New To Reloading - So Many Questions - .45 ACP, 9mm, 38 Special/357

[gunsandoatmeal]

Alright guys so I'm new to the game and this is my first post on the forum. Awesome forum by the way, I've been reading it everyday for hours on end, thank you for sharing all of your knowledge on it so freely.

This will be a bit of a long winded post, but maybe other people are in the same boat as me or soon will be.

To start with I have a Hornady LNL setup to load 45 ACP, 9mm, and 38 Special/.357, by setup I mean I have the dies(hornady new dimension), shell plates, primers(CCI 300 for 45's), brass, and Win 231 powder, oh yeah and 400 .45 ACP 185 Gr. XTP bullets from Hornady.

The guns I'll be loading for are:

Kimber 1911 Warrior II - Slugged at .4505
CZ 75 D PCR 9mm - Slugged at .355
Ruger GP100 4" - Barrel slugged at .355, and Cylinder slugged at .358 (The barrel slugging may be a bit off since it has an odd number of grooves)

These were all slugged by me as per instructions found on the forum and other places online.

I've loaded 100 .45 ACP so far and shot them all without incident, using the minimum charge as the starting point.

Now here comes my questions:

45 ACP Reloading Questions:

1. When loading these rounds I was crimping at the same time as seating (I've since learned this is not optimal, and the hornady dies actually roll crimp if set too), and my rounds were coming out with a measurement of .470 at the case mouth, from my reading people generally say to crimp between .469-.470 at the case mouth, however my rounds were not dropping out of my barrel freely, I had to wiggle it upside down to get them to drop out. Is this okay, or do I need to invest in a separate taper crimp or Lee FCD to get them down to that .469 requirement?

I also tried a variety of O.A.L's from the maximum to the minimum which didn't help.
(Just in case: The bullet itself pre and post loading measures out at .450", and they are jacketed Hornady 185 Gr. XTP's)

2. My 45 ACP brass seems to be a mixture of different lengths, none over .898, do I need to spend the time to trim them all to the same length, or if I setup a separate taper crimp station it should be able to take the case expansion out no matter their length?

3. I'd like to switch to cast boolits not only for the cost savings but the barrel life extension, do I need to buy .451 or .452 cast boolits? Also which casts are great plinkers for 25-50 yard shooting.


9mm Reloading Questions:

1. The CZ is a new firearm with about 350 jacketed rounds through it, do I need to shoot upwards of 1000 rounds of jacketed to "polish" the barrel before starting cast boolits? I saw someone mention this on another post in the forum.


38/.357 Reloading Questions:

1. I understand that with a revolver you need to roll crimp the case if the bullet has a canelure, would I be better off buying a Redding Profile Crimp Die?

2. If there is no canelure should I use a taper crimp?

3. I would want any cast boolits I buy to be measured .358 or.359 to match the cylinder, correct?

General Reloading Questions:

1. When is the Lee Factory Crimp Die appropriate to use? What situations does it solve?

2. I need to buy separate taper crimp dies for my autoloaders, is there much of a difference between lee and redding in terms of quality? Their price difference is $10-$12.

3. Would you recommend a RCBS Lockout die for use with pistol loading or the RCBS Powder Checker Die?

4. Do I need the Lyman "M" Dies for loading cast boolits with these calibers or will my hornady expander, or powder funnel ptx do it's job just fine?

5. Who makes good cost effective bullets both jacketed and cast? I'm so far looking at Dardas Cast Bullets, and Berry's Bullets for jacketed.


I know there are a lot of questions there, thanks for taking the time to read and if you choose answer them.

Regards,

-Shelby

[Catshooter]

I use Lee Factory Criimp dies almost exclusevly. You want a taper crimp for the 9 and the 45 in auto pistols, period. Roll crimping is generally for revolvers. The auto is supposed to headspace on the case mouth. If it's roll crimped this can change headspace. In truth though most autos in reality headspace with the extractor, not the case mouth.

