Need help with 40 S&W die adjustment

[Wildcat66]

I recently started reloading for 40 S&W and need some advise.

My setup is on a Dillon 550B, RCBS Carbide Dies, Lee 175 gr Boolits which are lubed and sized to .401 in my
RCBS Lubesizer.

Using the "drop" test the completed load is not seating fully in the barrell.
This is in a Wolf barrell which I intend to use for only the cast boolits in my Glock 23.

The RCBS dies are of the taper crimp variety and I remember that when I was reloading for the 9mm and using
the same type of dies I was having a similar problem
I went to a separate crimp die that was made by Lee and this solved the problem with the 9mm.

I have followed the instructions for setting the taper crimp and can see that it is putting a taper crimp but
I'm thinking that I need to go the same route that I did with the 9mm.

Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

Nick
West Virginia

[BCRider]

When I saw "taper crimp" I nodded. I ran into much the same issue using cast boolits in my .45acp dies in the 3 hole Lee press I've been stuck with for the past 3 years. The problem, as I found, is that if the taper crimp is being used to seat the boollits as well as crimp then the crimp occurs soon enough that the closing of the case mouth plows a ring of lead ahead of the shoulder. The rounds LOOK fine. But if you pick at the edges you'll find that there's a few thou of lead swaged out and formed in front of the edge of the case.

If this turns out to be the same issue with you then my advice is to seat the boolits with a dedicated seating die or the regular round crimp die set so that it doesn't crimp at all and do the actual nice taper crimping in the fourth/last position as a separate operation.

[AggieEE]

Try taking a sized unprimed case and see if it will drop into the chamber, don't flare the case mouth of course. If it doesn't chamber adjust the sizer die. If it does chamber and the case loaded doesn't take a black sharpie and color the case push back into the chamber, don't jam it just enough to wear the sharpie ink. If wear is around the mouth of the case not enough crimp, if a little further back too much. A seperate crimp die may solve your problem.

[Wildcat66]

Thanks for the quick response guys.
My Dillon has four die positions and I'll go ahead and pick up a Lee taper crimp die
and use it for a separate crimp operation.
BTW....The Lee six cavity mold I recently purchased is dropping the most beautiful boolits
I have seen in quite a while.
Love this hobby !!

Nick
West Virginia

[9.3X62AL]

My only seater die in 40 S&W is of the taper crimp type, but I back that portion of the die way off the case mouth and seat as a discrete step. Once all the boolits are seated, THEN I raise the seating stem away from the boolit nose and set the taper crimp as a distinct die step. A taper crimp seating die--even with jacketed bullets--is a STUPID idea. Taper crimping should ALWAYS be a discrete die step. The End.

[RED333]

Yep taper crimp as a last step as 9.3x62al said.

[Sig]

You don't state whether the brass is new or previously fired. It could be that the brass has a Glock bulge. If separating the steps of seating & crimping doesn't help, you may need a push through sizer for your brass.

[HATCH]

I load 40 on my 550b.

Some pointers
(1) use separate seat/crimp
(2) Dillon sells Carbide dies for most pistol - buy those. Well worth the money
(3) if you aren't using dillon dies then get a Carbide lee FCD

Problem calibers
9mm and 40
These two calibers suffer from Glock Bulge the worst.
On my 9mm setup I am running lee carbide dies with a Carbide FCD. The carbide FCD has a carbide ring at the bottom the resizes the bast of the 9mm case and get 99% of the bulge back out.
Also when I load on my 550 using lee dies the loaded rounds look right. When I load using my square deal B the rounds aren't tapered and some still have the bulge.

[Wildcat66]

Sig and HATCH,

I did some research on the 40 S&W before purchasing my first pistol, a Glock 23.
The Glock bulge concerned me so I have purchased and am using a Redding GR X sizing die.

I also purchased a Wolf replacement barrell that I intend to used only for my cast reloads.

Thanks for your advise....Nick

[Rodfac]

Just a thought on taper crimp dies. In .45 acp, I've used an old carbon steel sizing die, without the decapping rod, as a separate taper crimper. It works very well indeed, and is almost impossible to over crimp. It takes the case mouth belling out, and that's it. While I load .40 S&W with a Dillon set of dies which include a separate taper crimp die, I've had equally good results with the above mentioned .45 set up. Too, I've used a .45 Colt sizing die for the same purpose, when loading .45 acp, for taper crimping. It works for me, and has saved me buying a separate die for that purpose. Best Regards, Rod