Hornady LNL & crimp die issue

[mohunter55]

Hello,

I am using a hornady lock n load Here is my setup: EGW (Lee) Undersize resizing die, ptx powder funnel, Hornady powder cop, rcbs seating die, lee taper crimp die(this is not the factory crimp die). I am using this exact same setup for 9mm, 40 s&w, and 45 acp.

****My issue is that when i have a bullet under the crimp die and the seating die, my seating die does not seat as deep as if i would have had no round under the crimp die. I would say it makes the round somewhere around .005 longer. if i am crimping one round and seating another at the same time. Has anyone else ran in to this issue and is there a way around it? I can make the seater seat deeper, but then if i run a solo round though the press, it ends up .005 deeper.

 

[Walkalong]

That is normal.

When seating and crimping in separate steps in stations 4 & 5, the first round through getting seated before there is a round being crimped in the 5th station will be a bit longer. I see differences of .001 to .005, depending on how much crimp (resistance) is being applied. All the rest will be consistent as long as there is a round being crimped while another is being seated, including the last one.

 

[Glock20]

+ 1 on Walkalong's reply. There is a lot happening on a 5 station progressive (a lot of force and a lot of resistance) and it generally takes me 3 or 4 rounds initially adjusting the bullet seater just a tad each time until the OAL is what I'm looking for.

A micrometer on the seating stem makes this a simple process.

 

[noylj]

Are we sweating the small stuff?

Are you using any expander? The powder funnels I have seen just bell the case mouth and do not expand the case I.D.
I may not be as good at reloading as others, because I have never found the COL (OAL) to be tighter than about 0.010" on average and I have never seen any problems with it. I have tried sorting by COL, but have not seen any effect on accuracy. There are also so many variables to the nose of a cast bullet and the ogive or shoulder where the bullet seating contacts the bullet, that I can not see how you can get any more consistent COL unless you machine each bullet nose and ogive and use a dead-length bullet seating technique, which in not a good idea with a progressive press.

 

[mohunter55]

the expander i am using is the one sold through powderfunnels.com. The issue is 100% involving the taper crimp die & the seating die. No other dies affect the OAL. I guess from what others have said, this is normal, its really a non issue once i get going, its just those first few rounds tend to be a little longer until i get the seater adjusted, and then every now and then i have a round that is a little shorter when i pull a round to do a powder weight check. I will just get used to this especially now that i know i'm not doing anything wrong.


thanks everyone for the replys

 

[rcmodel]

Heres a tip.

Throw away the stupid Slip-O-Matic O-Ring nut on your Lee taper crimp seating die and replace it with a real die lock nut with a lock screw.

Once you get it set right the first time, you won't have to fool with it again unless you change bullet design.

rc