Seating bullet in 45acp

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Toolfreak

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I normally use Speer 230gr CPRN for my 45 and seat them for a OAL around 1.25 and they pass he plunk test easily. The other day I loaded some cartridges with Bayou Bullet 230gr HiTek bullet and they did not pass the plunk test and I realized the ogive is different than the CPRN's and they needed to be seated deeper. I cant push them deeper without causing issues with the lead so here is my question. Can I pull out the depriming pin and resize them and then try to seat them and recrimp because I really dont want to pull them all apart.
Thanks,
Mike
 
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If they are crimped such that you cannot push the bullet deeper as they are, it seems unlikely that putting them through a sizer die will help sine it will do nothing to remove the crimp already there.

How about determining the new required length and then conducting tests with the new length working up the load as usual, seeing if you can match that already loaded without pressure problems. You may find the new length can use the same powder charge without pressure problems,

If so, you can push the bullets back to the new length and be ready to go - if the existing crimp allows. If the existing crimp will not allow pushing the bullets deeper, you may have to pull them to flare the cases.
 
You should absolutely be able to seat them a little deeper with your seating die, without damage to the coating/lead. Have you tried it yet, and had a problem?

Makes no sense to put a loaded round back in a sizing die. With, or without a recapping pin, don't do that, you've got a bullet already in the case. Just set your seating die a little lower and press it down in there a little deeper. Also, you don't need to set a heavy crimp on the .45acp. Does more harm than good.

Do you have a good reloading book to review the function of the various dies?

Good luck
 
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Not after he has taper crimped them. That would guarantee shaving lead off the bullet and make proper cartridge seating in the chamber impossible.

Don't try sizing the finished cartridges. You may achieve your goal but the soft bullet will swage down, and the brass case will spring back a bit. Now your bullets are loose in the Cases -- not enough tension -- and prone to bullet setback. This will cause feeding jams and likely excessive chamber pressures.
 
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Are you sure it's the seating length? It could be that the Bayou's are fatter than the Speer's and are expanding the brass case making it too thick to chamber. I use Lee, Factory Crimp Dies and have had great success. They size the finished cartridge during the taper crimp process. They work great with 45acp and 9mm.

Edit to add: Don't try and resize a loaded round in your resizer. If something goes wrong, it will turn into a small hand grenade. The Lee sizer/crimper has a light weight aluminum stem and vents out of the top so that in the unlikely event that you have a detonation, the force will be directed up and away from you.
 
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Measure the Bayou and see if it measures .453". I ended up resizing my Bayou's to .451" so they plunk in my 1911. The 453" Bayou's work OK in my 625 but not in my 1911.
I'm shooting USPSA, so a malfunction shows up more on the move rather than just standing there shooting slow at the firing line.
I went through bullet lengths, changing crimps ect. Check the bullet diameter.
 
I found the above problem by buying another brand of HiTek coated 45 bullets and plunk testing them. They were perfect. That's when I checked the sizing of the Bayou bullet.
 
As Nevada Ed stated:
always make dummy loads first and I'll add that several are prudent to make sure they cycle properly.

I keep one for making the seater setup quicker.

Not long ago I pulled the dummies, that were made over many decades, but kept one of each.
After many hours with the inertia bullet puller it was Lee Loader deja vu. :D
 
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Bud, you forgot your ABC's of reloading, bullet profile dictates seating depth, NOT published data/manuals, as ALL bullets are different. You can thank me later.
 
Could be the bullet's ogive is significantly different, but bullet diameter can play a huge role as well, especially when the chamber is on the tight side of SAAMI specifications.
 
The bullets shape and the seater's shape are another consideration if the nose isn't flat.

And, if the nose is flat and wider than the seater's flat area, face recessed a bit, the rim may need to be removed.
That occurred with 460 bullets when I started loading that caliber.
The mill took it off so it doesn't distort the bullet and depth is consistent.
 
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Sizing: brass springs back a little. Lead doesn't.
A taper crimp need not have the mouth of the case even touch the bullet, much less dig into bullet. Often if taper crimp digs into bullet, the length of case actually holding the bullet will bulge out.
Make a dummy round and see if it feeds and chambers.
Hope you aren't using your jacketed data for lead bullet--need to rework load for safety.
When loading new bullet, load a couple inert dummy rounds and verify feeding and chambering before actually loading.
 
First of all ... make sure it is the Length that is the problem .

I have a tight chambered 45 acp that will accept no ammo loaded with .452" cast bullets ... If I size the same bullet .451"...it drops in .
Cast and coated bullets are larger in diameter than Jacketed (.451")

Once you determine if the problem is Length or diameter ...then you can fix it .
Length - go ahead and seat the bullets deeper untill they plunk ...they are taper crimped so will not dig into bullet ...very much and even if they do , if a little coating gets shaved ...Oh Well , no big deal and pulling them all will probably do more damage to the coating than simply seating deeper .

Diameter - when my 45 acp wouldn't chamber .452" loaded bullets ... I removed the decapping pin and ran the round into the case sizing die just enough ( not all the way) so the round would chamber (plunk) ...This is not dangerous .
set your die at that depth and do the other 49 !

No mater what you do , seat deeper or size bullet down in case ...
Apply a new Taper Crimp to all .

I don't enjoy pulling bullets either and these "workarounds" solve the problem without having to pull em' !
I have used these "fixes" and they work well .
Gary
 
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The Speer load data for a 230gr RN is tested at 1.260": as such your OAL shouldn't be "too long"...

If it is not length, then it must be...?

Time to try a LEE FCD perhaps?

Cheers!
 
Just seat them shorter. This a common problem when loading roundnose cast for the first time. In the future, consider a different bullet profile (swc, etc.)

The taper crimp should not shave the bullet when you seat them. If it does then you're over-crimping.

Regarding plunk testing - make sure you hear the sound of brass on steel, not lead on steel. Easy to miss. The cartridge headspaces on the casemouth.
 
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Pull the bullets, remove the depriming pin, resize the case, expand the case mouth, reseat the bullets, crimp case to .470. Are you sizing and crimping in two separate operations? If not you should be.
 
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