Another newby SWC Question

[Xx_OIF_INFIDEL_xX]

What I am reloading:

44spl, once fired brass, 5.6gr Unique, Winchester lg. primer, 240gr swc

Now for the question:

I have resized, primed and charged. I am having a problem seating the lead.

The bullet has a ring, does the mouth of the brass need to be below the ring

or even with the ring? I have a single stage and bought a lee 3 die set. I

have been told that I need to roll crimp the round. Will the lee bullet

seating/crimp die work or do I need to purchase a factory crimp die to

complete this round?

Thanks

 

[dmazur]

I have separate dies for seating and crimping, but I got this off another site -

Run the ram all the way up with a case in the shell holder. Slowly screw the seat die down until you feel the crimp shoulder contact the case mouth. Back out 1/2 turn.

Then adjust the seating stem to seat the bullet to the proper depth.

After all bullets are seated correctly, back out the seating stem all the way and screw the die down 1/4 turn past crimp shoulder/case mouth contact. Check crimp, and adjust die up/down until you get the crimp you want.

This procedure uses the die to do seating and crimping separately, rather than trying to do them both at the same time. Opinions are mixed about whether the latter can be done successfully or not...

I'm assuming the SWC bullet is a lead bullet, so the ring is probably a lube ring. If it's a jacketed bullet, it might be a cannelure.

Do you have the COL for that bullet for .44 Special?

Here's a link to some .44 Special loads -

http://www.handloads.org/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=44%20Special&Weight=All&type=Handgun&Order=Powder&Source=

If you look at the loads for 240 gr LSWC, COL is shown as 1.45" - 1.50". If you seat a bullet to this depth and the case mouth is at that shallow ring, that's where the crimp should go. The lube ring should be lubed, of course.

 

[RustyFN]

No you don't need the FCD. I like to use them but if I was loading on a single stage press I wouldn't use it either. The seating die for a revolver die set should be designed to apply a roll crimp. I'm not sure what you mean by a ring in the bullet. There will be a lube groove that should have lube in it and most of the time a crimp groove ( cannelure ) will be above that. If the bullet has a cannelure then that is normally where you want the crimp to be and that will determin the OAL. Here is a picture of some cast bullets with and without a cannelure.


Rusty

 

[Xx_OIF_INFIDEL_xX]

yes there is a blue lube ring but i was referring to the actual ring protruding(kind of hard for me to explain). The ring I was talking about is actually part of the shape of the bullet. I bought a box of 240swc cast lead, the lead has a flat tip, down from the tip is a protruding ring, below that is a lube ring. I didnt get the pic rusty.

 

[rcmodel]

Look here.

The bottom ring is filled with lube.
The ring above it is the crimp groove.

Your seating / crimping die should be adjusted to apply the roll crimp there.

The finished round should have the front driving band just in front of the crimp groove & case mouth still sticking out.

rc

 

[Xx_OIF_INFIDEL_xX]

Gotcha,
Thanks