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Thread: New to 45 ACP. Recommend a die set please

  1. #21
    Boolit Master
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    I've used Lee, RCBS, Redding, Herter's. I use the Lee in my Loadmaster progressive work just fine. Redding are nicest, but cartridges produced from Lee or Redding both function the same. A carbide sizer is pretty much standard since Lee brought price down 30 plus years ago. I seat and crimp separately, with a very light crimp with a standard die or a taper crimp die. I do not use the Lee 'Factory Crimp Die' for the 45 ACP, it does get mixed reviews. Lee's neck expander that allows powder to charge the case while expanding works well for me. No real tricks to 45 ACP, setting bullet seating depth/cartridge overall length to work in YOUR pistol is probably the most important step.

  2. #22
    Boolit Master


    Burnt Fingers's Avatar
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    I used to be one of those guys that said any set will work.

    Then I broke down and bought a set of Dillon 9mm dies. I've since switched possible handgun cartridges over to Dillon dies.

    It might not matter on a single stage or turret press but they make a big difference on a progressive.

    One plus is they come with separate seat and crimp dies. The other advantage is you can swap the seating stem from round nose to flat nose without messing with the seating depth. If you're loading SWC bullets there are SWC seating plugs available that index off the shoulder of the boolit.

    I can load anything from 155 gr to 225 gr SWC boolits in 45 ACP and never have to touch the seating die.
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  3. #23
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    You might want to pick up a bulge buster die too some G locks do that too.

  4. #24
    Boolit Master Targa's Avatar
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    Titan reloading has Lee dies for a good price, they work exactly the way dies should work. https://www.titanreloading.com/-45-a...ide-3-die-set- ..

  5. #25
    Boolit Master


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    I think any of the major brands will work.
    1.) get a carbide sizing die
    2.) Make sure the neck expander opens the case mouth enough so that you do not size down your bullet when seating.
    3.) use a taper crimp die

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by starnbar View Post
    You might want to pick up a bulge buster die too some G locks do that too.
    That’s only an issue with .40 and really only in Gen 1 and 2 guns. 45 is so low pressure it shouldn’t be an issue at all.

    To the OP, Redding. Some will say to buy the economy die sets, eventually you’ll be at Redding or RCBS. I prefer Redding as the die is entirely steel, and they have better lock rings. The few RCBS products that Redding doesn’t offer I’ve put Redding lock rings on. CH-4D is also top tieir excellent and there is a good chance they’ve got a set of 45ACP dies sitting on the shelf. Give them a call and see what they say!

  7. #27
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by zarrinvz24 View Post
    Some will say to buy the economy die sets, eventually you’ll be at Redding or RCBS
    Why?

    I mean, I have good die sets from more than a dozen brands, some long gone from the market, and, by brand, I've found no functional difference in any of them.

    Manufacturing tolerances being what they are I've measured and found as much difference between individual dies made by the same brand as between brands - including Lee's and Reddings. RCBS ... well, their externals sure are pretty.

    There are some important differences in the basic design of a couple of rifle seaters; on average, Redding and Forster BR seaters are very good. All of the other "Competition" dies are sloppy fitting jokes; they're all costly and there is no automatic accuracy difference. And no .45 ACP - nor any other handgun - dies will ever need BR seaters.

    Some folk always jump in saying be sure to get carbide dies but if anyone still makes steel sizers for common handgun dies I don't know it and I've been doing this stuff since 1965. ALL brands have only made carbide sizers for some 30 years now, ever since Lee started making them so inexpensively the other makers had to follow or die. (Like Lee or not, they have kept the other makers more honest and that's saved us all a lot of money.)

    Bottom line, the skill of a reloader counts for much more than the brand or price of his dies. Great tools don't suddenly make bad reloaders good. IMHO of course.

  8. #28
    Boolit Buddy

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    Use RCBS for almost everything with a few Lyman from my early days.

  9. #29
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    All modern die sets are fine; otherwise they would not be on the market.
    Member: Orange Gunsite Family, NRA-Life, ARTCA, American Legion, & the South Cuyahoga Gun Club.

    Caveat Emptor: Do not trust Cavery Grips/American Gripz/Prestige Grips/Stealth Grips from Clayton, NC. He will rip you off.

  10. #30
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Rohrer View Post
    All modern die sets are fine; otherwise they would not be on the market.
    And THAT'S the truth! And, from my own experience with all reloading brands, modern die sets (7/8" x 14) include virtually everything made since at least as far back as 1965.

    With very few mistakes, they all make ammo to SAAMI specifications IF they're used correctly. Blind brand loyalty about anything gets funny at times. Seems the less hands-on experience some people have with different brands the more certain they are that their choices must be "best" ... often because that's about all they've ever really tried! ???

