Mrdwayne0405 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Ok, so I have a 3 die set for .40 S&W. Do I need a taper crimp die? I just shot my first match with my reloads that I loaded last week. My accuracy was not as good as I would like. Is this because I need a taper crimp die? I have played a little more with my powder amount and have improved it a good bit, but was told I may want to get one of those dies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 It's easier to dial in a good crimp with a separate die than a combo set-up. That's why Dillon has a crimp die. One of their better ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregJ Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 If you shoot lead or especially coated bullets like Precision or Bayou, it's a good idea and recommended by the bulet mfgrs. When I started shooting Precisions, I got one, and it's one of the better things I've done for my reloading. It let me tweak my crimp to fix a feeding problem I had with my 1911s. YEMV, but it works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anachronism Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I had a miserable time with feeding problems on several pistols until I finally caved, and bought a taper crimp die. The issues went away overnight. You do want one that is separate from the seating die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linear Thinker Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 You need a taper crimp die. It may or may not help with accuracy, but will improve the reliability. I've been using Lee FCDs on all the pistol calibers for a long time, with great results. LT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98sr20ve Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Anything but the FCD. Everyone sells a decent crimp die. FCD my actually hurt the accuracy not help it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acekc Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Ok, so I have a 3 die set for .40 S&W. Do I need a taper crimp die? I just shot my first match with my reloads that I loaded last week. My accuracy was not as good as I would like. Is this because I need a taper crimp die? I have played a little more with my powder amount and have improved it a good bit, but was told I may want to get one of those dies... The answer may depend on whose dies you own. I started out with Hornady dies a couple of years ago and discovered that their seater die design only allowed for a roll crimp, even on semi-auto cartridges that should get a taper crimp. They claimed that if you adjusted it JUST RIGHT you could get a good taper crimp out of it. In my experience that's BS. I bought a Lee FCD and all my problems went away. Hornady has since come out with new die sets that supposedly taper crimp in the seater die but I've never used them. A more apt description of a taper crimp die is a bell removal die. What you really want to do is remove the bell put in by the expander and not much else. If your current crimp allows the rounds to drop into the chamber or a case gauge easily and the die isn't overcrimping (i.e. starting to apply a roll crimp) then a separate crimp die may not do much for you. But hey, the Lee crimp dies work great and they're cheap - if nothing else, adjusting a separate crimp die is a lot easier than adjusting crimp and seating in the same die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdwayne0405 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 if nothing else, adjusting a separate crimp die is a lot easier than adjusting crimp and seating in the same die. I found that to be true. My loads got better after I got the hang of it. I got the bell out of my loads with that die, the bullet seating die that is. It was a pain, but I finally figured it out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreentie Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 When I reload lead, I use a Hornday taper crimp on my 9mm. Great die! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbopp Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Well, I'm in the minority. I seat and crimp in one operation using RCBS dies in 45ACP, 38 / 357, and 44Mag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1Garand Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 With .45Acp, 40 S&W, 10mm and 9mm you have to remember that the round headspaces on the front of the case so be sure you don't put too much of a crimp or the cartridge will seat too far and might not fire. Just a word of caution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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