Redding Comp. seating die & profile crimp die

[PacMan]

Starting with the good news is that the seating die is top notch. Seats pb,bb and gc bullets nice and straight.Had to pull the seating plug and fill with JB weld and sand flat but i really like how it seats. I was able to use less flare of the case mouth than before and bullet seated without any shaving.

Now the profile crimp die in another matter. When crimping AC WW bullets and set to apply the roll crimp it is sizing the bullet down by .0015. Not a problem with WD WW but you have a good bit of resistance due to the harder bullet.

The next problem was trying to crimp .3595 bullets. I could not get the round more than half way into the die. Not sure what size would be max.dia as my dies size only .358 and .3595 with WD WW.

My thoughts are to maybe open the taper part of the die by.001 and have a happy medium.If my Marlin liked .358 bullets ,which it does not, there would be no problem.

I will say that the combination of the two sure make a nice looking loaded round with no bulges in the case.

Just my observations.
Dwight

[PacMan]

Thinking about it a little more. It is hard to tell using my RCBS puller but i cannot find a lot of diffrence between a crimped or uncrimped round. By the crimp die sizing the bullet .0015 you would think that it would be noticably harder to dislodge. Leads me to beleive that the case is springing back some.
Will have to ckeck.

[Doc Highwall]

What size is your expander? It should only be .001"-.002" max smaller then your bullet size.

[PacMan]

Will have to pull it and measure. Think i have ellimated that the bullet is being sized down when seating. Seated several and pulled before crimping.
Doc have you used the profile crimp die? If so what are your results?

Concept seems good but not sure how well it may workout with lead.
Dwight

[jt1]

I use a profile crimp die for my 44 mag loads, and have pulled several ACWW boolits and measured them after crimping, and there was no sizing by the crimp die.

However, brass thickness obviously plays a part in this. I didn't check the brass thickness.

John

[bobthenailer]

I use the redding profile crimp die for the 357 & 44 mag with heavy loads with slow powder with great satisfaction.
however i have several crimp dies for the 38/357 , 44 mag 454 casull depending on the load
taper crimp for loads up to 1100 fps, regular roll crimp for med loads and a profile crimp die for heavy loads . that way the crimp is allways the same , i also trim all of my revolver brass to min spec after resizing the brass first.
but then i also have 2 to 3 bullet seaters dies for most pistol calibers so i dont have to readjust the seating stem, i pick up used steel dies sets for about $10.00 and use the seaters from them

[44man]

I have profile crimp dies for my revolvers and they work great.
However, I have some over size boolits for some guns.
If the boolit will not enter the top of the die, DO NOT CRIMP WITH IT.
Use the roll crimp in the seating die.

[PacMan]

Well looks like you guys are having better luck than i am. May be doing somthing wrong.I have tried adjusting up and down and when i get the die to the point that it actually roll crimps the case it sizes the bullet every time.
As jt1 suges the thickness of the brass may be doing it. Have been Speer brass but just today i got a order of Starline in.Will see if that helps.
Thanks

[44man]

Well looks like you guys are having better luck than i am. May be doing somthing wrong.I have tried adjusting up and down and when i get the die to the point that it actually roll crimps the case it sizes the bullet every time.
As jt1 suges the thickness of the brass may be doing it. Have been Speer brass but just today i got a order of Starline in.Will see if that helps.
Thanks
Read what I said. It is NOT you. The crimp die is for jacketed or boolits that fit it and it only.
The seat die should have a crimp function, use it.

[PacMan]

Shoot 44 Man i allways read what you say and always look forward to your post and replys to me or others.NO BS. Having said that I seated it long right off the bat to check and make sure it would fit and untill the bullet reaches about .360 it nevers contacts the crimp die and then just barely rubs off the lube i applied to test with.
I do appericate you double checking me.

The seating die i am using does not crimp but that matters not as i have two others that do.If others are using this crimp die and having no problems i not sure why i am having a problem with it sizing down the bullet. Maybe mine is a little undersized or there could be somthing else.

Thanks
Dwight

[Doc Highwall]

I like others here, seat in one operation and crimp in another.

[44man]

An example is my .44 with the LBT 320 gr boolit at .430". I can use the profile crimp die.
But my 265 gr RD or my 330 gr at .432", the profile crimp die will ruin them.
The die was designed to hold brass from bulging below the crimp so if you increase boolit size, it will size the boolit too. It is a great crimp die as long as boolits fit it.
I determine what crimp to use with a boolit by just trying to insert a boolit into the top of the profile die. If it will not slip in, that die is OUT!
Just think if die makers like Redding would make the crimp die based on your boolit diameter. They just can't or wont do it.
Do you see why I try to explain that what you do at the loading bench is where accuracy is found? Why dies and expander's make or break what you do?
About every gun needs a different size boolit and to use a die that makes ALL the same size does not work.

[cbrick]

Redding told me flat out their dies are for jacketed bullets only. You know Redding, the same company that is so proud of their radically over priced bullet molds that they refuse to honor their own written warranty and then tell you not to use their dies on properly sized cast bullets.

44man is correct and for the reasons he stated. If the bullet fits the die it will work, as an example I use both the Comp seating die and the profile crimp die for my FA 357 loads. These bullets are sized .357 for the FA throats and there are no issues. My OMBH 44 Mag cannot use Redding dies because they are properly sized .431" for the throats, RCBS dies work perfectly at far less cost and a far, far better warranty.

Rick

[PacMan]

Yes guys i knew that it would most likely size to .357 which would have been just right in the long run for my Model 10. The thing i did not like was that it sized closer to .356 most of the time. I dug out some old brass and using new Starline i got severl diffrent readings with Staline being the most consistent and the Speer brass being the worst.
The other thing is i firmly beleive that once it does squeze the bullet down that .001 or so that the brass springs back defeating the whole purpose anyway. I took measurnments on the case after seating and then after crimping with no notable diffrence but when i pulled the bullet it had been swaged down .001 to .0015 in some cases.

If anything maybe my waste of money for the die and all you guys input will keep someone else from making the same mistake.
Dwight