progressive press

[delftshooter]

if the purpose of the progressive press or turret press in general is to put the entire die set into a completely set up layout. How is one supposed to deal with the fact that 90% of seating dies are also crimping dies?


its not exactly convenient.. or is it a means to make me purchase seperate crimp dies

[Finster101]

Easy enough to adjust the die so that it will only seat or only crimp. Of course it does require the use of two dies. For some pistol rounds I'm fine doing both in one step, but some calibers and even some bullet profiles fare better with the operations separated.

[delftshooter]

thats kind of my problem. ive been keeping things dandy using the rcbs die rings to keep it sorted out. Annoying to keep adjusting, but annoying to forget to change those die rings out..

but NOT screwing up a round is priceless.

[Winger Ed.]

If your brass is all trimmed to the same length, the seat/crimp die usually works fine.

If you have cases of various lengths, you'll probably want a taper crimp die,
or do the crimp separately on a single stage where you can feel when a long case
goes up and you can stop the crimping by feel and not crush it with a full stroke on the handle.

[dannyd]

I use two dies; one for seating and one for crimp.

[Dave W.]

It is better to use 2 dies, one to seat and the other to crimp. Once the crimp dies is set, it should not need adjusting again. Only need to change the seat die depending on the bullet being used.

[Baltimoreed]

I have always seated and crimped in one step. I’m not building Camp Perry or NRA bullseye ammo. While I am not a Lee fan I do like the ease of adjustment on their pistol caliber seating dies. I also use a variety of bullet weights and shapes for my 45acp-45colt-45schofield-45cs and 450/455webley. I use a Dillon 550 or a Lyman T2 press for pistol ammo, I also prime on these presses. For rifle reloading I use an ancient single stage Bair Kodiak press and RCBS dies and prime on a neat RCBS bench priming tool. For years Ive used a lee Autoprime for rifle priming but arthur has reared his ugly head.

[gloob]

Yes, use two separate dies if you want to do them separately.

If you use an expander with a minimal step flare, I find you don't need to taper crimp most cartridges, at all. Just seat with the crimp ring backed out.

For ammo that requires a roll crimp, I find that it's perfectly fine to seat and crimp at the same time IF the bullet has a crimp groove and your brass is pretty consistent in length.

If you run out of stations on your progressive, you can perhaps choose to size in a separate step, then run the sized cases through your progressive setup.

[dverna]

It depends on how many stations on the progressive and what you want to do.

I have seated and crimped in one operation, and done them separately.

[Three44s]

Some gets seated and crimped at once.

Some get seated and partially crimped then finnish crimped.

Others get seated then crimped separately.

Three44s

[Tall]

I use two dies; one for seating and one for crimp.

Right, totally agree. I use a Lee FCD.

[georgerkahn]

if the purpose of the progressive press or turret press in general is to put the entire die set into a completely set up layout. How is one supposed to deal with the fact that 90% of seating dies are also crimping dies?


its not exactly convenient.. or is it a means to make me purchase seperate crimp dies

Your question is, indeed, a good one! My THOUGHTS include the idea that progressive presses were designed and marketed for those who wish to crank out lots of ammo in minimal time. Added design changes (and $$$ ;)) being commensurate with purported quality of finished product. The plain-Jane reload sequence may be to decap/resize; prime; add powder; and finally seat the bullet. That's all she wrote, and it works quite well in many cases! (Why I bought/use my Dillon 550b!).
BUT, for those who wish to do that "extra" to make their ammo "better" -- crimping as an extra step is what I do. Just do not screw down your seater die to accomplish any crimp at all. Then, as you take the then-finished round out of collection box, just run it -- in my case I use a Pacific old single stage press -- with a Redding crimp die or Lee Factory Crimp die in it.
To reiterate, if you wish to do all in one sequence with the progressive press, than have the die screwed down enough to also crimp. On the other hand if you wish to crimp as an added station -- just do NOT crimp on the progessive but do it as a separate step on another press after the fact.
geo

[ioon44]

Also, I use two dies; one for seating and one for crimp.

[gnappi]

One more reloader here for using two dies to seat and crimp, made easy with a 4 or 5 station press.

[Green Frog]

For me, the only time this becomes an issue is when the chamber of a particular firearm requires a taper crimp to accept the round properly. In those cases, whether I’m using a progressive, a turret, or even a single stage press, I find it best to add an extra die for that purpose. I’ve had good results with the Lee “Factory Crimp” dies, even though I use mostly Lyman for other steps in the process.
Froggie

[Sig556r]

It depends on how many stations on the progressive and what you want to do.

