Hornady 9mm seating taper crimp

[DSling]

I've finally had the time to finish my work up loads with red dot. Shooting it was fun. Now with the real work ahead of me (loading up everything). Well, I check all settings before starting and my seating and crimping die is never right. I reset it and a few rounds in it's off again. I set it for 1.125 and by the 20th round it's at 1.140. It has happened every time. What can I do too fix it?

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[jwrowland77]

Is your lock nut tightened down enough?

I'm sure someone will be by that knows for sure but it seems it backing out. I would check my lock but that tightens the die and also check the nut that tightens down the seating stem at the top.

Only things I can think of. Like I said though, I'm sure someone will be by shortly that may have a different idea as to what it is.

 

[rcmodel]

Just not enough info yet to even throw out a WAG?

1. Press brand & model?
2. Die brand?
3. Have you adjusted the seating/crimp die to the press linkage cams over / or bumps the stop at full travel??
4. Or are you relying on 'feel' when seating?

rc

 

[Conservidave]

Check your case lengths to make sure they're consistent, if they're not you're going to have a heck of a time seating and crimping in the same stroke.


Dave,

 

[DSling]

1. Hornady LnL AP
2. Hornady
3. Set to go through the full travel around to the over cam.

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[rcmodel]

Check your case lengths to make sure they're consistent,

While critical in revolver roll-crimping.

I have never found case length to matter in the least when seating & taper-crimping auto-pistol rounds.

It just doesn't matter unless you are over-crimping and squeezing the case down on the bullet before seating is completed.

For 9mm, set the taper-crimp die to make the case mouth measure .376" and Fuggedabout case length.

rc

 

[1SOW]

For 9mm, set the taper-crimp die to make the case mouth measure .376" and Fuggedabout case length.

In my LEE 9x19 dies, if the cases are lot longer or a lot shorter, the crimp will increase or decrease proportionally to case length changes. Longer cases go farther into the die and vice versa..
If the crimp adjustment is made with a short case ands et for minimum taper crimp, the rest should be fine.

With jacketted bullets it's not a biggy, but could be with thin-plated bullets.

 

[Conservidave]

"It just doesn't matter unless you are over-crimping and squeezing the case down on the bullet before seating is completed"

I rest my case.....

Kindest regards!

 

[DSling]

So I find the highest point that the plate moves. Place my shortest case on. Adjust the die to just touch it. Then lock it in place. Finally adjust the seating depth. There isn't anything to lock that part in place

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[Walkalong]

Buy a real taper crimp die. The Hornady has a crimp ledge that does not properly taper crimp for autos. It is more like a roll crimp. The crimp ledge angle is much too sharp. They use the same insert for roll crimping in the .38 Spl and .357 die set. It saves money to only make one style. It would work if carefully adjusted and 9MM brass was all the same length, but 9MM brass length varies so much you need a proper crimp die.

Buy a proper taper crimp die from Lee, RCBS, Redding, Lyman, etc, or a seater from them. You can seat/crimp, or use your Hornady to seat and the new die to crimp in a second step. Adjust the crimp die so the shortest cases get the bell removed completely, which will end up giving the long ones a bit of inward crimp, but not too much.

 

[340PD]

I taper crimp all my handgun loads, revolver and semi auto, using the taper crimp die as the separate, last stage in the process.

 

[jwrowland77]

For my 9mm, I use the Hornady roll crimp die and I seat and crimp all in the same step and they crimp just fine. All load to consistent OAL, all crimp without cutting jacket, all feed fine, and shoot great.

It's just a matter of fiddling with the crimp section of it first, then adjusting your seater until you get the OAL you want.

I also do not trim my 9mm brass but I do use same headstamp.

When I get done crimping, the top of the case measures .377.

 

[777TRUTH]

Buy a proper taper crimp die from Lee, RCBS, Redding, Lyman, etc, or a seater from them. You can seat/crimp, or use your Hornady to seat and the new die to crimp in a second step. Adjust the crimp die so the shortest cases get the bell removed completely, which will end up giving the long ones a bit of inward crimp, but not too much.

Agree with Walkalong. Crimp to .376 - .377 and you're good to go.

 

[Blue68f100]

I use a separate crimp die in station #5, w/PTX. You only want to remove the flare and that's about it. Depending on bullet base you may not need to flare at all, or just a few 1/1000's. I never trim pistol ammo that requires a TC. I do set the dies up for a med length brass and let the other ride. The less flare you can use the better off you will be.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I set it for 1.125 and by the 20th round it's at 1.140. It has happened every time. What can I do too fix it?

The first thing I would do is check to see if the seating stem in you seating dies matches the profile of the bullets your using.

Especially if they are hollow points. The round nose die will squeeze the hollow point together on the end and it will gain length from it.What bullet profile are you using?

And what brand are they? Lead, plated, or Jacketed?

Short of that, if your shell plate is coming loose you will start gaining length from deflection since the seating die is usually next to the resizing die which has the most pressure on it.

If everything is tight on the press there is no reason for your finished round to vary in OAL. My LNL-AP stays consistent to about .003"in OAL no matter what cases I run through it. Yours should to.

 

[Bovice]

I had some OAL variations when I started with my Hornady LNL.

1. Make sure your seating die locking rings are tight.
2. Make sure your shellplate center bolt is tight.
3. When you adjust your seating die, you'll need to account for some flex. Folks usually adjust the die with a single round on the shellplate and no other functions going on. This has an impact on OAL. Also, which dies you choose to run in sequence together affects OAL variation. Each die/station has a different resistance. For using an expander, powder drop, powder cop, and seating die in that order, adjust your OAL 0.005" deeper. When everything is running, you'll hit your target OAL or be very close.
4. Do your best to make each stroke of the handle as consistent as possible.

My LNL sequence is this:
First run (brass prep): Sizing/depriming die, put in fresh primer, Expander
Now my brass is primed, sized, and flared. Ready to load.

Second run (loading): Powder drop, Powder cop, seating die

Third run is just crimp.

For the taper crimp, I use Lee FCDs. These and the expander have the highest resistance. Because of this, I keep the separate runs. It takes longer but I don't care. It's like the cool down after a workout. Open another beer and keep going My OAL variation is literally +/-0.002. And that's on a "sloppy" day.

 

[Walkalong]

I do not use the FCD, so don't have to worry about it, but I do size first before loading, and as Bovice posted, getting that out of the loading equation sure smooths things out and increases uniformity in OAL. I size all the brass, then hand prime it all, then load it on the LNL.

 

[DSling]

I'm sorry for taking so long to reply (long hours at work).
I'm using FMJRN. I will try again this weekend. I think the unreliability Matt be based on how many actions I'm trying to perform at once like was said earlier.
Thank you for all your replies. I well let you know how it goes

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