anyone seat & taper crimp 9mm with one die

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2rott

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I was wondering if anyone uses a 3 die set for straight wall taper crimp rounds, like the 9mm or 45acp, etc? I tried it for the first time last night on 45 acp with a RCBS 3 die set. I fired them this AM with no problems & satisfactory accuracy.
I load on an old turret press & anything that saves time is a plus. I would like to eliminate using 4 dies on my 9mm reloads. Everyone I speak to, & that's a lot of reloaders, say they use a separate taper crimp die. Then why do they sell 3 die sets that seat & taper crimp in one operation?
 
I have.
Only since 1962 though.

Proper case bell, case mouth chamfer, and crimp setting = No Problem.

rc
 
Proper case bell, case mouth chamfer, and crimp setting = No Problem.
Yep, lead, plated, or jacketed, makes no difference. Using a second die is easier to set up, but heck, it isn't hard with one die. There is so little seating movement going on during the crimp with a proper taper crimp on 9MM, it just doesn't matter.
 
Yes, I seat and crimp in one step. I even do it with a roll crimp and cast 357 bullets. Have had no issues.


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Sometimes. WIth jacketed bullets and a good chamfer, I rarely have to flare enough to require a taper crimp.
 
Ya know, the crimp die is a recent invention.
For well over 100 years people seated & crimped with the same die.
 
With 9mm I do both in one step. I don't flare my cases much so all I really do is flatten the flare. I do run it through Lee's FCD afterwards. It's not needed. I have had a few that gave me a bit of resistance which meant they may or Kay not have chambered without it. Not a big deal if you have a loose chamber.
 
I seat and crimp (roll!) in one step. I used to do this in two steps but with some practice I could get both consistent seating depths and a good, minimal crimp with one pull of the handle.

This is just with lead though. The few FMJ rounds that I loaded didn't need a crimp 'cuz I didn't flare them. YMMV.
 
Once I learned how to set my die in this thread, I had no trouble doing both seating and crimping in the same step. Maybe you're already familiar, but, adjust your die body (up or down) so it removes the flare/sets the taper crimp, then adjust the top seater stem to adjust bullet seating depth. If you've never done it before, use a dummy round, might take several iterations.

-S
 
I've been using a 3 die set for 9mm and every other pistol case for several decades with absolutely no need for the 4th die. The seting die will apply the taper crimp as intended.

GS
 
Thanks for all the responses. What brand 3 die sets do you use for seating & taper crimping?
Midway carries 2 single dies from RCBS. They both seat the 9mm & taper crimp, but one is $21 & the other is $33.
Does any one know the difference?
 
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I use a single stage press and have been seating and crimping with one die for 30 years - no problems with any reloads. Most of my dies are RCBS with a Redding here and a Forster there, but for pistols, they are all RCBS
 
It's how I do it (9mm) on a LNL AP -- 5 stages: 1) resize/deprime, 2) Powder Drop/expand, 3) Powder Cop, 4) bullet feeder, 5) seat/crimp.

Using Hornady dies for everything.
 
What brand 3 die sets do you use for seating & taper crimping?
Any of the three die sets will taper crimp, except the Hornady. They put a 45ish degree crimp ledge in their insets now. It isn't very good for taper crimping. Roll crimps just fine. A true taper crimp for auto calibers is a very shallow angle. It is really just there to remove the bell or perhaps .001 more on longer cases.

RCBS, Redding, Lee, take your pick.

If you want to taper crimp in a fourth step, the Lee taper crimp die is about $11.
 
The only way I have ever done it and have had zero issues, other than when I mess up the die setup that is, but that is just me being an idiot. LNL-AP using Hornady dies as well.
 
I prefer doing it in 2 steps as that is how I started out years ago. I've never had any problems so no reason to change. However, there is no reason why you cannot do it in one step.
 
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