I have seated and crimped in one operation, and done them separately.
For my 550s, 1st gets size/deprimed then primed, 2nd gets belled & powder drop, 3rd bullet seats & last gets the LFCD. Take care of any variation in lengths of straight-walled cases.
For necked cases, they get full sized/trimmed separately before they get in the 550 where 1st only primes.
YMMV

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Separate seating and crimping dies make die adjustment simple, BUT with CAREFUL adjustment to the seating/crimping die, both can be accomplished in one die at the same time. The bullets used do need a crimp or lube groove where the crimp is to be. To adjust the die, first back off so it will NOT crimp and adjust so that the bullet is seated to where you want to crimp, next - back off the seating stem so it won't touch the bullet and screw in the seating/crimping die until you have got the crimp you want in the groove where you want it, lock the die for the crimp, then lower the seating stem to contact the bullet. You may have to tinker just a little to get things set up correctly, but it is not that tricky. A good crimp/lube groove or crimp cannelure in the bullet is needed and cases trimmed to a uniform length are needed to get good results. If you are loading for auto pistols - 9mm, .40, .45 ACP - you can use a similar technique, just 'crimping' enough to remove case flare without concern for a crimp groove, works well with cast boolits.

[Kai]

Seating dies with a built in crimp are designed to do both in one step so no need for a separate crimp die. The only issue would be if your brass is not all the same length but then again this is simply a poor reloading practice. As a side note, to speed things up even more add a lube die to your progressive set up.

[Tall]

its not exactly convenient.. or is it a means to make me purchase seperate crimp dies

You are right and the die makers have listened. Lee sells a line of Factory Crimp Dies, and Carbide Factory Crimp Dies. All of those special dies need a station, and now the die that was formerly used for seating and crimping is only used to establish the Cartridge Overall Length. Because of this progressive presses are going to 5 and 6 stations or more. Many of the other die makers also offer crimp dies now.

[dr_rick]

I use the two-die method and always crimp semi-automatic rounds. I have picked up tons of range scrap and have come across hundreds of bad live rounds where the bullet has been shoved into the case which would result in much higher unexpected pressures. According to research this is common with auto loaders when the bullets move through the feeding cycle. I also find that the factory crimp die method also gives a little extra resize when it comes to slightly bulging cases cased from the seating of the bullet.

[Bmi48219]

Seating dies with a built in crimp are designed to do both in one step so no need for a separate crimp die. The only issue would be if your brass is not all the same length but then again this is simply a poor reloading practice……

^^this^^
As MostlyLeverGuns has stated seating & crimping in one step is easy enough, once you get the die properly adjusted. That takes a little time and IS NOT something I like to do often. Ninety five % of the time I’m loading the same weight and profile bullet, weight and brand of powder and have settled on one brand of brass. Thus removing most of the variables that can screw up the finished ammo.
With enough turrets / or die heads I can have my dies preset and locked in so changing the cartridge I want to load is a matter of swapping turrets / heads and running a few test loads to verify everything is where and what I want. Also gives me the chance to check consistency of charge weight and crimp tension. Once I’m good to go I still check every tenth charge weight, OAL and crimp tension, even when loading on a progressive.
I also mark five loaded rounds with a slim point sharpie, then cycle them through my semi-autos (with safety engaged) several times to confirm my crimp is tight enough to prevent the projectile from being pushed back into the case. To me this is critical especially when seating and crimping in one operation.
All this checking and QC does add some time / effort to the reloading process, but since I’m loading 500 or 1,000 rounds at a time thoroughly checking every tenth round isn’t a big deal.
Not compared to blowing up a firearm.

An after thought.
I too find live ammo when recovering my brass at the range. I treat it as an unknown risk and always pull it down to salvage the primers, brass and lead content of projectiles.

[jetinteriorguy]

Many years ago I switched to seating and crimping in two steps. I mostly shoot Copper plated or Hitec coated bullets and found that seating and crimping in one step would cut through the plating/coating on the bullet exposing the lead core. This is due to the die continuing to being pushed down as the case mouth is squeezing the bullet and this would cause it to cut/shave off a little sliver of the coating. This isn’t a problem with either lead or jacketed bullets, since a little lead being shaved off won’t really have a detrimental effect and a jacketed bullet is basically unaffected.

[jsizemore]

I used a single stage press when I started hunter pistol silhouette. I'd load 100 rounds for a 40 round match. Sometimes I'd get behind from work and have to stay up late loading for a match. The trade off was that my ammo shot really small groups. A fella from the state just north of us started traveling south to teach us a lesson and if you missed 2 of the 40 shots you weren't going to win. Sometimes he missed 2 and he went home with his tail tucked but he sure did win his share and a few others. After a year or 2 of this, while eating a after match meal, I asked him about his loading technique and equipment. He had automated a Dillon 550 and his ammo was for his 2 guns, his wife's 2 guns and his buddy's 2 guns that actually paid for all the components they used for 3-4 matches each month. Seems he spent about the same time loading for 6 guns as I did for 1. I shortly had a Dillon at the house. He wasn't very good with a rimfire rifle though, so I got my payback. A bunch of companies offer a 4 die set so you can seat and crimp separately. That crimp die is nothing more than a seating die without the seating plug.

[Moonie]

for revolvers I seat and crimp at the same time, for semi-auto's I always use 2 dies, one to seat and another to crimp.

[onelight]

Most of the time I seat and crimp with separate dies , but not always it depends on the cartridge bullet and press I am using to get the results I am looking for.