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Taper or roll crimp on 45lc?


R. R. Ranger

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I’ve not loaded 45 colt in a long time. Been out of cowboy for about 8-9 years but starting back. I picked up a set of Dillion dies from a fellow shooter and was setting them up today in my 550. When I got to the crimp station I could not get a roll crimp on the case. I then noticed that the removable part that forms the crimp is for 45 acp, so just getting a taper crimp instead. Will this work? Loading 200 gr. bullets as light as I can, haven’t figured out which powder yet , still researching that. 
 

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This is in pistol. Don’t have rifle in 45…….yet.

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Get a roll crimp die.  I find cleaner brass with a firm roll crimp with light charges... plus both recoil in a handgun and tube magazines need a good crimp for the bullet to stay in place.  Probably more important in the rifle than the pistol, but...

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33 minutes ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

Since it’s for pistols, I highly recommend a smaller case like C45S. You’ll have a far more harmonious outcome with light charges. 

Yes but will have to deal with carbon ring in cylinder, a bit of a wash in my opinion, if hurts to shoot then go as light as you can and the smaller case if helpful.

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8 minutes ago, Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655 said:

Yes but will have to deal with carbon ring in cylinder, a bit of a wash in my opinion, if hurts to shoot then go as light as you can and the smaller case if helpful.

A carbon ring doesn’t become a problem until you try to load a longer cartridge. Several ways to clean it:

 

frequent use of a brass brush chucked into a drill at low rpm. 
 

flare the mouth of an empty case so it scrapes the cylinder walls. 
 

fire some black powder rounds

 

get the Slix cylinder scraper from Longhunter 

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14 minutes ago, Texas Jack Black said:

 Try Schofield cases  They work fine in my Colts and Rugers.I do not know about the Italian guns.

They worked fine in my Ubertis. 
 

Downside is I had to buy specific shell plate for my Hornady LNL progressive as the case rim is larger. C45S uses the same rim as 45 Colt and has the same volume as 45acp. 
 

 

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1 minute ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

I thought the rule of thumb was, roll crimp for revolver, taper crimp for semi-auto.  No?

Pretty much. Taper for anything that headspaces on the case mouth, which includes some revolvers that use rimless cartridges such as Vaqueros chambered for .45 acp rounds etc. 

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Some powders or loads will cause a carbon ring more than others.  I don't know what powder Black Hills uses in their 44 Russians, but after approximately 30 rounds through each cylinder hole, I could no longer chamber 44 Spcls.

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I would have to agree with some of the others here in that a firm roll crimp could be important for lighter loads, especially in a big case like 45 Colt.  If the bullet moves too quickly/easily upon detonation, it would be even more difficult to develop enough pressure for the propellant to burn properly and this could cause rather inconsistent rounds and a lot of unburnt powder.  There is also the issue of a bullet getting pushed back into the case when using a taper crimp in a tubular magazine and that can cause multiple problems with feeding/jamming and shooting the rounds.  Basically a taper crimp is simply a friction crimp and as also already mentioned is generally used in guns that headspace on the case mouth (modern semi-auto pistols, etc.).  A roll crimp actually bites down into the lead of the bullet and provides a much better grip on the bullet, which should be far more suitable for our purposes.  I'm not saying that you can't use a taper crimp and be successful, but it makes good sense not to if possible.  Personally, I use a Lee "Factory Crimp" die on all my cowboy loads and would highly recommend one here.  Good luck and good shooting to all.    

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1 hour ago, Bison Bud said:

I would have to agree with some of the others here in that a firm roll crimp could be important for lighter loads, especially in a big case like 45 Colt.  If the bullet moves too quickly/easily upon detonation, it would be even more difficult to develop enough pressure for the propellant to burn properly and this could cause rather inconsistent rounds and a lot of unburnt powder.  There is also the issue of a bullet getting pushed back into the case when using a taper crimp in a tubular magazine and that can cause multiple problems with feeding/jamming and shooting the rounds.  Basically a taper crimp is simply a friction crimp and as also already mentioned is generally used in guns that headspace on the case mouth (modern semi-auto pistols, etc.).  A roll crimp actually bites down into the lead of the bullet and provides a much better grip on the bullet, which should be far more suitable for our purposes.  I'm not saying that you can't use a taper crimp and be successful, but it makes good sense not to if possible.  Personally, I use a Lee "Factory Crimp" die on all my cowboy loads and would highly recommend one here.  Good luck and good shooting to all.    

I also use the Lee FCD and very pleased with it.

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I run medium loads in 45 colt with a good roll crimp, you never run the chance of having a bullet pushed into your case in a magazine tube and you get more consistent power burn with lighter loads especially if you run thick brass like starline, I use a RCBS cowboy die on the crimp stage and it seems to crimp very well (probably no better than any other crimp die) and I use a RCBS powder check die in the stage before that 

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Hello, neighbor.

 

Some of the folks who were shooting DA revolvers in ICORE etc. advocated a taper crimp for revolver ammo.  I bet it will be fine in revolvers given SASS velocities.  If we were loading high recoiling ammo we might have an issue with bullets walking out of cases, but we’re not.

 

I may have an extra .45 Colt seating die that would impart a roll crimp.  I will take a look next time I’m loading ammo.

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15 minutes ago, Abe E.S. Corpus SASS #87667 said:

Hello, neighbor.

 

Some of the folks who were shooting DA revolvers in ICORE etc. advocated a taper crimp for revolver ammo.  I bet it will be fine in revolvers given SASS velocities.  If we were loading high recoiling ammo we might have an issue with bullets walking out of cases, but we’re not.

 

I may have an extra .45 Colt seating die that would impart a roll crimp.  I will take a look next time I’m loading ammo.

Taper crimp are for rounds that headspace inside the chamber(.45acp). 

Not a good idea for use in tubular magazines as the bullet is likely to push back into the case, from recoil and magazine spring tension. 

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1 hour ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Taper crimp are for rounds that headspace inside the chamber(.45acp). 

Not a good idea for use in tubular magazines as the bullet is likely to push back into the case, from recoil and magazine spring tension. 

Hence my comment that the taper crimped cartridges should be fine in revolvers.

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Thanks to all. I dug through my dies and found a Lee factory crimp. After all that I wound up loading 38’s. Go figure. 

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21 hours ago, R. R. Ranger said:

This is in pistol. Don’t have rifle in 45…….yet.

 

You need one.  :rolleyes:

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