"RCBS" .45 acp die set

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TrickyDick

TrickyDick

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Ok, so while I was browsing my LGS, I came across a used "3 die carbide set" for .45 acp. I opened the box up, and voila! There were 3 dies and a shell holder box. So I looked at the price, $15! So I thought to myself, I'd be stupid NOT to scoop up this deal. So I did, and away I went.

When I got home, I was looking it over, and realized the sizer was a Lee, and it came with a Lee powder through die, with an RCBS seater/crimper die. And the little shell holder box had no shell holder, but instead what looked like a small 2 piece primer holder.

For $15, I wasn't devasted. Just bummed there was no shell holder.

My question lies with the RCBS die. Idk if it's carbide or not. It has wax caked on it, so I was iffy. I'm going to drop them all into the ultrasonic tank at work this week to clean them up.

What do you all think? IMG_20170529_094621041.jpg IMG_20170529_094723871.jpg
 
Yeah the only die that is carbide/nitride/etc. in a set would be the sizing die. Is the lee sizing die carbide? Does it have the carbide ring in the bottom or is it an old turned steel die? The whole die is never carbide. It would be nowhere cost effective to manufacture for the price we would be willing to pay otherwise. That said, in the past I have lucked into some awesome deals on used dies. And other times bought assorted junk without knowing it until I got them home and really looked at the mismatched broken parts. If it had turned out to be all RCBS they would have provided the bits to make it all like new again for free though.;) On the upside if the sizing die is indeed carbide that is what the single die would cost to buy as a replacement.:) The other dies would be a bonus.

The same shellholder for the 30-06/308/300 SAV/270 family will work for the 45 ACP BTW.
 
IMG_6673.JPG IMG_6673.JPG hard to get the camera angle,but see how the mouth of the sizer die is a diff. color than the die body ? That is the carbide ring of a Lee carbide sizing die.
 
My first set of 9mm dies was a Lee set. For various reasons I added to the collection with other manufacture dies. Then one day I decided to remove the Lee decap pin and out came the collet nut, with damaged threads, which will not go back together. So If I want to use that die to decap and resize I need a new collet nut or send the die back to Lee for repair.

So rather then go into despair over a resizing die that can be replaced for less than $20.00 I found that having a 9mm resizing die without a decap pin to be a good tool for resizing primed brass with good primers that I want to use. A lot of handloaders gush over their universal decap die, never see any discussion of an equally useful non-decap resize die.
 
thomas15 wrote:
...never see any discussion of an equally useful non-decap resize die.
Click to expand...

I guess it just never comes up, but I decap with a universal decapper die as part of processing and cleaning my brass so I remove the decapper pin/stem from all of my sizing dies since it is no longer needed.
 
Ok, so the Lee die is carbide. That's a plus. But I realized upon further inspection that the powder through die is actually an expanding die without the knurled knob. IMG_20170529_113934988.jpg
 
TrickyDick wrote:
So the piece I need to buy is the funnel adapter to go into the expander/powder thru.
Click to expand...

Contact Lee's Customer Service and explain what you got and how. They will probably provide what you need at a nominal cost.
 
hdwhit said:
Contact Lee's Customer Service and explain what you got and how. They will probably provide what you need at a nominal cost.
Click to expand...
I actually just went online to their site and selected what I needed. They're going to provide the missing parts at not cost, with the exception of the shell holder. After shipping, it's only going to cost a little over $10.

So in the end, the complete die set will only be about $25. That's still a good deal, and I can't say I'm disappointed. Just a little patience will be needed, which will be fine because I still need to buy bullets, primers, powder and more shells.

This will be the first handgun caliber I've ever reloaded. If you have any good data, I'm all ears. I'll be reloading for a Springfield Govt model 1911 and a S&W shield 45.
 
mdi said:
If I were a new reloader I'd put that box of stuff in a drawer an just buy a new Lee die set. Then you'll be sure of what you have and can later assemble a die set from mis-matched dies (I have a few dies see that contain dies from several different manufacturers; Lee with RCBS. RCBS with Herters. ??? with Redding, etc.)...
Click to expand...

I'm not entirely new, I've been doing it for about 4 years. I'm no expert by any means, but I'm aware of what I have now. I do like the RCBS seater/crimper die. At some point, when I can afford it, I'd like to do IDPA, but I don't think my single stage and my procrastination could keep up with demand.
 
TrickyDick said:
At some point, when I can afford it, I'd like to do IDPA, but I don't think my single stage and my procrastination could keep up with demand.
Click to expand...
I wasn't aware you needed a progressive press to shoot IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association). A single stage press will do just fine, you do not need a Dillon 650. I have progressive presses and the best stuff I load is off an old, very old RCBS RockChucker. How many rounds do you figure you need for an IDPA shoot?

