]

1, the sizing die should be threaded down until it touches the shell plate, plus a quarter turn. You definitely do not want to back it out.

2, your seater/crimp is way off. Back the die out past zero crimp. Load a couple rounds and adjust the seating depth. Once seating depth is set back the seating stem way off. Then adjust the die down with no seating, to set your crimp. Once your crimp is set, jusy bring the seating stem down till it touches the bullet and your done.

[rc]

So either your sizing dies isn't doing the job or you have too much bell on your cases. Your bullet should stop at the bottom of the flair and there should be neck tension when you seat the bullets before the final crimp is reached.

[bamaranger]

You may well have a die adjustment problem as described by others, but I will suggest some other possibilities......wonky components.

-How old are your cases? Have they been reloaded multiple times? I have had issues with RP pistol brass not holding up over time and failing to size down to consistently hold a projectile.

-Are your projectiles from a mainline, reputable supplier. I once bought a quantity of 9mm bullets which were all over the map in diameter. So much so that you could not keep them on a B27 target at 10 yds and keyholes were the norm,especially with polygonal rifling. Tired cases and undersize bullets could allow for inconsistent bullet tension.

[Jim Watson]

Maybe so. A poster on THR got some plated bullets with some way undersize.

[rc]

Yeh, I've had RP cases just crack unexpectedly. I've seen this in 40 and 38 special. The case can split down the side, then you won't get any neck tension. Hopefully you'll catch the crack and discard before trying to reload the case. I crimp em with pilers and throw in a brass recycling container.

[44 AMP]

1 - I'm attempting to set up the dies and am having trouble with, I believe, the full length sizer. I will be pushing through rounds and will get one where the bullet will drop all the way down to powder when It moves to seating. Not every bullet will do this. It appears to be random. The die was adjusted by moving plate all the way and dropping the die until it touches plate, then backing off about 1/4 turn.

You might check with the people who made your dies (of the instructions that came with them (if you still have them). The usual adjustment for a .45acp sizer die is for the bottom of the die to contact the shell holder with the press ram all the way UP. Backing the die body off 1/4 turn is, relatively speaking, a lot of room between the die body and the shellplate.

However, this should not really be a problem, there should still be enough of the case mouth and "neck" correctly sized to give you proper bullet tension.

The sizing die may not be the root cause of your problem, it could be the expander die adjustment, or even possibly the size of the expander, in relation to the size of your bullets and your brass.

Consider this, since you are only getting the problem randomly, and all the cases are going through the sizer and expander they way you have them adjusted now, what is the only thing different about the bad rounds??

The bullet. As suggested earlier, you might be running into the occasional undersize bullet.

When you get a bullet that just drops down to the powder, what do you do with the round??

What I would do is, pull the bullet and try that bullet in a different case. Try a different bullet in the "loose" case and see what the results are.

A bullet that is undersize will be loose in every case, and a case that is oversize will be loose with every bullet, generally.

As to the crimping issue, are you seating and crimping in one step? Using separate dies to seat and crimp? Is your brass a uniform length?

Does the instructions for your Dillon cover die adjustment?? (if you don't have the instructions call Dillon, they'll send you some.)

Same applies to the dies, the makers will send you their instructions, if you ask. There are lots of little tips & tricks that might be useful, but the first, and best place to start is with the dies adjusted per the maker's instructions.

IF you're using the cheapest components (bullets, or brass) that might be the cause of your problem, too.

Spend the $, get some components of good known quality, and see if you still have any issues.

Let us know how things test out.
Good Luck!

[tangolima]

Most likely the sizing die is a carbide die that has a carbide ring. Setting the die lower will not increase bullet tension. I had a batch of old .45 acp brass that did that. Bullet dropped into the brass. I ended up scraping the whole batch. Possibly the brass had been worked hardened so it sprung back too much after sizing.

Inconsistent crimping is most likely caused by inconsistent brass length. Trimming pistol brass is inefficient. Head stamp sorting is probably adequate.

-TL

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