In this forum, questions have been asked about the Lee .45 Taper Crimp die: Would it work
for loading the 450B? Does it differ from the Hornady taper crimp die that comes with the
450 Bushmaster die set? In October 2010 I wrote that I would try to compare the two dies.
Short answer: The Lee die and the Hornady dies produce different taper crimps, and operate
differently.
The die is Lee #90785. I've attached a photo of it below, taken from the midwayusa.com
web site (where I ordered mine). It's a 1-piece die like the Hornady die. Lee says
it is suited for the 45 aCP, 45 Auto Rim, 45 Schofield, 455 Webley Mark II, and the 45
Win Mag.
I used this die and the Hornady die in trials, crimping Sierra #8830 300-grain jacketed soft flat
point "sportsmaster" bullets, nominally .4515 dia, into new unfired Hornady cases. When I measured
the bullets, they were 0.4505 diameter uniformly from the crimp to the base. The bullet base was
0.4510 diameter. (All measurements are in inches; apologies to the metrically inclined.)
With the bullet seated to the crimp groove, the outside diameter of the case at the mouth was
about 0.478. The Lee die crimped the case to 0.4760 dia. as far down the case as the die could
be pushed. The measurements were uniform along the length of the bullet in the case.
Pulling the bullet took a half-dozen raps with my "kinetic puller". The bullet did not seem
deformed by the crimping, and was the same 0.4505 diameter from base to crimp groove.
The Hornady crimp die acts differently. If the same bullet is loading in in a new case and
run up into the Hornady crimp die, mouth diameter of the loaded round will vary depending
on how far it's run into the die. Starting at 0.478, further insertion decreases mouth
diameter. If run into the die as far as the shell holder permits, mouth diameter can be
0.456 inhes .
This is a whole lotta crimp. It's well under SAAMI minimum mouth diameter for the
450B, and it distorts the bullet considerably.
So, the Lee die applies a uniform, firm crimp, the full length of the bullet. The Hornady
die can apply a variable crimp.
At least for a while, I expect to use the Lee die routinely. If something comes up to
change this, I'll come back to this thread.
A couple of notes on Lee #90785:
It's not a collet crimping die like the 45-70 die (Lee #90856) that can be modified for
applying a 450B side crimp.
It differs also from Lee die #90786 for the 45 Colt/454 Casull. Lee describes it as a
"taper" crimp die. #90786 is really a roll crimp die, according to information
Wildcatter received from Lee (link below).
The initial thread that introduced the Lee die question in April 2010:
http://450bushmaster.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=600
This is the thread with Wildcatter's report of his conversation with Lee.
Some further discussion of the problem from October 2010:
http://450bushmaster.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=746
I don't know how Lee #90785 differs from the Lee Carbide Crimp die for the 45 ACP, #90864.
--Bob