[Paul Donahue]

Hi guys, looking at Redding dies I see they have a taper crimp die for the .44Spec/.44Mag and wonder if these would be ok for lead bullet target loads at 800 to 1000 fps? Would these make my case mouths last longer without splits? Anybodies thoughts on the proper use of these dies would be helpful. Thanks for any help. Paul

 

[unclenick]

They do extend case life, and I've used taper crimps with .38/.357 wadcutter target loads for years. Just be aware that as the load goes up, the lubricated lead bullets will tend to be pulled from their cases inertially by recoil in a revolver. At exactly what load that will happen for you depends on the powder and the velocity and the bullet hardness and lubrication level and how tightly your cases are sized, then crimped. Not simple pattern there.

Just watch for bullets backing out and jamming rotation of the cylinder. You might use a magic marker to mark the case mouth location on a few bullets, then put them in position in the cylinder so they will be the last round fired. Stop shooting just before firing that round and open the gun and take a look to see whether the mark has moved forward significantly or not? If so, it is pulling and you need to lighten the load or firm the crimp or go over to roll crimp again. That will affect accuracy by changing powder burning volume.

 

[Marshal Kane]

They do extend case life, and I've used taper crimps with .38/.357 wadcutter target loads for years. . .

It does sound logical that case life would be extended (less crimping on the casemouth) but am not sure to what extent. Casemouths still get belled in order to seat lead bullets and it's the coldworking that contributes to splits. Given that revolver bullets can shift due to heavy recoil, it may be more practical to just stay with the roll crimp for revolver shooting. Brass is not meant to last a lifetime, even if you don't experience a split casemouth something else could happen e.g. mid-case split. Just my dos centavos YMMV.

 

[unclenick]

Marshal,

It also depends on the brand of brass. I got 50 light target reloads from one lot of Winchester .45 ACP cases that were all run through my Dillon Square Deal. I have a custom drop tube/powder measure operating rod that gives me a Lyman M type expander profile with gradual bell at the top, plus the taper crimp that is standard from Dillon in that chambering. On the other hand, I've had R-P cases that split after a few reloads same as roll-crimped revolver brass would.

 

[Marshal Kane]

Nick,
50 reloads from the same cases is awesome! I discard when approaching 20 handgun reloads or when experiencing multiple split casemouths. Agree with the rest of your post, the make of brass makes a difference.

 

[Chief RID]

Paul,

I went with Marshal's advice in his Tech Guide when I was trying to get the most accurate rounds for my 1894 Marlin. I used the Lyman M die for expansion and the Redding Profile crimp die for crimping duTies. I do't think it is a taper crimp but a roll but it has been a good thing for me.

 

[unclenick]

Chief,

The Redding is capable of extreme roll crimping. In standard roll crimp dies the case below the mouth will deflect outward and lose contact with the bullet bearing surface if you crimp really hard. The Redding hugs the sides of the case so that can't happen. Very good concept. The Lee Factory Crimp die will iron out that bulge on withdrawal through the die, but it likely slightly undoes the crimp in the process. I think Redding has a winner, especially for high recoil handgun rounds.


Marshal,

I actually tracked those cases because I was interested in the phenomenon of case shortening in the .45 ACP with each reloading cycle. About half had been lost either to the range gods or to splits by the time I was done with them. The head stamps all looked like tattoos that had faded with age, and the rims were well mottled with dings from ejecting onto stones and concrete. I can't recall how many splits there were in total? I didn't track that. What I can tell you is they were all about 0.025" shorter than when they started, so half a thousandth per load cycle was the normal shortening. The loads were all either 3.8 or 4.0 grains of Bullseye under either 185 or 200 grain cast semi-wadcutters. Light loads.