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Is anyone else having problems with Magtech .45 acp brass.My problem is,that I canīt get enough neck tension to hold bullet in place.This only happens with Magtech brass,everything else works fine.My reloading dies are Hornady titanium nitride dies,and these dies load also .45 win mag .45 auto rim and .45 colt.Sizer ring measures .471" inside diameter.What are other brands of sizer dies measuring?Could it be,that die meant to load several calibers,isnīt sizing case enough?
Kaj
The first thing I would suspect is that the brass is too thin in the neck. Compare it with a case that doesn't have the problem. I seriously doubt that it is the dies in view of the fact that they have loaded other rounds in different brass without problems. I have never used Magtech brass, but have encountered similar problems with cheap European shoot-em-ups (I think it was S&B) in 9mm and 38spec. The .38 was cured with a heavy crimp, but that isn't an option with an auto pistol case. I threw away the 9mm's and tossed the .38's after two loadings due to neck splits.
Welcome to the guide KTN!!!
Versifier,
Magtech brass is thinner than other brands.Difference isn´t big,but it´s just enough to cause this problem.I´m trying to find a way to reload these cases,as I have quite big pile of them.So,is there "small base" sizer dies for .45 acp?Other end of case wall thickness is Fiocchi brass,those cases are so thick,that reloaded ammo doesn´t fit to my guns chamber.You are right about S&B cases,they aren´t worth reloading,they used to be,but not anymore.
Toney,thanks.
Kaj
Hi KTN
How do your bullets compare to your sized cases?
Maybe by just flaring the brass without expanding it you would have enough tension.... if it works, buy a used expanding die and reduce it's diameter with sandpaper (or just a new expander for your die).
http://www.leeprecision.com/graphics...pandingdie.jpg That's LEE's universal expander which apparently only flares cases (I'm not sure it works for short pistol cases www.leeprecision.com).
I once kind of solved that problem by shooting unsized bullets.
From my experience, these Hdy dies were very (too) tight when they came out around 1988; a friend bought a bunch and all calibers had a "bottle of coke" look once the bullet was in... LEE carbide dies are made for thick brass.
kg
Maybe a Lee factory crimp will do it.
Today I found a few MT .45ACP cases in with a bunch of range brass that I hadn't gotten around to playing with, and I will see if I can make them work within the next few days and report back on it. I don't have a FC die, but I do have a Lee 3die carbide set. I'll have to cast up some boolits for them, too.
What kind of pistol are they being shot in? kg42 has an excellent point - What is the outside and inside diameters of the fired cases before sizing, and what is the ID after sizing. (How big a boolit will the fired case take before sizing?) Are you shooting jacketed or cast? If cast, it might just be easier to size the boolits a little bigger for these particular cases. If you're loading jacketed bullets, then the collet of the Factory Crimp Die would make the most sense. A heavy roll crimp on an ACP case would cause more problems than it would solve.
I dug out the brass. It's in a MagTech box and has a "CBC" headstamp. Same stuff that you have?
KG42 and versifier,thank you for your answers.
I just measured some sized cases and W-W brass measures .443-445" ID,Magtech brass .451-.455" ID.I only use cast boolits in .45 acp sized .452" as this is what my mold drops them.I did try loading with heavy taper crimp,but it was no help.My pistol is Norinco 1911.CBC headstamped cases are same as mine.Thanks again,for all your trouble.
Kaj
When I was shooting a lot of IPSC matches, I learned that there were certain kinds of brass that was just too thin to work well (lacked sufficient neck tension). I discovered that military brass was a lot thicker and that solved my problem. So, I switched to all military brass.
Lack of sufficient neck tension can be a safety issue. Bullets deep seating as they are chambered reduce the case capacity markedly and raise pressures a BUNCH! I have seen cases blow out, ruin a magazine and crack grips (splinters in the hand are not much fun, either).
I am a great believer in good neck tension both for reliability AND for safety.
Dale53
Yikes... MagTech is now the only source for 25 ACP brass since Winchester discontinued it. It seems the brass is now being used as a reloadable cap for muzzleloaders and MagTech has picked up the slack in production. These are a bi*ch to reload to begin with and I hope I don't see this problem. These are sitting on my bench waiting to go but I'm waiting for a shipment of bullets.
I have only had this problem with Magtech .45 acp brass.Magtech 9x19 and .40 s&w brass works fine.Magtech .357 mag brass is also thin,but it´s no problem with revolvers.Most of the range brass I can find is Magtech,and I sure would like to be able to reload it.I have been shooting .45 acp for 11 years and during that time have only bought 300 rounds of factory ammo (200 of those steelcased Wolf ammo) but at the same time have bought several thousand brass cases.
Kaj
Hi Kaj,
I just got in from the shop. I did some sizing and measuring and this is what I found. First I sized the Magtech brass in my Lee carbide sizer, then I checked it with a .451 cast boolit. There was plenty of neck tension and no problems. Then I dug into my stash of range brass and got out the calipers to measure the actual thickness of the brass at the necks. This is what I found:
Military case .014"
Fed +P case .014"
Fed case .012"
Magtech case .012"
R/P case .012"
Rem/UMC case .011"
Rather than discovering answers, I only found questions. :confused: So, I sized one of each and checked them all with the .451 boolit. There was no problem with any, including the thinnest Rem/UMC case. While I do not personally own a set, I have never heard of anyone with a complaint about Hornady dies, presses, or other tools. (I am not and never have been a big fan of their bullets, but the issue there is one of accuracy relative to Sierra's in my rifles). I don't know if your problem is the dies, or if you just got a bad lot of brass. See if your thickness figure agrees with mine. If it does, I think you're going to have to try another set of dies to be sure. Is there another reloader near you so you can borrow his set? I'd say come on over, but it would be a hell of a long drive for you, and some of it would be pretty wet going...:mrgreen:
Thanks again,Versifier.
I measured some Magtech case necks and they came 0.007"-0.008" :(.
Looks like my brass is bad.Iīm going to check some other brands of sizer dies,and if that wonīt help,I will make my own small base sizer die.One way or the other,I will load these cases :twisted: .I did visit US in -97,but it was just two weeks.I came to US with one small suitcase,and I left with two BIG suitcases full of reloading stuff :mrgreen: .
Kaj
KTN,
I've got to add to Dale's post...
My dies are from LEE and they have successfully reloaded even the very thin HP (Hirtenberger) brass as well as CBC and S&B; sorry I am without a calliper at the time and cannot measure much.
However, with several combinations of components and OAL, it was obvious that the neck tension wasn't enough to keep the bullet in place when the cartridge hit the feed ramp.
It is very easy to extract a cartridge which cycled normally through the gun at the range, and check its OAL. Sometimes you just need your eyes to see the bullet was kicked back in the case...
This hasn't stopped me from shooting 452 lead bullets in thin brass, as long as accuracy doesn't suffer, but only with target loads... the bullets would bottom in the expanded part of the case at worse.
Keep heavy loads for brass which can keep a firm hold on their bullets. I know you are caught between the brass problem and a very tight Norinco (mine is...).
I ditched Remington and IMI brass in 44 because it was too thin for my dies; it seems that your Magtech was picked at the range so don't loose sleep over it... (I know it hurts more when the stuff was free... :mrgreen:)
kg