Lee's FC die will roll crimp if there's a crimping groove or not, it doesn't care. I dislike the Redding Profile die. It's not a taper or a roll crimp, it's sort of a combination which I think is poor design. You loose the advantages of both and for what? Marketing, I think.

One problem with the Lee FC die is if you need a boolit that is larger than the die wants then the boolit will be sized down when run through it.

With the Kimbers bore at less than .451 this shouldn't be a problem for you.

Lyman's M dies are nice. Others' dies work, but the M is designed just for lead use and it does it well.

Can't help you with cheap jacketed bullets, don't use 'em.

As far as I'm concerned the only cost effective boolits are home cast.

Hope this helps a bit and welcome to the site.


Cat

[Colorado4wheel]

Get a regular crimp die. Learn how to load with out the bandaid of a FCD resizing every round you make. Plus, they can introduce other issues.

[Ickisrulz]

I like Hornady dies...but not including a taper crimp die with auto pistol rounds seems like a dirty trick.

[MtGun44]

1. Lee FCD is a problem in pistol calibers for many. Works fine for many, but I cannot get an
explanation of what it does that a proper set of dies does not do. It can and has for multiple
people that we have dealt with here, size down the boolit inside the case, causing the
boolit to be undersized. Lee rifle FCD has the same name but is a totally different animal,
works wonderfully for rifles.

2. Don't worry, use a separate TC and it will be fine.

3. Use .452 if you are buying factory boolits.

9mm - 1. Not necessary, won't hurt, will help smooth the bbl. Check out:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=121737

38/357
1. Profile works fine for me on .44 mag, but the regular roll crimp is fine for most
revolver boolits.
2. No, buy the Lee TC die it is fine.
3. No idea what a lockout die is, powder check can't hurt, THE most critical step is
to ensure that there is the correct amount of powder in the case before you seat the
boolit. No powder is bad, but a double charge is worse. I EYEBALL every powder charge
before I put a boolit on it in my Dillon 550Bs, and also when doing single stage reloading.
4. M dies generally not needed for pistol calibers, since they expand from the top and will
flare if adjusted properly.
5. I cast my own, shoot Hornady and Sierra mostly when I use jacketed, but also Barnes
and Nosler for hunting.

[Moonman]

The LOCK-OUT Die is better than the Powder Cop Die. The Lock-out WILL LOCK OUT IF OUT OF SPECS, the Powder Cop requires you to be watching and to react.

[Sonnypie]

Wow! :takinWiz: (Perfect place for this)

Welcome to Cast Boolits!

Now where did you come up with "Gunsandoatmeal". :lol:
I think as the bladders empty you'll get some good advice. :popcorn:

[gunsandoatmeal]

Thanks for the answers gentlemen, I'll pick up said equipment.

@Sonnypie -

Now where did you come up with "Gunsandoatmeal". When my brother and I were growing up we would spend summers with our grandpa and grandma at their ranch. Everyday we would all sit down together and have breakfast, usually consisting of oatmeal, and enjoy the splendid views. One day my brother, who was at the time about 5, blurted out that the only two things he needed were Guns's and Oatmeal, my grandparents got a kick out of it and so did I, hence the name :)

[noylj]

I found that my group size for my S&W M52 .38 Special Wadcutter loads were significantly and consistently reduced by using the Redding Profile Crimp Die, compared to RCBS, Hornady, and Lee roll-crimp dies.
I find that the Lee FCD does an excellent job of taper crimping, but when I use some oversized as-cast bullets, it can swage the bullet diameter down.
Thus, for 9x19 and 0.348" cast bullets, I use a Dillon taper crimp die I have.
Do not trim any straightwall semi-automatic cases. Your best accuracy will be with the few that are within 0.005" of max case length (I have never found out that actually made max length). For revolvers where a roll crimp is used, you will want to trim your cases so the roll crimp is consistent (you want to align the cannelure with the case mouth and then roll crimp (preferably with a Profile Crimp Die).
Most .45s are loaded to 1.25+". You determine COL using your barrel and a couple of dummy rounds.
Up until maybe 10-20 years ago, NOBODY tried to measure the taper crimp. You looked at the case mouth to see if there was still visible flare/belling and you ran your finger down the ogive to the case mouth. You should feed the case mouth but your finger should still be able to slide over it. Then you do a plunk test.
Take your round, coat the bullet ogive and around the case mouth with black Magic Marker. Drop in the barrel and rotate back and forth. The scrape marks will tell you exactly where the hang up is.

