Oh, and I'll add . . . you CAN obviously both seat and crimp with the Hornady die. I've loaded tens of thousands of pistol rounds that way, and it works.
However, it's kind of a bitch to get it set right, and the quality isn't the same. It's much more straightforward to just use the Lee die to crimp, which is why I've switched over. In fact, today's batch of .45 is my first with the Lee die, though I've used it for a number of other calibers already.
Yes, you can back out the body of the Hornady die so that it won't crimp, and then use the Lee crimp die right next to it.
In fact . . . I just loaded 200 rounds of .45, then took a break to check the forum and saw this thread, and that is exactly what I'm doing:
That's the Lee factory crimp die on the near left, and the Hornady seat/crimp die (which is only seating) is just to the right of it.
Thank you very much for sharing your setup! Seems that ill have something very close to yours. Ill have hornady powder cop so no free station for lee factory crimp. Will seat and crimp same time for now with hornady die. Couple hours ago UPS dropped off expander insert for hornady powder drop. Its flaring case more aggressively than lee expander die. Lee was making case larger consistently just bigger in diameter. Hornady flare neck kinda 45 degrease funnel like expansion. Just noticed that its different. )
Sat Jun 02, 2018 7:36 pm
MadPick
Site Admin
Location: Renton, WA Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011 Posts: 51917
Real Name: Steve
Generally I like to flare the case just BARELY enough to get the base of the bullet into it. However, the Lee crimp die is more forgiving of a bigger crimp, so you might be able to make the powder-through expander work.
Try them both. You’ll figure it out.
Keep measuring the case mouth after crimping to make sure you’ve got it right. Also use a case gauge or, at the very least, the barrel out of your pistol to make sure the cartridge will drop in.
Hi Tim does your case activated powder drop come with the PTX Powder Measure Stop? If so then that can be adjusted to modify the amount of belling or flare on the case when using the PTX. This basically works as a limiter on the amount of travel of the powder drop linkage to limit the amount of belling done by the PTX.
There's some tweaking involved till you get the proper amount of belling. I have two powder drop assemblies: one for 38 Special and one for 9mm so I can retain the exact settings when switching from one cartridge to the next. Also eliminates having to empty the powder measure to change powders as I can just swap out the whole assembly.
_________________ There are dead horses yet to be slain.... - NWGunner
Sun Jun 03, 2018 2:40 am
TimBaleia
Location: Monroe Joined: Sun May 6, 2018 Posts: 28
Hi Tim does your case activated powder drop come with the PTX Powder Measure Stop? If so then that can be adjusted to modify the amount of belling or flare on the case when using the PTX. This basically works as a limiter on the amount of travel of the powder drop linkage to limit the amount of belling done by the PTX.
There's some tweaking involved till you get the proper amount of belling. I have two powder drop assemblies: one for 38 Special and one for 9mm so I can retain the exact settings when switching from one cartridge to the next. Also eliminates having to empty the powder measure to change powders as I can just swap out the whole assembly.
Thank you for the video! I saw it already. I have stop and i use it to adjust my powder drop.
What i want to say is that both Lee and Hornady can be adjusted but they do their hob differently. Lee is expanding case and hornady is flaring it.
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Sun Jun 03, 2018 6:10 am
GeekWithGuns
Site Supporter
Location: Round Rock, TX Joined: Thu Mar 5, 2015 Posts: 3899
Real Name: Dave
Interesting I had never thought of it that way though yes the PTX flares the case mouth. I'm seating lead round nose flat point bullets in 38 Special and adjust for just sufficient flare to initially seat the bullet in the case. The seating die must be performing some degree of case expansion as it does final bullet seating and the bullet is forced down into the case.
Are you having seating problems after adjusting the powder stop to generate just sufficient flare to begin seating?
_________________ There are dead horses yet to be slain.... - NWGunner
Sun Jun 03, 2018 6:51 am
TimBaleia
Location: Monroe Joined: Sun May 6, 2018 Posts: 28
Are you having seating problems after adjusting the powder stop to generate just sufficient flare to begin seating?
No problems as i dont have supplies to start reloading. Just something I noticed while playing with lee and hornadi expansion dies. They just expand case to receive bullet differently. I think both will do the job. Looks to me that Lee expansion type of die applies more consistant less stressful preasure to (1-2mm of the case) tand expand it making it ready to accept the bullet. Where hornady just flare less than 1mm of the case by streching it quite aggressively (compared to lee) into funnel kinda shape that will just guide the bullet in under seating die.
Will try to snap a picture tonight.