  11. #31
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Like the others have said, any brand should work fine. Just for the record, all of my pistol dies are either Dillon or RCBS.

  12. #32
    Boolit Bub
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    Ok gents, my son-in-law showed up on Sunday with a nice set of RCBS dies including the taper crimp die, four dies in all. They were used, but cleaned up quickly and nicely. I'm off and running as soon as I get the boolits one good CB member mailed out to me today.
    All suggestions and comments above are appreciated.

  13. #33
    Boolit Buddy Eddie1971's Avatar
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    Im the biggest RCBS fan but if you plan on shooting cast I would go with Lee 4 die set. I found they seat and with the FCD die mesh perfect for cast.

  14. #34
    Boolit Master
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    lee would be my choice .never had any problems and cheap.

  15. #35
    Boolit Buddy Liberty1776's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by starnbar View Post
    You might want to pick up a bulge buster die too some G locks do that too.
    I agree you may need to size the .45ACP case all the way down, using a Lee Bulge Buster.

    https://leeprecision.com/case-condit...ge-buster-kit/

    Comes in two parts: 1) the Bulge Buster adapter and ram; and 2) a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die, which provides the sizer you push the round through to smooth out any deformity that may happen around the base of the shell because of the shell not being fully supported above the feed ramp in the barrel when it's fired.

  16. #36
    Boolit Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by Liberty1776 View Post
    I agree you may need to size the .45ACP case all the way down, using a Lee Bulge Buster.

    https://leeprecision.com/case-condit...ge-buster-kit/

    Comes in two parts: 1) the Bulge Buster adapter and ram; and 2) a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die, which provides the sizer you push the round through to smooth out any deformity that may happen around the base of the shell because of the shell not being fully supported above the feed ramp in the barrel when it's fired.
    I've sized 10's of thousands of 45 ACP brass and never had to use a bulge buster. Nor do I think that 45 ACP Glock pistols had a buldge problem. It was more of a 9mm, 40 Short and Weak, and 10mm problem on the first two generations of "perfection".

    I won't go into my feelings on the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp die other than to say it's a crutch.
    NRA Benefactor.

  17. #37
    Boolit Buddy

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    Have been reloading for 39 years now. Started with HORNADY right off!
    Carbide three die seta. With the 5 station Progressive Press, Data manual., Balance Beam Scale, But switched to a Lyman 1200 Powder dispenser/Scale. (has been is use for 11 years), still going!
    NEVER had a problem! With Hornady, OR Lyman, OR RCBS!

  18. #38
    Boolit Buddy Liberty1776's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Burnt Fingers View Post
    I've sized 10's of thousands of 45 ACP brass and never had to use a bulge buster.
    It's not specifically about a "bulge." It's about getting reloaded ammo back to true factory spec.

    I check every reloaded round, no matter the caliber, in a case gauge. It's how I spot split necks, bad primer seating and mis-fed bullets.

    Really precision case gauges reveal a dimensional difference between factory and reloaded ammo. Especially in 9mm, but also with .45ACP.

    The picture below shows reloaded 9mm (Dillon dies) fitting acceptably in a Lyman case checker, but standing proud in a USA-made Shooters Box stainless, precision-machined case gauge. (Both rounds fit the Lyman; both rounds don't fit the Shooters Box, and factory 9mm fits the Shooters Box perfectly.)

    I think the only real way to resize fired brass to full factory spec is to roll-size it between two plates. The sizer die simply cannot resize the brass all the way down. https://www.rollsizer.com/


    The bulge buster is an attempt to size all the way down. Whether it works or not is still a question. And with the 9mm's tapered case, it's almost impossible to get perfect. I bulge-bust .45 ACP that won't fit in the Lyman case checker. It helps, but doesn't guarantee it will fit in a Shooters Box checker.

    Interestingly, my 8-caliber Lyman ammo checker is pretty forgiving, and most reloads plunk into it without issue.

    Other, more precision SAAMI-strict checkers have tighter tolerances.

    Of course, I still reload almost all my ammo, and have since 1978. And it fires reliably, round after round. But it's not factory perfect.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  19. #39
    Boolit Master Baltimoreed's Avatar
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    A bulge buster is handy if you also shoot a pcc. My .45 acp carbines beat brass up pretty good and the buster gets the base where a die can’t reach.

  20. #40
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    They’re spendy but for handgun calibers I really like Dillon dies for two reasons. One is the sizing/decapping die. The decapping pin is spring loaded and more positively ejects the spent primer than fixed decapping pins. The other is the seating die, especially for loading lubed cast boolits. The Dillon die can be disassembled very quickly and easily for cleaning without disturbing the adjustment. They also has a single reversible no tools required seating plug for round nose and SWC. I only have them for my high volume rounds; 9mm, .40 and .45 ACP that are loaded on progressive presses but I like them very much.
    Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check