Okay, I've been keeping a dirty dark secret.
As many know, I got a new Hornady progressive press at Christmas. I've loaded, 9mm, .38Spl, .40S&W, .44Spl, .223 and .357Mag. But only recently have I tried to load .45ACP. (I had a big stock that I've just got around to shooting.)
Anyway, I ran into a problem. The bullets weren't "holding" in the case. I mean I had bought brand new Hornady dies AND I was using the Lee Factory Crimp die as well. About 5 out of every 100 were loose. Double checked the die settings. Screwed in the seating/crimping die until it crushed the case then backed off a 1/2 turn. Nada. Still a problem
Measured the cases...nope not any big difference I was using range brass but brand didn't seem to matter.
Measured the bullet....nope, not that either...all same size.
Checked the internet for help.....nada there too.
I put that aside last week as I needed to stock up on .357mag and 9mm. Sometimes letting a problem season will help you see more clearly where the problem lies.
So this morning, while putting something away on my storage shelves I noticed the Hornady box that those BRAND NEW dies came in. It said......
.45 COLTDUH! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Grabbed the manual and sure enough there's a case mouth delta of 7mils between .45 ACP and .45Colt. Plus of course the ACP round wasn't getting fully inserted into the longer .45Colt die.
How stupid. Did I order the wrong die? Or did they send the wrong one? I'll check......<tick tock> Crap I picked this one up myself at BPS. How stupid. At least the mystery of the loose bullets is solved.
ANYWAY: MORAL OF STORY: READ THE FRIGGING MANUAL (and labels)
Now the quandary: I had written off obtaining a .45LC pistol as a luxury.....but that I own a set of dies and 20 pieces of brass I picked up on the range......
??