Sun Jun 03, 2018 8:41 am
TimBaleia
Location: Monroe Joined: Sun May 6, 2018 Posts: 28
What powder should i get in your opinion? Titegroup? Bluedot? Thx.
Are we talking .45 here? OK, let's talk .45.
There are a MILLION possible answers, so there's no one right way.
The first thing I'd do is figure out what bullet weight you're going to load, then use your manual or an online resource to see what powders will work with it. If you're loading multiple calibers, then try to find a caliber that will work for all of them so you don't need to buy multiple kinds.
For .45, I load 230-grain bullets. I prefer not to deal with plain lead bullets (most of the time), which leaves me with jacketed or plated. Plated bullets are cheap, and for general pistol blasting I'm not too worried about precise accuracy.
So for me . . . when I need bullets, I usually buy them from X-Treme: https://www.xtremebullets.com/45-230-RN ... 0b2000.htm That's the 2000-pack; if you want to blow money, then buy a 500-pack instead and pay more per bullet! Buying in bulk will usually save you money.
There are many powders that will work. I use Titegroup because it's clean-burning (especially important when using a suppressor), it meters well, and I can use it for multiple calibers. It's also cheaper because you use less of it, but that's not a motivating factor for me. In fact, that can be a downside (using less of it), because there's not as much cushion if you screw up a powder charge. I don't think that's a huge risk, but it's something to consider.
For primers, I've used Wolf, Tula, CCI and Winchester. I've found all to be reliable, but the CCI and Winchester seem to be easier to actually load, so I prefer those even if they cost you a little more. I've heard horror stories about S&B primers not working well in the Hornady press, so I haven't tried them and I'd suggest that you don't either even if you find them cheap.
What powder should i get in your opinion? Titegroup? Bluedot? Thx.
Are we talking .45 here? OK, let's talk .45.
There are a MILLION possible answers, so there's no one right way.
The first thing I'd do is figure out what bullet weight you're going to load, then use your manual or an online resource to see what powders will work with it. If you're loading multiple calibers, then try to find a caliber that will work for all of them so you don't need to buy multiple kinds.
For .45, I load 230-grain bullets. I prefer not to deal with plain lead bullets (most of the time), which leaves me with jacketed or plated. Plated bullets are cheap, and for general pistol blasting I'm not too worried about precise accuracy.
So for me . . . when I need bullets, I usually buy them from X-Treme: https://www.xtremebullets.com/45-230-RN ... 0b2000.htm That's the 2000-pack; if you want to blow money, then buy a 500-pack instead and pay more per bullet! Buying in bulk will usually save you money.
There are many powders that will work. I use Titegroup because it's clean-burning (especially important when using a suppressor), it meters well, and I can use it for multiple calibers. It's also cheaper because you use less of it, but that's not a motivating factor for me. In fact, that can be a downside (using less of it), because there's not as much cushion if you screw up a powder charge. I don't think that's a huge risk, but it's something to consider.
For primers, I've used Wolf, Tula, CCI and Winchester. I've found all to be reliable, but the CCI and Winchester seem to be easier to actually load, so I prefer those even if they cost you a little more. I've heard horror stories about S&B primers not working well in the Hornady press, so I haven't tried them and I'd suggest that you don't either even if you find them cheap.
Ok! Got everything you told me sensei ))) whats next) ahahah seems that i will shoot what i have of 40s&w and will reload 45auto as my main caliber and 10mm for the woods.
Missing powder cop and dies. This will get most likely next week as my bow is not ready yet so im not planning extra trip to cabelas. But so far got all i wanted for prepping brass (wet tumbler, separator, dryer), got xtreme bullets 230gr, titegroup powder, CCI primers and more stuff.
Thank you all for suggestions and tips!
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Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:12 pm
MadPick
Site Admin
Location: Renton, WA Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011 Posts: 51917
Real Name: Steve
Damn brother, you've been doing some serious shopping!
If you haven't already done so, I'd go through your .45 brass and make sure it's all large primer brass, with no small primer brass mixed in. You can use a .40 case as reference, since that uses a small primer. Getting started will be hard enough without running into the occasional piece of rogue brass.
Do you have the shell plate for .45?
Otherwise, I think you wait for your dies and then get started . . . slowly.
Personally, I load plated bullets with Titegroup at 1.23" overall length, with 4.5 grains of Titegroup. However, you should look at published loads, start low and work your way up to what you think is a safe and effective load.
Quite often, starting loads won't even cycle your pistol. So, don't load more than a few rounds. You can load a few rounds at multiple charges, then go to the range and -- starting with the lowest load -- work your way up and see how each charge functions the pistol, all the while looking for signs of high pressure with the brass. You probably won't see any with your .45 loads, but look at the brass anyhow.
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