Identifying old Lyman Colt 45 reloading dies

[vetpathdoc]

Hi -

This is my first Cast Boolits post so I hope I'm in the right place. I have been reloading stuff, off and on, for more than 50 years, various caliber as my interests changed, mostly with cast bullets lubricated and sized with a Lyman 45 sizer/lubricator. I recently became interested in shooting Colt 45 loads with a Kirst Konveter modified Pieta 44 Navy repro. I picked up a vintage 3 die Lyman set a few weeks back. I am hoping to use these with a Tru-Line Jr turret tool. The dies are marked as follows:

Colt 45 CMR (looks like a typical Lyman decapper/neck sizing die)
Colt 45 KF-21 (assume this is a neck expanding die?)
Colt 45 DA (assume this is a bullet seating/crimping die)

Can anyone tell me if I have identified these dies correctly and they are suitable for Colt 45 reloading.

Thanks,

Rich

[higgins]

The DA die is the expanding/flaring die (M die).

[vetpathdoc]

Thanks for that info higgins, but now I'm confused because that die has a #190 bullet seater screwed in the top.

[jrmartin1964]

vetpathdoc,

Don't be confused. You have correctly identified your dies and their use, and they are indeed suitable for reloading .45 Colt.

[vetpathdoc]

Hey, thanks for that clarification jrmartin1964. It's sure gets confusing. I'm amazed how many times Lyman (Ideal) has changed the names of dies for the same caliber over the years. This might be a topic for another post, but it would take an expert far more knowledgeable than I.

[Char-Gar]

Yes, you have the dies right. The DA stands for "double adjustable". The early Ideal bullets seating dies for tong tool could only be adjusted for seating depth, by screwing the die in and out of the tool. Another adjustment was added for the crimp and the seating depth by the screw your mentioned, thusly they became "double adjustable".

[44magLeo]

You can find copies of the instructions sheets that come with the 310 tools on Ebay. Perhaps some one with a set could send you a copy.
They list the dies, and how to adjust them.
Leo

[Walks]

Since you're loading Light for your Conversion. May I suggest Data from the Hodgdon Cowboy Shooting Pamphlet.
I can send you a copy if you're interested.

[Bent Ramrod]

The original “CMR” designation meant “Combination Muzzle Resizer,” to distinguish the die Lyman made for their Tru-Line Jr. turret press from the old Ideal “MR” or muzzle resizer made for the tong tools. The Combination Muzzle Resizer resized the neck and punched the spent primer out at the same time. This die could be screwed into a 310 tong tool, but using it would require a lot of effort; depriming and neck sizing with that tool were done in separate steps using separate dies.

The “CMR” designation on a Lyman 7/8”x14tpi die is kind of misleading; usually a die that size used in a regular reloading press full-length sizes the case and expels the primer. I would guess that even with that designation, yours is a full-length sizing die, but you could check by measuring the body of a fired and a sized case to see if there is any difference.

[vetpathdoc]

Hey guys, thanks for all this very useful info. Been away for a few days and just saw how many folks have responded.