Setting up dies

[Scott]

OK, so I went out and spent a lot more money than I should have today on new equipment and the wife isn't exactly pleased. The worst part is, I can't even get the thing working right to show her that it was money well spent.

I bought a set of RCBS 3 pc. carbide dies. For the most part, I think I get the resizer/primer pusher outer thing and the belling die (I have no idea if these are what they're really called) set up properly. The problem is the 3rd die, the one that seats the bullet and crimps the casing. I can't get the damn thing to work!!!! Sorry, just a little frustrated.

Everytime I pull the handle on the press, the bullet actually ends up getting stuck inside the die. I've tried moving the whole die up and the pusher thing in the middle down, but to no avail. If I move the plunger up, the bullet doesn't get stuck, but it doesn't get pushed into the case either. I've only had one round so far come out ok, and that was with the bullet being sandwiched much too low into the brass.

Someone please help before I go ballistic and destroy my basement in a fit of rage directed at the reloading gods for not allowing my first time to go smoothly and making me look like a money wasting whore in front of my wife (ok, I really am that, I just didn't want to be exposed for a couple more years). :evil:

[7idl]

RTFM

what types of bullets are you using?

if all else fails, call RCBS. They have great customer service.

[Scott]

I did RTFM, 3 times in fact. I guess i'll scan through it once more to see if there's something I've missed.

I'm using X-treme bullets .45 cal. I bought a box of 500 for ~$40.

[Scott]

here's a question I meant to ask earlier. I'm doing .45 ACP and the bullets do not have a crimp groove in them. Does this mean that I should not be crimping them? That may be the problem as I thought I was supposed to be. According to the manual, it says "Do not crimp on jacketed bullets unless they have a crimping groove". I'm using bullets that are copper plated, but I don't think this means they are jacketed.

[7idl]

first, I wasn't trying to be impolite in any way... RTFM was just a reminder, sometimes you'll find stuff 'hidden' in there...


remember: "when all else fails, read the instructions"



some bullets don't work too well with some dies.

the RCBS uses taper or roll type crimp IIRC... and that is where you have to be careful with the crimper... I use a LEE factory crimp on my stuff and don't have a problem.

[Marlin]

Yea, You want to be careful with .45 ACP, it headspaces off the case mouth, so, You don't want to overdo Your crimp. A nice taper crimp is the way to go. Of course the bet way is the Lee crimp dies, It's almost impossible to mess those up.

[Scott]

Sorry if I came off snippy, I was in no way intending that. I guess it's hard to make certain points on the internet, sorry.

I just tried an empty round moving the die way up and the seating tool way down and it seemed to work just fine. I think I'll make a live round and shoot one off tomorrow and see what happens. Barrels are cheap, right.....?

[Scott]

Yea, You want to be careful with .45 ACP, it headspaces off the case mouth, so, You don't want to overdo Your crimp. A nice taper crimp is the way to go. Of course the bet way is the Lee crimp dies, It's almost impossible to mess those up.

So, basically, I should have gotten Lee dies instead, damn.

What happens if I don't crimp it (or atleast such a small crimp that I can't see it) and fire one off and it ends up not working out? How much damage do I stand to do?

[car-15]

when you set the die are you backing the die a full turn back from just touching the top of a sized case? i've never done .45 but that is how I set my 9mm and .357 mag they are rcbs also.

[car-15]

Yea, You want to be careful with .45 ACP, it headspaces off the case mouth, so, You don't want to overdo Your crimp. A nice taper crimp is the way to go. Of course the bet way is the Lee crimp dies, It's almost impossible to mess those up.

So, basically, I should have gotten Lee dies instead, damn.

What happens if I don't crimp it (or atleast such a small crimp that I can't see it) and fire one off and it ends up not working out? How much damage do I stand to do?

we call that a kaboom below is an example, I would never fire a round when I question if I made a mistake reloading it. my, or the life of others around me are not worth it. you will figure it out it just takes time and practice.
http://www.lesjones.com/www/images/posts/kaboom2.jpg