Lee 3 die set- Did I learn the hard way?

[ncbearman]

I am loading .45 acp I have a SWCHP throwing at 193 gr. I size to .452 and lube. But the Lee die won't give me a consistent OAL. 1.245 is what is giving me consistent 2" groupings with my 1911 @ 15 yards. The OAL is off anywhere from 2 to 4 thousands. Or am I just expecting too much. :veryconfu

I get very consistent OAL on my 9mm's out of my old RCBS steel die set.

Before y'all laugh at me too hard.............I am new to casting and reloading. I look forward to your responses. Thanks in advance.

[UNIQUEDOT]

The inconsistency is likely in the bullets and not caused by the die. Have you measured on the ogive? if you don't have the proper tool to do this with you can use the seating plug from the die. Just be sure to clean it good to remove all traces of boolit lube first.

[6bg6ga]

I cannot maintain the length on my 45 loads from my Dillon square deal. I can vary .001-.003 and I find that it makes absolutely NO difference in my groups. I'm loading 5.6gr 231 with a 230 r n. out of 10 shots I score in the 90's at 45 feet. I surely would not sweat a few thousandths.

[mdi]

Bullets and brass will vary by that much, easily...

[paul h]

That may cause your groups to vary by a couple of thousandths.

Don't sweat it, you're going to have to fiddle with powder charges and possibly seating depth to tune the load to your gun. You're also going to have to contend with the limitations of the gun, and possibly your limitations with a handgun.

What makes reloading for handguns challenging, and rewarding when everything works right, is figuring out what the gun can do, what you can do, and finally what your loads can do.

[Bullet Caster]

I would suggest that you clean your seating die really well as lube build-up might be the cause for an inconsistent seating depth. For me I just use my caliper to measure a factory loaded round and set the seating depth accordingly. But then what works for me may not work for you or your weapon. Just my 2 cents worth. BC

[Colorado4wheel]

I am loading .45 acp I have a SWCHP throwing at 193 gr. I size to .452 and lube. But the Lee die won't give me a consistent OAL. 1.245 is what is giving me consistent 2" groupings with my 1911 @ 15 yards. The OAL is off anywhere from 2 to 4 thousands. Or am I just expecting too much. :veryconfu

I get very consistent OAL on my 9mm's out of my old RCBS steel die set.

Before y'all laugh at me too hard.............I am new to casting and reloading. I look forward to your responses. Thanks in advance.

Sounds like you got a great pair of dies for a great price if you ask me. Total variation of .005" is not bad at all. Yours is less then that.

[44Vaquero]

Shakespeare would say "Much a do about nothing". It's not the same as reloading rifle rounds for long range accuracy.

[williamwaco]

I think you are expecting too much.

What variation do you get with your other dies?

Try this.

Select a random loaded cartridge.
Lay it on the bench.
Pick it up and take a OAL measurement.
Lay it back down.
Lay down the caliper.
Repeat ten times.

I predict you will find more than two thousandths difference on the same cartridge.



.

[Ben]

ncbearman

If the ogive on your bullet is compressing slightly ( by a seating stem that doesn't fit the bullet perfectly ) , that may be where the variation is occurring.

I often get better results with a totally flat seating punch if the end of the bullet is also flat.

Like everyone has said you think you've got a problem with an OAL variation of .002 ", ....BUT....you really don't have a problem.

Ben

[ncbearman]

You guys are awesome. It appears I am making much ado about nothing. I will try some of your suggestions, but I went down on the backside yesterday and put 10 out of 10 in a 3" grouping from 25 yards.

>williamwaco, you are correct. I notived that before I even asked my question. Thanks again guys.

I love this place........

[brassrat]

Don't be like me and totally mess up the seating die settings. Everything was fine with my crimp until taking everything apart to clean. Then I started off with 230 lead and was crimping too much and correcting the problem by crimping more. :lol: The rounds can then fit under the chamber headspace ring and that is bad.

[helice]

ncbearman,
WELCOME to the group. Ain't it fun to be with guys who know. I am amazed at how much they have taught me.

[ncbearman]

ncbearman,
WELCOME to the group. Ain't it fun to be with guys who know. I am amazed at how much they have taught me.

I know right. Where else can you go to get someone that has been doing their craft for 50 plus years and have him tell you his inside tricks and experiences. It's so cool.

Thanks again all.

[1hole]

I've been using a fine mill fill to trim my handgun OALs to the last thousanth for near 5 decades. Are you guys saying I've been spinning my wheels for all those thousands of rounds and I wouldn't have blown the barrel out of my 1911 OR my groups open to 18 inches at ten yards if they varied more than a half thou? ;) (ROFLMAO)

[David2011]

ncbearman,

Welcome to the group! Are you measuring your OAL across the seams that the molds leave? That could easily account for the small variation you have. Also, are the boolits themselves all the same length? Be sure your primers are all below flush and not affecting the measurement as well. Think of how much empty space is between the base of the boolit and the powder. Compared to most cartridges, the .45 ACP has a lot of empty space with most powders and is a low pressure cartridge. A slight variation in the internal volume after seating is not going to have the same impact on .45 ACP as it would on .357 Magnum or .40 S&W which both run at high pressures and have very little empty space.

How accurate is your .45 with the most accurate ammo it's ever seen? Gauge your accuracy against that. Share you load data and mouth diameter after smoothing out the crimp. It shoulld be no larger than .471". I taper crimp mine to .469". Don't roll crimp .45 ACPsince it headspaces on the mouth.

Good luck!
David

[MtGun44]

Yep. Chasing ghosts. That sort of LOA variation is totally irrelevant to almost all ammo, but
especially pistol ammo. Relax, enjoy.

Bill

[williamwaco]

I've been using a fine mill fill to trim my handgun OALs to the last thousanth for near 5 decades. Are you guys saying I've been spinning my wheels for all those thousands of rounds and I wouldn't have blown the barrel out of my 1911 OR my groups open to 18 inches at ten yards if they varied more than a half thou? ;) (ROFLMAO)

One!

You are a fisherman too! Right?


.

[altitude_19]

We tend to overthink things sometimes. Heck, I used to actually trim 45 ACP brass (Yes, I can hear you laughing). Nowadays, I don't care about anything as long as they cycle the gun and hit a steel plate at 10 yards. I shoot boolits cast from pure WW, and most times don't even bother trying any load above the published starting charge. It's amazing the degree of complexity we add to our own lives for no reason.

[williamwaco]

We tend to overthink things sometimes. Heck, I used to actually trim 45 ACP brass (Yes, I can hear you laughing). Nowadays, I don't care about anything as long as they cycle the gun and hit a steel plate at 10 yards. I shoot boolits cast from pure WW, and most times don't even bother trying any load above the published starting charge. It's amazing the degree of complexity we add to our own lives for no reason.




WOW!

I LIKE this guy.