45acp removing flare question

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Road_Clam

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Hey gents,
What is your preference for removing the casing flare ? I have the LEE 4 die set but thus far have only been removing the flare with the bullet seat die. Is it better to use the LEE FCD die in a separate step to remove the flare ? I noticed the last batch of 45 acp I ran the finished bullet was just a tad snug in my FNX's chamber. No cycling issues but I compared to factory Federal ammo and those casings slide in better. My bullets measured .472 while the Federal factory casings were .469. Would like your feedback on which is best. Thanks
 
Road_Clam said:
Hey gents,

What is your preference for removing the casing flare ? I have the LEE 4 die set but thus far have only been removing the flare with the bullet seat die. Is it better to use the LEE FCD die in a separate step to remove the flare ? I noticed the last batch of 45 acp I ran the finished bullet was just a tad snug in my FNX's chamber. No cycling issues but I compared to factory Federal ammo and those casings slide in better. My bullets measured .472 while the Federal factory casings were .469. Would like your feedback on which is best. Thanks
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I would highly suggest some type of crimp die. I use the Lee FCD and haven't had a single issue. You DO NOT want to over crimp the bullets. Basically just enough to remove the bell.


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The SAAMI standard allows the case mouth of a .45 Auto to be anywhere from 0.467" to 0.473" in diameter. Different brands use different case wall thickness at the mouth, which is why there is a range. Anything inside that range should function normally for cases headspacing on the case mouth.
 
I have the Lee 4 dies set. Yes, by all means, use the fcd!! Have had zero issues with any remaining flare.
 
*sigh* Following Unclenick - again. :p

If the bullet isn't moving and the round is chambering, they're good to go.

Personally, I use the Lee FCD and I seem to get a little more feeding/cycling reliability since I've been using it ('bout four years now). It's anecdotal, because I haven't spent a lot of time with calipers and field notes taking, etc.

That said, I'm a big fan of the Lee FCD. Others are not.

So it really comes down to how you want to craft your ammo. The beauty of loading your own.
 
So I backed off on the bullet seating die, re-adjusted the seat depth accordingly then installed the FCD in my Dillon 650's station #5 and the FCD die seems to shrink the flare just a bit more to .470". That diameter drops in my chamber perfect. Thanks for the help.
 
I like to measure the case thickness , say .010 X 2= .020 plus bullet diameter of .452 gives me a .472 straight wall without over crimping on a 45auto case.
 
Many years ago when I had a 45acp I would use a 30-06 die with the decapper removed for a taper crimp die. This info most likely will not help you but someone loading on a single stage press like I was may find it useful.
 
Well, after my experiences with a Lee FCD, you'd have to pay me to use one. I would suggest seating the bullets in one operation and using a plain old taper crimp die to remove the flare in a second step (I haven't "crimped" a semi-auto round in mebbe 18 years, I just straighten out the case with a taper crimp die). I plunk test to see how much flare the taper crimp die removes, and I measured the case mouth on some of my 45 ACP ammo, mebbe 12 years ago, and it measured around .470" +/- .001"...

(Not a lee hater as I have a bunch of Lee dies and equipment/tools, just think the FCD is worthless, IMHO)
 
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I use Lee die sets in a '60s vintage RCBS single stage. I load .38 spcl, 357 mag, .45 auto and .45 Colt. I have the FCD for all of them. Tried the .38/.357 one a couple times. Don't like it and don't use the FCD for any of the these four cartridges.
Seat and crimp in one step. This works for me. YMMV.
 
It depends on your purposes. Conventional pistol (bull's eye) shooters determined way back in the 60's that separate seating and crimping operations produced smaller groups. How much smaller, I don't recall. By the time I started shooting matches in the 70's, it was an assumed practice. In scoring targets, even a small improvement makes the odd additional point for you.
 
While I see no compelling reason for using a Lee FCD, I do seat and remove the case mouth expansion in different steps.

From a theoretical engineering standpoint, I would expect some problems with lead bullets. The sizing ring might "resize" the lead bullet, decreasing its diameter, while the brass case will expand back since it's moduluis of elasticity (sp) has not been exceeded. Could this result in the crimp being responsible for the majority of "bullet hold" instead of the case walls.

Just my random thoughts. If the FCD works for you, that's cool.
 
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