As to .45 ACP dies? If the dies are in their original box just google the part number. That way you will know what was originally in the box.
TrickyDick said:
This will be the first handgun caliber I've ever reloaded. If you have any good data, I'm all ears. I'll be reloading for a Springfield Govt model 1911 and a S&W shield 45.
Click to expand...
The .45 ACP is likely the most loaded semi- automatic handgun cartridge. I load mostly Unique under a 230 grain FMJ RN bullet as well as LRN RN bullets for general shooting. Find a load which cycles the gun but doesn't beat the gun.

Ron
 
One way to reload a bunch of ammo without it feeling overwhelming is batch loading. I batch load all my ammo and it doesn't seem like much work; I'll size/deprime and flare a bunch of brass at one sitting, then next session I'll prime them (sometimes I'll flare and prime during the same session). Then after I decide on components all I have to do is charge with powder and seat/crimp. I keep some primed and ready brass for most of my reloaded ammo in jugs ready to quickly finish off. I'm using a Co-Ax, which is a damn slick single stage...:cool:
 
mdi said:
One way to reload a bunch of ammo without it feeling overwhelming is batch loading. I batch load all my ammo and it doesn't seem like much work; I'll size/deprime and flare a bunch of brass at one sitting, then next session I'll prime them (sometimes I'll flare and prime during the same session). Then after I decide on components all I have to do is charge with powder and seat/crimp. I keep some primed and ready brass for most of my reloaded ammo in jugs ready to quickly finish off. I'm using a Co-Ax, which is a damn slick single stage...:cool:
Click to expand...
I also do it in batches. Right now, my brass just needs to be primed, powdered and bullets seated. The problem is the time lapse in between stages.
 
hdwhit said:
I guess it just never comes up, but I decap with a universal decapper die as part of processing and cleaning my brass so I remove the decapper pin/stem from all of my sizing dies since it is no longer needed.
Click to expand...

I do the same thing. Dirty brass goes in FA wet tumbler with no pins for 1 hour, just to get gunk off. Then decapped, and then the full 3 hour treatment with pins. Then remove decapper and use sizer to size and prime. Primed sized brass is ready to go. Sometimes I do it on turret press, but if a large batch of 5.56/.223 I will set up the single stage to decap. Then sized and primed, trimmed with WFT, and ready to load.

Russellc
 
Same here. I'll load maybe 100 then the next evening another hundred. During the winters I clean brass and do basic brass prep. I was once given a book about procrastination. Thinking that was about 40 years ago and have yet to read it.

Ron
 
TrickyDick said:
The single stage press isn't really the issue, it's my procrastination that wouldn't keep up.
Click to expand...

No matter how good of a marksmen you are when you start competitions prepare to be humbled. Everyone who is now first spent a lot of time not being first.

So, I guess what I'm saying is like if you shoot your first IDPA match and yet get your score and record it then the next match you will probably do a little better. You will continue to make improvements up to a point. If you are happy at that point, all is well with the world. If you are not happy at that point, there is really only 1 way to make yourself happy and that is practice.

Your practice will is what will take you from the scores that you can obtain naturally to your potential. For the first two years of steel my scores improved on average but not to the point of happiness. So I decided to dig in and on January 1 of this year I started what I would call a semi-serious practice routine. I dry fire and do more live fire and my live fire routine is a bit more planned out to practice specific trouble areas.

So all that to say is if you want to compete and if you want to see improvement you will absolutely need a bunker crop of ammo that you trust, is reliable and accurate. On a single stage press you can load on average 50-100 rounds/hour. You might get 150 rounds on a turret press on a good day but with a progressive press you can, in approx. 2 hours time, load up a months worth of ammo for plenty of practice and matches. This is why there is a market for such presses.

I'm almost to the point where being able to churn out 500 rounds per hour on my progressive press is too slow. I have single sage turret presses and I cannot imagine having to put in the time they require to keep the supply of ammo flowing.
 
So I took the die set to work, disassembled them, and had them soak in the ultrasonic tank. Afterwards, I dried them with the air nozzle, then saturated them with WD-40.
I wiped the excess lubricant off, and now they're like new.

All that is left to do is order the remaining parts for about $10...... And all the components.
 
I have always gotten good customer service from Lee, glad to here they would at least send you some of the stuff you need for free.
I like AA#2 and HP38/Win231 (HP38 and W231 are the same powder) for .45. AA#2 meters great, HP38 meters good.
Both are cleaner than Bullseye but lots of people swear by Bullseye in .45.
I Like the RMR 230gr round nose plated. RMR offers THR members a 5% discount with the code. (PM me if you need it) and shipping is included in their prices.
Great people to do business with.
 
hdwhit said:
I guess it just never comes up, but I decap with a universal decapper die as part of processing and cleaning my brass so I remove the decapper pin/stem from all of my sizing dies since it is no longer needed.
Click to expand...
Same here. As mentioned earlier, I can also resize brass that is already primed. I don't have to do it often, though.
 
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