Expanding die

[Half Dog]

I have a 45 ACP that I enjoy shooting. I like it so much that I bought a mold to cast boolits for it. The mold is a H&G 68 clone and casts a .453 boolit. I coat and size the boolit to .452 and I slugged the barrel at .4515.

After the depriming operation, the O.D. of the brass at the mouth measures .464. The brass seems to be 0.010 thick so I am lead to conclude the I.D. at the mouth is .444. The information I have says to flair the top of the brass enough to accept the bullet. The top of the brass gets flaired and a .452 boolit gets inserted into a .444 opening. I measured the expansion rod/insert from the die and it measured .450. Do I need to do something different in the expanding operation ?

What am I missing? I seem to have gone through enough to ensure I had the correct fitting boolit until I insert the boolit into the brass.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Having several .45 ACP die sets myself, several 1911-type pistols, and having loaded and fired thousands of rounds, I think that you are "overthinking" the process. If the expander die expands the case mouth enough that approx. 1/4 of the cast bullet will fit into it then it is adequate.

[Mk42gunner]

What brand of dies are you using?

Your expanding die, the one used in the second step, needs the plug screwed down a bit more. Most of the expanders are basically a slight taper that gradually expands the case mouth so you can insert a bullet. Lyman M-dies are different in that they have a well defined step.

You want the case mouth expanded enough that a sized bullet will go in far enough to prevent scraping lead when it is fully seated. I usually adjust mine so the bullet goes in either the depth of a gas check or 1/16".

Good Luck,

Robert

[runfiverun]

the expanding dies only flair the case mouth.
if your trying to do this right add an M-die to your process.
on my 550's for the rounds I care about I size/de-prime off press.
clean the cases in the wet tumbler then dry and add nu-finish in the dry tumbler.
then the first station has the m-die and primes.
the second dumps the powder.
the third pushes the boolit into place.
the 4th station places the taper crimp.

I measure each step and adjust.
then make large runs.

[Half Dog]

It sounds like I need to get a M-Die. Is there a type/model that I should avoid or one that seems better than others to resolve my issue?

[toallmy]

After full length sizing the brass , what die are you using to expand the case mouth currently ? I have a lee powder through die adjusted down that gives me a generous flair for seating cast boolits for the 45s , but when using Lyman dies for 38/357 I get a over size expander plug for the m-die .

[Gillie Dog]

It sounds like I need to get a M-Die.

Maybe/probably not. It sounds like your expander is not adjusted to give the flair/expansion in the case. If you start with .444 after sizing/decapping die and it is .444 coming out of an .450 expander die in the next step/operation, the expander die is not touching the case at all. The expander putting the flair in is tapered with a cone shape at the top, usually, so putting the expander in to deep will ruin a case by making a huge funnel at the top.

It is really hard to tell what you are missing without knowing what die set is being used...

GD

[Half Dog]

Thanks to all for your input.

I am using a RCBS 3 die set. The expander is a RCBS 45ACP/AR. I tried to insert the expander further into the brass but that created a bulge near the base. I ensured the body of the expander met the shell holder and if I tried to get more than a flair at the mouth, the brass still bulged. It seems to me that the added pressure at the mouth of the brass was pushing the brass down, creating the bulge.

[TexasGrunt]

Which press are you using?

[Half Dog]

I have a Rockchucker and a Lok-n-load.

[TexasGrunt]

Lock-N-Load AP? Just get the Hornady .452 PTX.

[308Jeff]

Big fan of the M-Die. Not sure why they're not all like that.

[fatelvis]

It sounds like I need to get a M-Die. Is there a type/model that I should avoid or one that seems better than others to resolve my issue?
I've had good luck with these:
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=89&products_id=1612
and you'll need this to hold the expander:
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=89&products_id=1211

[Texas by God]

For .45 ACP I switched from RCBS to Lee dies for the PTE die. No problems and less dies. Say what you will about Lee but their pistol dies are great IMO.