Let me know if what I'm doing is okay 
Please.
First picture, a once-fired brass that has been cleaned and resized.
Second picture, an expanded case with 8.8-9.0gr AA#5 and a 185gr projectile that I pushed on by hand. This is how far down it goes with the amount I've expanded the mouth.
Third picture, the cartridge once the bullet has been seated (no crimp, as I backed out the die one full turn past when the shellholder kissed the die).
Fourth picture, from left to right: 'good' round, 'bad' round, cleaned once-fired, case after shooting my reload through it.
The 'good' round that I made in the pictures is 1.230" in overall length. The case is nice and straight with no noticeable buldges or deformations. The bullet is in there firmly, and I can whack the nose of the cartridge into my table with no change in COAL.
The 'bad' round is just that. BAD. It has an overall length of 1.235", and has a noticeable buckle halfway down the case. I started getting these when I first adjusted my expanding die so that the bullet would barely start in the case. This created a lot of shaving and on most cases, buckled the sides. Some worked out okay, though.
I slowly worked the expanding die until the bullet seated firmly and didn't scrap the bullet or case. You can see in the second picture how far the bullet will press down into the case by just pinching the round between my fingers. You can also see that the 'flare' created by the expanding die is virtually gone.
I shot 20-30 rounds of this stuff through my Sprindfield XD45 the other day and it performed flawlessly.
I should also add that after I fired this factory ammunition, I didn't trim it. They were all in the acceptable limits of case length, but varied slightly from eachother.
Sometimes I will still get a case buckle. It's not often, but when I do I adjust the expanding 'rod' in ever so slightly. I think it's doing the buckling because it's not expanded enough. I believe it is happening on the slightly longer cases. The bullet is being pressed down too far past the expansion?
What do you guys think? Should I attempt to set it up so I taper-crimp it slightly? Is it worth the hassle? Am I doing the right thing?
I've read a few reloading manuals, but I'm basically teaching myself the things the book doesn't cover. It makes sense that these rounds are adequate, but I'd like some opinions.
Please.First picture, a once-fired brass that has been cleaned and resized.
Second picture, an expanded case with 8.8-9.0gr AA#5 and a 185gr projectile that I pushed on by hand. This is how far down it goes with the amount I've expanded the mouth.
Third picture, the cartridge once the bullet has been seated (no crimp, as I backed out the die one full turn past when the shellholder kissed the die).
Fourth picture, from left to right: 'good' round, 'bad' round, cleaned once-fired, case after shooting my reload through it.
The 'good' round that I made in the pictures is 1.230" in overall length. The case is nice and straight with no noticeable buldges or deformations. The bullet is in there firmly, and I can whack the nose of the cartridge into my table with no change in COAL.
The 'bad' round is just that. BAD. It has an overall length of 1.235", and has a noticeable buckle halfway down the case. I started getting these when I first adjusted my expanding die so that the bullet would barely start in the case. This created a lot of shaving and on most cases, buckled the sides. Some worked out okay, though.
I slowly worked the expanding die until the bullet seated firmly and didn't scrap the bullet or case. You can see in the second picture how far the bullet will press down into the case by just pinching the round between my fingers. You can also see that the 'flare' created by the expanding die is virtually gone.
I shot 20-30 rounds of this stuff through my Sprindfield XD45 the other day and it performed flawlessly.
I should also add that after I fired this factory ammunition, I didn't trim it. They were all in the acceptable limits of case length, but varied slightly from eachother.
Sometimes I will still get a case buckle. It's not often, but when I do I adjust the expanding 'rod' in ever so slightly. I think it's doing the buckling because it's not expanded enough. I believe it is happening on the slightly longer cases. The bullet is being pressed down too far past the expansion?
What do you guys think? Should I attempt to set it up so I taper-crimp it slightly? Is it worth the hassle? Am I doing the right thing?
I've read a few reloading manuals, but I'm basically teaching myself the things the book doesn't cover. It makes sense that these rounds are adequate, but I'd like some opinions.
