accurizing 45 Colt dies

[swampratt]

Do not know a good title so hear is the 411.

My 45 colt pistol is a new game to me.
So far not happy with the way the bullets get treated when seating so I did some measuring.

My colt Bisley chamber measures .484"
A fired Hornady case measures .479" OD. spring back you know.

My Redding carbide sizer die pinches the OD down to .470"
or a bit under that. The ID of this Redding die measures .468"

Now I feel some over working of the brass is happening.
And my Hornady case ID is .445" or so..way tight for my .4525" bullet.

No wonder I am shaving lead no matter how I flare the case.

FUN PART.
The Lee carbide crimp die for 45acp measures .472" ID
That is .004" larger ID than the Redding.
So I remove the crimp and use the carbide to size my 45 Colt cases.
Now my colt case measures a bit fatter OD .473" vs .470" with the Colt Redding die.
Now ID is .448" instead of .445"

Getting there..so now I will attempt to hone the Redding carbide sizer die out so I get .449"-.450"ID
As my 357 mag has .002" interference fit and shoots awesome.
I feel .0045" interference is about .01 too much

Sorry if that is too many numbers to follow,, I like numbers.

 

[Blitzfike]

I can see the necessity for reworking the die for that amount of difference, sure should make brass last longer and 45 colt brass isn't cheap or as common as some of the other stuff. What about the expander portion of the die set, will it work as is with the modified die? I've patched the problem you are having by using an oversize expander die and annealing the brass periodically, but that changes the neck tension and isn't as elegant fix as doing it the right way as you are. Keep us posted.. Jim

 

[Calamity Jake]

Get a Lyman "M" die to expand the case back out to the proper diameter for that cast bullet.
You need about .450-.451 case ID for that .4525 bullet.

 

[swampratt]

I think I found the issue The Hornady nickel cases size to .445" ID
I got some Starline yesterday in 45 colt and sized it in the same forester die and ID is .451"

No expander in the pistol dies just a carbide ring on the outside.
But yes there is a case mouth expander. I loaded 1 round of starline and no lead peeling off of my bullets now.

So I say do not get that critical defense hornady stuff if you plan on loading cast with it.

 

[HiredHand]

off topic

 

[HiredHand]

off topic

 

[RedHawk357Mag]

If I might ask what is your plan on honing the Redding carbides? I considered sending some emails to a couple outfits that I found that machined carbide. I have been buying random sets of dies off EBay looking for different resizers. I have gotten a pretty good assortment of dies for 38/357. Don't have my notes in front of me but I can assure you there is a wide variance.

 

[dennishoddy]

What RCBS and Hornady advises is to size 6 or so cases, send the dies and cases to them for custom sizing, and in most cases its done for free.

 

[swampratt]

Free is hard to beat. I do not need to do it as my 50 brass cases are correct size and only had an issue with Hornady nickel cases.
If I was to hone the carbide I would use diamond sandpaper wrapped around a mandrel to fit snug into the die

 

[Blitzfike]

Hobby Lobby has some small syringes of diamond lapping compound in one of their craft sections. I normally charge a hardwood dowel (turn it to size) with the diamond paste and use it for lapping the die. The wood retains the diamond paste very well, much better than using a metal mandrel for it. Keep it moving in and out so you keep the honing action even. Takes a long time on carbide.