Can 454 Casull Seater be Used for 45 Colt?

[JDinFbg]

not sure what “Dead length” is. But I had the shell holder touch the die and went over about a 1/4 turn for cam over. Crimping section, I don’t think it touched. I belled a case and here are the before and after. Also, these cases are not sized. Shell holders touching with 1/4 turn cam over looks like it dropped a little could be measuring wrong, but didn’t feel any resistance

I wasn't sure what "dead length" meant either when someone mentioned it in a post, so I did a Google search and found this:
https://www.titanreloading.com/faqs/dead-length-bullet-seating-explanation/
Basically it means that the bottom of the die touches the shell holder such that any slack is removed from the press linkage such that bullet seating depth is more uniform and only controlled by the adjustment of the seating plug and there is no crimping done in the die. Lee Precision makes dead length seating dies, but when I made an inquiry to them about what I was seeing on their website, they indicated they only make dead length seating dies for bottle-neck rifle cartridges. So, I'm trying to come up with a scheme to use a standard seating die for another cartridge to produce a dead length seater for the 45 Colt. That's why I was interested in seeing if the 454 Casull seating die would be an option, and based on what you indicated it appears it is. Thanks for all your help on testing this. I really appreciates the extra effort you gave.

 

[JDinFbg]

You might also consider fashioning a spacer and securing it to a second shell holder. Then a regular 45 Colt seater could be used.

I had thought about this, but if I could come up with a seating die for another cartridge that would give me dead length seating for the 45 Colt, that would be my preference.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I had thought about this, but if I could come up with a seating die for another cartridge that would give me dead length seating for the 45 Colt, that would be my preference.

both dies I used worked great!

 

[Mark_Mark]

Well done, Sir!
High Roading at its finest! Keep up the good work!

thanks man, I’m not as bad as they say I am!

 

[FROGO207]

Yeah dead length is the point where all flex is out of the press and linkage and it cams over with that little bump. Unless all the parts including the die and shellholder have all the slack out the amount of length of the seater plug pushing on the bullet can vary and so can length of bullet insert.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Yeah dead length is the point where all flex is out of the press and linkage and it cams over with that little bump. Unless all the parts including the die and shellholder have all the slack out the amount of length of the seater plug pushing on the bullet can vary and so can length of bullet insert.

learn something new….

 

[Mark_Mark]

I had thought about this, but if I could come up with a seating die for another cartridge that would give me dead length seating for the 45 Colt, that would be my preference.

million dollar question???? what are you doing with .454 die on a .45 colt? what’s the project