In Case You Were Wondering

General Reloading Discussion.

Moderator: MudBug

In Case You Were Wondering

Postby fatbastard » Sun Apr 14, 2019 7:39 pm

This is the crimp a bone stock 450BM factory crimp die will put on a .45 Raptor.

Just gotta narrow those teeth a little.
Attachments
45 raptor.jpg
45 raptor.jpg (105.67 KiB) Viewed 7462 times
fatbastard
 
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2017 5:55 pm

Re: In Case You Were Wondering

Postby Hoot » Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:43 pm

You want at least half that bite width if not 2/3. I did an experiment with Wide vs Skinny width bites on a smooth sided bullet. 250 FTX and the wide bite did little to prevent pulling or tighten up the velocity SD. Narrow it to the point where there's barely any flat left and you'll stand the greatest chance of that crimp penetrating the brass sufficiently to imprint down into the bullet, which is the whole point.

Hoot
In Theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In Practice, there is.
User avatar
Hoot
 
Posts: 5083
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:34 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: In Case You Were Wondering

Postby Al in Mi » Mon Apr 15, 2019 3:50 am

that was going to be on my to do list with my Raptor this summer, move it as needed to bite into the groove of a 200gr Barnes.
User avatar
Al in Mi
 
Posts: 1982
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2009 8:24 am

Re: In Case You Were Wondering

Postby fatbastard » Mon Apr 15, 2019 5:04 pm

I haven't had the guts to try it yet Hoot but I'm getting there. I also have the 460 S&W FCD that I will cut down for the 450 BM if all goes well. If all does not go well, you will be getting mail ;).
fatbastard
 
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2017 5:55 pm

Re: In Case You Were Wondering

Postby fatbastard » Fri Apr 19, 2019 10:25 am

Update:

I took the plunge and modified both the 450 BM and 460 S&W factory crimp dies and I can't say it went as I planned but the results are satisfactory.

I only modified the teeth of the 450 BM. I cut them down to a little less than half of the original width. My plan was to leave the length alone and use this die for the .45 Raptor. Then, I cut the base off of the 460 die to use on the 450 BM and I didn't exactly take hoot's advice. No going slow, no taking my time and I used a 4" grinder with a cutoff wheel instead of a dremel. Long story short, I cut it shorter than I had planned to. I go digging around for a washer to see if that happens to move the crimp up to a better working location and I ended up in my bike parts bin. I found a set of bottom bracket spacers that measured .035 thick and I have 6 of them. Playing with the spacer combinations I discovered that I can use this die on either cartridge and put a crimp just about anywhere I would want. I even played around and crimped a .458 Lott round I had sitting on the bench.

So many possibilities.

One word of caution I have to anyone doing this. In my case, the only thing I could find to press the collet out of the die body was a 3/8" nut driver bit for an electric impact. After I cut the teeth on the collet to a certain point, I can no longer press it out of the body because the upward facing taper made by the grinding stone I used forces the teeth to bite the body when pressed. You only get one shot to cut the width of your teeth once you get past a certain point, so get them right before you re-assemble the die. I wouldn't mind cutting a little more off of mine but it's too late now.
fatbastard
 
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2017 5:55 pm

Re: In Case You Were Wondering

Postby Hoot » Fri Apr 19, 2019 10:01 pm

Had the same issue. Think about how an inertial bullet puller works. With the lock ring screwed on the main die body to support it, you can fabricate a T handle like an inertial puller uses, to support the die by the lock ring and tap that collet out by striking it on the concrete floor (what I use). It'll help if you lubed the collet outside or the main body inside before snapping the collet in.

Hoot (on the road for a while longer)
In Theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In Practice, there is.
User avatar
Hoot
 
Posts: 5083
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:34 am
Location: Minnesota


Return to Reloading

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests