.45acp won't fit in case gauge?

[jkcolo22]

Hello all,

First post here. First and foremost, I'm a new reloader, so please bear with me and know that your help is greatly appreciated!!

I'm reloading .45acp on a 550b. My reloads won't fit in my Dillon .45acp case gauge and I can't figure out why.

I matched my seating die and crimp die to a factory PMC bronze (1.261" OAL x .472 crimp). The factory load fits in my case gauge just fine.

However, the base of all my once fired brass is slightly fatter towards the base (approx. .478"). So, while the top half of a reload fits in the case gauge just fine, the bottom half snags due to the slight bulge towards the base.

What am I missing here?

Thanks in advance!

[onebadeye]

Make sure your seating die is down far enough . It must hit your shellplate then back off half a turn.

[tires2burn]

I use Lee dies and when I decap,( knock out the primer) the case gets sized at the same time. Measure your case before you decap and then after. If its within specs go to the next station and measure after and so on till you find whats making the bulge.

[Croomrider]

Make sure your sizing die is adjusted all the way down to where it touches the shell plate. If that is the case, I would guess you have another die adjusted down TOO FAR and are crushing the case. The sizing die is probably the only one that should touch the shell plate. I would guess either your seating die or crimp die is down too far.

Mike

[bigdawgbeav]

"glocked" brass? this sometimes doesn't get fixed with a standard resizing die. I've had glocked brass that resized, but the bulge moved from the middle of the case to the bottom... had to throw it out.

[jkcolo22]

Thank you for the replies. After playing with adjusting my dies for hours now, I haven't found a solution... My brass is from a 1911 and an XD, so I don't think it's "glocked."

Here are some observations...

The brass fits perfectly into the case gauge after sizing. The problem seems to be generated from the seating die. However, the problem still exists after backing out the seating die to only achieve an OAL of 1.275" (max by my Lyman 49th ed.).

Here is the weird thing... the widest point towards the base (which gets hung up on the case gauge) measures at .473. This is within the tolerance of .476" shown for the base of the round of in my Lyman manual. The opening of Dillion's case gauge is .484 and narrows to .461. Is this case gauge just too conservative?

As you can (hopefully) see in the picture, it just barely doesn't fit. I am able force the whole round in, but then it's tight enough that I need to knock it out from the other side. Is this slight "bulge" enough to be worried about?

[jkcolo22]

Sorry. Messed up posting the picture the first time around.

[atbarr]

How do they fit in your chamber? That is the ONLY true check.

[jkcolo22]

They fit fine, actually. I shot about 50 of them before I realized they didn't fit in the case gauge. I'm more just worried about safety at this point.

[atbarr]

They fit fine, actually.

Then that's all that matters.

[KLR]

Are you sure you are not putting too much bell on the case and the crimp is set sufficently?

[jkcolo22]

I think I figured out the problem... After using a bullet puller, I noticed the bullets on my reloads were showing a crimp. The no-name brand bullets I picked up seem to be out of spec by .003". This appears to be causing my brass to stress at the base as they are seated. I used the bullet puller on a factory round and confirmed that one of my reloads with the factory bullet fit into the case gauge just fine.

Oh well... I guess a few lessons learned here.

[Croomrider]

The brass fits perfectly into the case gauge after sizing. The problem seems to be generated from the seating die. However, the problem still exists after backing out the seating die to only achieve an OAL of 1.275" (max by my Lyman 49th ed.).

What brand of seating die are you using? Some brands have two means of adjustment. One being the position of the die in the press, which may also adjusts the crimp. The other is an adjustable stem on top, which specifically adjusts the OAL. On these types of dies you need to adjust the position of the die in the press without a bullet on the die. That way you can determine when the die contacts the top of the casing. Once that is done the seating depth or OAL is adjusted with the stem on top of the die.

Mike

Edited June 21, 2013 by Croomrider

[jkcolo22]

The brass fits perfectly into the case gauge after sizing. The problem seems to be generated from the seating die. However, the problem still exists after backing out the seating die to only achieve an OAL of 1.275" (max by my Lyman 49th ed.).

What brand of seating die are you using? Some brands have two means of adjustment. One being the position of the die in the press, which may also adjusts the crimp. The other is an adjustable stem on top, which specifically adjusts the OAL. On these types of dies you need to adjust the position of the die in the press without a bullet on the die. That way you can determine when the die contacts the top of the casing. Once that is done the seating depth or OAL is adjusted with the stem on top of the die.

Mike

Mike- this is a very interesting suggestion. I'm using Dillion's dies. I'll have to go read back through the instructions to determine if there is a separate adjustment for OAL. Unless you know off hand?

edit: confirmed that with Dillion dies, OAL is adjusted using only the vertical height of the die.

Edited June 21, 2013 by jkcolo22

[jkcolo22]

Are you sure you are not putting too much bell on the case and the crimp is set sufficently?

Alright. All problems solved. I backed off the bell even more than I thought was necessary to where it was just barely noticeable. Everything I punch out is fitting into the case gage just fine now. What a learning curve... Thank you everyone for your help.

[atbarr]

The case gauge means nothing. The only sure check, is dropping each one in your barrel's chamber. YMMV

[bajadudes]

Dillons case guage is very conservative and as has been pointed out above the only true guage is a drop check in your barrel. It is so conservative that often the rim on reloads will not seat flush, I find this especially true for some reason with Winchester brass. It is good that you investigated thouroughly since it led you to notice the over crimping. checking, double checking, walking away for a few min then coming back to triple check everything is good practice and well worth the time.

Congratulations on entering the world of reloading. It adds a whole new, wonderful dimension to the sport of shooting.

[at_liberty]

The case gauge means nothing. The only sure check, is dropping each one in your barrel's chamber. YMMV

That is an often repeated mantra, but if 1) you don't appreciate having to dismantle your gun for reloading, and 2) you have more than one gun that could use the ammo, a good gauge is the obvious answer and is a real asset to reloading.

[bigdawgbeav]

The case gauge means nothing. The only sure check, is dropping each one in your barrel's chamber. YMMV

That is an often repeated mantra, but if 1) you don't appreciate having to dismantle your gun for reloading, and 2) you have more than one gun that could use the ammo, a good gauge is the obvious answer and is a real asset to reloading.

I was worried about headspace, that's why I got a gauge. I found out that the drop test in my barrel was fine, but I was under crimping and was unable to pass the gauge. The barrel test is great because I found that my LTC's were seated too long and hitting the rifling.

[Dirtychemist]

What is the measurement of the mouth of the case after crimp without a bullet? I realized I was seating my bullets to the correct length but my crimp was closing them in at .467 or less sometimes.

Also, how wide is it before you're seating the bullet? Just another place to check if the case is being expanded too much.

[njl]

IME, Dillon's .45acp gauges are overly tight. I have factory ammo (CCI Blazer) that won't gauge. As long as they drop in / drop out of your chambers, they're probably fine.

[bubbadoc]

Much better to be conservative in sizing and reject borderline rounds than oversized and allow 'issues' to appear in the pistol.

When using my Dillon guages I separate into three categories. Flush fit with no issues (which can go anywhere), not quite flush fit (which are practice rounds or go through a couple of pistols that feed anything) and 'Warning Will Robinson' ounds that get checked over and typically bullets pulled after checking in a pistol chamber.

[Rockets]

Do the plunk test.

[Prush]

I'm having the same issue. I setup 9mm on the press no problem, used the case gauge to all the rounds before putting them in a storage box. No problems. When I did the same thing with the 45acp the case gauge isn't working out. The produced rounds function in my 1911. I already tried backing off on the belling, but after your suggestion I'm going further.

[atbarr]

The bottom line is, you chamber check each round in the gun your going to shoot them in. It's a little time consuming, but you'll KNOW each round will work in that specific pistol. That's called peace of mind, priceless.