[marvelshooter]

Lets start with the .45. It is better to seat and crimp this one in separate steps and to use a taper crimp not a roll crimp. AS for OAL here is where it gets fun. Every barrel and bullet combination will be different. The best way is to let your barrel tell you. Remove the barrel from the gun and start seating your bullet a liitle bit at a time until the back of the loaded round is just below flush with the back of the barrel. Record this number for this bullet. Do not worry about the length of the cases. In a .45 it doesn't mean anything. If you measure a bunch of fired cases they will vary a lot with most under the supposed minimum but never over the maximum. Buy .452 bullets.
The 9mm. The barrel would have to be really rough to need to do what you describe. I have always shot cast bullets with no problems in my 9's. And set your OAL' s the same way as the .45. For your .38/.357 either crimp is fine unless you are shooting heavy loads and a roll crimp will help hold the bullets in place under recoil. For cast bullet diameter as long as a loaded round will chamber without force it will be fine.
There are lots of places to buy cast bullets. I have used MIssouri Cast Bullets and Mastercast to name a couple. Powder Valley has a good assortment of jacketed bullets and also powder and primers and fair prices. Good luck

[ColColt]

Lets start with the .45. It is better to seat and crimp this one in separate steps and to use a taper crimp not a roll crimp. AS for OAL here is where it gets fun. Every barrel and bullet combination will be different. The best way is to let your barrel tell you. Remove the barrel from the gun and start seating your bullet a liitle bit at a time until the back of the loaded round is just below flush with the back of the barrel.

Ditto-OAL will be determined by your choice of boolit. In my barrel, 1.245" is good for the 200 gr SWC which is mostly what I shoot. Other boolit styles will vary. IMHO, I think the taper crimp die used in a separate process than seating/crimping at the same time. Crimp at .468-.470" should be about right. A fellow shooter who was into IPSC then turned me on to those measurements and they worked for me. The 45 ACP headspaces on the case mouth and OAL is important to feeding as well.

[Sonnypie]

Thanks for the answers gentlemen, I'll pick up said equipment.

@Sonnypie - When my brother and I were growing up we would spend summers with our grandpa and grandma at their ranch. Everyday we would all sit down together and have breakfast, usually consisting of oatmeal, and enjoy the splendid views. One day my brother, who was at the time about 5, blurted out that the only two things he needed were Guns's and Oatmeal, my grandparents got a kick out of it and so did I, hence the name :)

:lol: Very Good then!
I wondered if there was some sort of history behind it.
You're on the right track, just keep going steady. Listen, observe, but do read the manuals.
Folks tend to get passionate about stuff. I tend to follow basics, myself. Much of my reloading follows factory ammo that has proven worth and function.
For example, my 45 ACP cartridges very closely follow actual factory military ammunition that has a proven track record for function. Then I fine tune the powder charge to perform for me, in my weapon, and the way I use it.
After all, the objective is accuracy. That's why I reload. Not to go wildcatting around, but to refine.
If you have some factory ammo that functions well, study it, and your reloading manuals on the variations of loads available and shown.
Equipment can be as simple, or as complicated as you wish within budget constraints. Some folks rattle around from this to that trying everything, like a BB in a Boxcar. Others take careful known routes and find success in their progress.
Follow your instincts and intelligence.
Then go miss anyway.... :lol:

Join the NRA and other supporters of Shooters Rights to Keep and Bare Arms.

And above all, have fun and be SAFE.
When in doubt, STOP, and figure it out.
Again, Welcome to Cast Boolits. Lots of great folks here!