Recommend setup for 45 long colt on Hornady LNL press

[plaz]

I am about to reload 45 long colt on my Hornady LNL AP press for the first time. I would like to have some suggestions on what order to set up my dies? I am especially concerned about crimping

[Hardcast416taylor]

On my Hornady pro-jector I have them set as follows. First station is load case, resize and bring down to prime. Next station is case flareing. Next station is powder drop, either manual or auto drop. Next station is bullet seat to correct depth and push in case belling. Last station is crimping if not done on previous station. I hand remove the loaded round as I dislike their case ejector system.Robert

[cheese1566]

I use the same sequence on my Hornady ProJector (originally a Pro-7) and RCBS Ammomaster II.

1. Size/decap
2. Case bell/ prime
3. Powder drop
4. Hornady Powder Cop die (rifle) or RCBS Lockout die (pistol)
5. Bullet seat/crimp

Before I got my Powder Cop and Lock Out dies, I used two bullet seater/crimping dies. In station 4, I would seat the bullet to length, then in station 5, I would have another seater/crimper die to only apply crimp. A little costlier to do, but makes set up a snap with easier adjustments. Besides, one can find good deals on dies here if one is patient.

[HEAD0001]

One of the reasons I like the Hornady progressive is their powder drop. You can get a powder drop bushing that bells the case mouth and drops the powder in the same station. That allows an extra die for checking the powder, and still having enough stations to crimp in a separate step-which I prefer.

I am in the process of ordering a new Hornady LNL. I waited for my birthday discount(from Midway), and I am glad I did. My birthday price was $313, that was a fantastic savings. Tom.

[plaz]

On my Hornady pro-jector I have them set as follows. First station is load case, resize and bring down to prime. Next station is case flareing. Next station is powder drop, either manual or auto drop. Next station is bullet seat to correct depth and push in case belling. Last station is crimping if not done on previous station. I hand remove the loaded round as I dislike their case ejector system.Robert

What crimping die are you using in your last step?

[plaz]

Why doesn't Hornady make a 45 long colt taper crimp die.? Do I have to buy the Redding taper crimp die?

[geargnasher]

My advice is to avoid taper-crimp dies altogether with cast boolit loads in revolvers or leverguns. There is a reason that most dies in .45 Colt are designed to roll-crimp and most .452"x250 gr. boolit moulds have dedicated crimp grooves.

Under recoil in a revolver the boolits will tend to pull out of the case, and in a levergun they will tend to be compressed deeper in the case while in the magazine, so the best route is usually to roll the mouth gently under the bottom edge of the crimp groove or driving band (which ever style you have) for best safety margin. Case tension should be adequate to retain the boolit until fired, but the roll crimp gives just a little more security.

Gear

[HEAD0001]

I called Hornady and asked them that exact question about the 45 Colt taper crimp die. There answer to me was that they did not recommend a taper crimp on the 45 Colt. Then I asked how can you not recommend a taper crimp on the 45 Colt, but do sell one on for the 454 and 45 ACP. He side stepped my question and said that Hornady recommends buying a separate seating die. And using one seating die for seating, and the second seating die for crimping only. I was not satisfied with their answer, but there it is.

I wanted a taper crimp die so I could use it with my 45 Colt rifle. So I asked about my Redding die, and the Hornady fellow said the Redding die would work just fine. Tom.

[Lloyd Smale]

I do like hornady dies for the hornady presses. The advance timing isnt as precise as a dillon and it helps alot to have a good bell on your sizing die and rcbs dont dies dont have much. Ive tried dillon dies and they dont have enough either. lees would be my second choice. for crimping i do like hornady recomends but not nessiaryly with a hornady brand seating die. For years when i ordered a set of lee dies i allways ordered an extra seating die and pulled the stem out of it for a crimping die. I like that setup better then there factory crimp dies as it doesnt iron out the case tension.

[Throckmorton]

PLAZ, pm sent.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Plaz. Normally I don`t use any crimp die other than the 3 die set from Lyman. I have a LEE crimp die that I`ll use on jacketed bullets only.Robert

[noylj]

Since I got my first Hornady progressive years ago, I have never combined bullet seating and crimping.
Now, the question is do have an RCBS Lock-Out die or the Dillon Powder Check die? If not, you have to inspect every charged case for powder height. You have a large case using small charges of powder.
With Powder Check Die:
1)Size/decap
2)Expand/throw powder charge (the L-N-L powder measure is great and really like the powder-through expander inserts that expand and bell the case)
3) Powder check die
4) Inspect powder charge and seat bullet
5) crimp
If you don't have a powder check die and you don't have the PTX (?) inserts, then set-uo would be:
1) size/decap
2) expand and bell case
3) charge case
4) Inspect powder charge and seat bullet
5) Crimp

[HangFireW8]

I do like hornady dies for the hornady presses.

I use both Hornady and Lee dies (different calibers) on my ProJector. Both work great. The Hornady's sizer sizes right down to the base, but hangs up on slightly crooked cases, while the Lee rarely does that but leaves a little bulge at the bottom. Both are acceptable. My last die is usually a Lee for auto cartridges or whatever roll crimp die I have.

The advance timing isnt as precise as a dillon

The pawls at the bottom can be adjusted. I found this out after I ripped the lower half of a stuck 308 case off and the timing was all out of whack. After a long phone call, a replacement part or two and a few hours, it now works better than new- and I mean that, it advances more precisely now than it ever did.

for crimping i do like hornady recomends but not nessiaryly with a hornady brand seating die. For years when i ordered a set of lee dies i allways ordered an extra seating die and pulled the stem out of it for a crimping die. I like that setup better then there factory crimp dies as it doesnt iron out the case tension.

I too like to seat in one stage and crimp in another, for ACP type cases I like the Lee FCD die but find I can adjust it to crimp very lightly. The sliding portion can be used one of two ways. You can lock it down and back the die off, or you can let it slide and screw the die down. The latter can result in a fully resized loaded cartridge, which may not be what you want for cast bullet loads. (Or it may be if you are loading unsized bullets for a tight chamber, I suppose).

-HF