Hornady Lock N Load Seating/Crimp Die Help

[Narwhal]

Hi,

I have a Lock N Load AP progressive press. I have everything working good, (the resizing/de priming, priming, mouth flare, powder measure) except for the seating/crimp die.

In fact, it does not seem to be crimping at all. When I go to measure the OAL of my rounds with the calipers, the bullet just gets knocked back into the case right onto the powder by the pressure of the calipers.

This is the 3 die set I have



Do I need an extra die? What do I need to do to get this thing to crimp? Can anyone go over and detail how to setup the seating die? Thanks!

I'm reloading 40 S&W using federal nickel plated brass, CCI small pistol primers, and 3.7 gr of clays with a Hornady XTP jhp 155gr bullet.

 

[Walkalong]

Neck tension should hold the bullet. The crimp is to remove the bell.

If you do not have enough neck tension to hold the bullets tight, your sizer is too big, your expander is too big, or some both.

 

[pcwirepro]

You need to get the die set farther down into the press. This is a Lee video but it still applies: http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/videos/Bullet%20seating%20die%20adjustment-1.wmv

Only flare the case enough to get the bullet started no more. I use minimum flare. Start with a factory round to get the die adjusted down as far as it will go. 1/2-1 turn more for max crimp and go from there. Get the crimp figured out with the seating stem all the way out then dial in the seating depth.

 

[HPFlashman]

Late to the party, but I experienced the same symptoms Narwhal describes, when trying to adjust my 20 year old, well worn Lee .38/357 set on my LnL.

The problem as I found it on that particular set, was that the treaded section on the die, combined with the Lee "big" counter screw was not long enough to adjust the seaterdie far enough down to get it crimped, I ran out of treads for the counter screw to hang onto, before the die was adjusted low enough in the holder to crimp.

I had another set from a competitor that came in with a swap, that saved the day, at first I had just thought about scrounging the locking screw, that was considerable thinner but a side by side comparison showed that the treaded section on the other dies was considerable longer and using that set gave me the needed adjustments.

This is not meant to entice anything in the Lee discussion - I`m a happy Lee user and have loaded thousands of cartrigdes with Lee kit, but in this combo there was better solutions.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[jbrown13]

Neck tension should hold the bullet. The crimp is to remove the bell.

If you do not have enough neck tension to hold the bullets tight, your sizer is too big, your expander is too big, or some both.

Walkalong has given you good info. Try inserting a bullet into a sized case without a flare/bell on the brass. If the bullet goes in easily your sizing die is not sizing the brass small enough for the bullet you are using. You might want to check and make sure your bullets are the right diameter. If it doesn't go in easily chances are you are flaring too much. Typically the crimp on semi-auto rounds that headspace off the case mouth (i.e. 40 S&W) is simply removing the flare/bell. The case tension should be enough to secure the bullet without removing the flare/bell. The pictures you posted look like Hornady dies, but you didn't say what die manufacturer you are using.

Somebody else might be able to clear this up, but I seem to remember in the back of my head hearing that Hornady seating dies have a roll crimp built in, as opposed to a taper crimp, even on the semi-auto dies. Too much roll crimp may be contributing to your issue. If that is the case you might find it easier to crimp in a separate die. My mind is old and I could be hallucinating about this, and I didn't check.

 

[Steve C]

Couple things to check:

1. Make sure your resizing die is set to completely re size your case. The sizing die normally sizes smaller than able to accept the bullet and the expander and case mouth belling plug sizes the case to the correct ID.

2. Make sure your bullet is the correct size, ie. .357 or .358 for 38 spl/257 mag and you did not get .355" diameter bullets for 9mm for example. Mic the bullets to make sure. if they're cast or plated bullets. I've never heard of Speer, Hornady or Sierra make a mistake in sizing but I've heard about others doing so.

3. Adjust the seating/crimp die correctly to apply crimp.

4. You didn't specify caliber, bullet type, brand of bullet and case. I've ran into some foreign cases that where so thin that you couldn't get any neck tension at all. Remington is some of the thinnest US made brass but I've never had an issue with it.

 

[Mr. Dark]

If you go to the Hornady website and go to the media section there is a video of how to properly set your dies in the LNL press.

 

[Turn Key]

Lee

Try "Lee Dies" next time.

They are the cat's ass.

TK

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

My experience with Hornady pistol dies has been very good, but the crimp setting on the seating die is really touchy for taper crimped cartridges. Separate taper crimp dies are less touchy, but unless you have a progressive press with an available station, separately crimping takes an additional trip through the press.

My experience has not been so good with Lee dies, except those that have collets: rifle neck sizing dies and factory crimp dies for rifle and bottleneck pistol cartridges.

Once you have a cartridge with the seating depth right, you can use it to adjust the crimp on the seating die. Screw the seating plug/stem out quite a bit. Advance the seated cartridge all the way into the die (to the top of the ram travel. Then start screwing the whole die body into the press until you feel it contact the cartridge. Now, screw the die in a little at a time, take the cartridge out and check it (either in a chamber gauge, or in the barrel of the gun it will be fired in) to see if it chambers easily (on a taper crimp, you just want to remove the case mouth bell enough to get it to chamber reliably). Once you get the crimp set, tighten the lock ring in place. Now screw the seating plug/stem into the die until it contacts the bullet. You're done.

Andy

 

[noylj]

What this thread is saying is that we need more information to help.
Hornady makes GREAT dies. Hornady, Lee, RCBS, Redding and all the others can make a mistake.
Do check your bullet diameter to be sure it is correct. Can't do anything if you have the wrong bullets.
First of all, all die set-up should be done with one or two inert (no primer or powder) dummies so you can check things without worrying about putting a loaded round in your barrel.
Can you slide a bullet into a sized unprimed case? If so, then the Titanium Nitride insert is oversized and you need to return it to Hornady.
Are you using the Hornady expander die? You need to screw the die down until there is just enough case mouth flare/belling to allow the bullet to sit on the case mouth and seat without contacting the case mouth.
If so, can you slide a bullet into a sized and expanded unprimed case?
If so, then the expander die plug is too large and needs to be returned to Hornady.
The expanded case needs to be 0.001" or less than bullet diameter.
Go to Hornady.com and watch the videos.
Let us know the answers to our questions and we should be able to help.

 

[Walkalong]

The problem as I found it on that particular set, was that the treaded section on the die, combined with the Lee "big" counter screw was not long enough to adjust the seaterdie far enough down to get it crimped, I ran out of treads for the counter screw to hang onto, before the die was adjusted low enough in the holder to crimp.

I have had the same problem with a couple of older dies (not just Lee), but I have been able to make them work.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=468796

I wonder if Narwhal solved the problem? It's been over 3 months.

 

[rfwobbly]

I wonder if Narwhal solved the problem? It's been over 3 months.

Nice to know you're appreciated.

 

[Randy1911]

I had this same problem with my Hornady 40 S&W die set so I called Hornady. Their answer. The sliding bullet collar in the seating die has a roll crimp. They said that it was necessary because of the way it works. The best thing to do is get a taper crimp die to solve this problem. Personally, I just started buying RCBS diess for pistol calibers and had no more problems. I still love their rifle dies though.