Just got my reloader and just got it set up....I think!
Didn't have much money because I HAD to get another 1911 :-)
So I bought a Lee Pro 1000.
Heck for $135, I thought it was a pretty good deal.
Anyway....yes, the instructions that come with the reloader are JUNK!
I found a GREAT website that goes through the set up step by step.
Here's the link if anyone wants it.
http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/ammo-c...ial-sticky.html

Now my question.....I've read in a couple forums that the ideal diameter at the case mouth after the crimp is .469"
I shoot 230 FMJ with a bullet diameter of .451"
A typical case wall thickness is .011" on a .45
If you add it all up, you end up with .473"
I realize that the crimp will squeeze stuff together, but I can't seem to get to .469". The best I've done is .470"

I pulled out some new factory loads from Blazer (Brass Cases) and they have a case mouth at .470" Should I just run with what I've got?
How do you experiment with stuff like this? Do you make full loads or do you just add the primer and bullet without the powder? Thats what I've been doing. I've only "wasted" maybe 7 bullets trying to get it just right.
Do you guys use bullet pullers to re-claim these mistakes? Do you try to re-use your primers by carefully de-capping them?

Thanks in advance for your help!

First:
Get rid of the "dummy" rounds you loaded with live primers and no powder. That is a squib load disaster waiting to happen.

Load a few dummy rounds with bullet in case ONLY. NO primer, NO powder. Field strip your pistol, and drop the rounds into your chamber. If they drop right in, they will probably work. See if they cycle from the magazine.
Do a rather rudimentary test for bullet pull. Hold the dummy round by the case, and press it on your reloading bench, countertop, whatever. If the bullet sets back easily in the case, you do not have enough case tension. This is not necessarily a function of crimp, but rather of the inside diameter of your sizing die, and the outside diameter of your expander plug.

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NRA LE Firearms Instructor
NRA Endowment Life Member
No-one is completely worthless...they can always be used as a bad example.

IIRC, people around here are saying to crimp down to 0.469 - 0.471.

To make sure you're doing it right, take the barrel out of your gun, and hold it so the chamber end is pointed towards the sky and the 'business end' is towards the ground and let a round fall (only moved by gravity) into the chamber. It should fall all the way into the chamber and no part of the round should protrude above the barrel hood. This is called 'chamber checking' and is a good way to check for crimp.

Post #3 is how I meant for you to do the chamber check with the dummy rounds. I guess I should have explained better. My bad.

__________________
NRA LE Firearms Instructor
NRA Endowment Life Member
No-one is completely worthless...they can always be used as a bad example.

i dont measure my crimp diameter.

i will crimp until it holds the bullet so i cant press it into the case with my thumb and i do this test for 12 or so rounds. then i do the plunk test in a couple of my barrels.

i will also state that i sort all of my brass too.

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It is the very difficult horses that have the most to give you.

-Lendon Gray

And yes, as Icepick15 said, don't make dummy rounds with primers in them. That is basically intentionally making a squib round. The primer will create enough pressure to pop the bullet out of the casing and get lodged into the barrel, but not enough to get it out the barrel. And if you're not careful, you can shoot anothr round down the barrel and this will cause very, very unsafe pressures.

If you want to make test/dummy rounds, seat bullets into cases without primers and powder.

Also, yes, I use a kinetic bullet puller (looks like a hammer) to pull my mistakes. If the case has a good primer in it, I just keep it in there. I can't remove a primer without damaging it.

That's because many think a tight crimp (such as 0.469") helps the case hold onto the bullet better. It doesn't. The cases's grip on the bullet is established and is at its maximum just after the bullet it seated. Anything (and I do mean anything) done to the case mouth after this will reduce the case's grip on the bullet. And that includes just running the round through the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp die - without even crimping!

The SAAMI maximum case mouth OD is 0.473". As long as you don't excessively flare your case mouths, I suspect your case mouth OD will be about 0.471" just after seating a 0.451" bullet. This is because your 0.011" case wall thickness seems at least 0.001" too thick.

Anyway, if your case mouth OD is about 0.471" after seating the bullet, test a few to see how they feed and chamber. They should work OK. If so, you really don't need to do anything else to the case mouths - unless you want to loosen the case's grip on the bullet!

And don't get misled by the 0.470" CCI BB. That results from very soft bullets getting swaged down by very thin brass. And they're not crimped either. Never say any commercial jacketed ammo in 45ACP that had its case mouth turned in by crimping.

Regards

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When you can measure what you are talking about and express it in numbers, you know something about it. When you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind. [Lord Kelvin]

I like the Lee Factory Crimp Die. Most of the time I feel very resistance when I run a round through it. Occasionally I'll have one that that goes through with moderate resistance. I'm fairly new to reloading pistol ammo (500rds to date), but I haven't had any problems with my handloads feeding in my Springer or a friends Auto Ordinance. I reload six different rifle calibers and prefer RCBS dies. However, I really like the Lee Delux Pistol Die Set. Following the directions provided with the die set, my rounds measure .469 - .470 and shoot a ragged hole at 10yds.

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US Navy Retired 1981-2005
Proud Air Force Dad!

I like it too - the crimping part, that is. I like it so much I took the sizing ring out so I can use the crimping part without sizing the round.

For .451" bullets, the sizing ring all by itself (no crimping) reduces case grip on the bullet (increases bullet setback) 14% by my tests. But for larger 0.452" bullets this % is much, much larger.

Whether you just de-flare, crimp or size the round after the bullet's seated, case grip gets reduced. I like my bullets to be gripped as tightly as possible by the case - so I do as little as possible to the case mouth after seating the bullet.

Just my US$0.02 worth.

Regards

__________________
When you can measure what you are talking about and express it in numbers, you know something about it. When you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind. [Lord Kelvin]

How do you guys measure you actual powder coming from your press?
With the Lee Pro 1000, the powder is dispensed from a selected disk above the flaring die.
I'm using Titegroup powder and although I'm following the directions supplied by Lee, I cannot replicate the same amount of grains from their disks.
I'm using a #.46 hole and I'm getting 4.4 grains. According to their charts, I should be getting that with a #.37 hole. I don't quite get it. Their charts are powder specific and so I'm not using the wrong chart.

To measure the amount being dispensed, I just hold up a old case with a old primer in it, and hold it up into the die with the powder. I then, by hand, move the lever on the powder dispenser to move the disk to charge the case.
I then measure the powder in the case. Is there an easier way with this press?

I made 5 whole rounds last night!!!! I can't wait to test them! I ruined one by not having the bullet in straight when I crimped it. It came down on a angle and bulged the case. Oh well....

One more question...is there a cheap source for primers and powder?
I figured buying them on the internet might be a waste because of the extra shipping fees because of their explosive nature, but one of you might know better.