Been working on setting up and testing a 2-in-1 seat/crimp die so I can put my RCBS powder lock out die back on my XL650. When I added the Mr. Bullet Feeder, I lost a station, so the lock out die went away. I have been using one for so long now, I have become used to having it cover my backside.
And yes, even with the lock out die, I still try to visually verify every charge, but it is nice to have a "second set of eyes" around for added safety.
I started with the DAA 2-in-1 die (modified Lee die), but had tons of trouble with it. I finally gave up. The crimp was horrible, more like a roll crimp than a taper crimp. I either could not get the rounds to plunk, or else the case lip started getting turned into the bullet causing a slight bulge underneath the crimp.
I then switched to a Hornady "Custom Grade New Dimension Taper Crimp Seater Die", and voila! Within about 5 minutes, I was cranking out perfectly seated and crimped rounds. This is after dicking around with the DAA die for about 3 nights, and wasting a ton of brass and bullets.
My first Hornady die ever, and I have to say, it works pretty well. I am pretty sure now that the DAA die is defective somehow, although I kept figuring that it had to be user error, right??? I tried everything, and nothing worked. I even seated with another die, and tried just adjusting the DAA die to crimp without the seating stem, and I could either never get enough crimp to plunk, or it would start curling in the rim of the case. Nothing in-between seemed to exist no matter how little I adjusted the depth at a time. It was a VERY frustrating experience. I kept at it for so long because I figured it was me...
I know there are lots of folks that don't advocate seating and crimping in one station, and then there are those that have been doing so for 500 years. I was a bit leery, and then after the disaster with the DAA die, I almost gave up. Glad I stuck with it.
I hate to not use my nice Redding Competition Seating Dies, but who knows, maybe someday I will get a Mark 7 Evolution, and have enough tool head positions to go back to separate seat and crimp stations.
So far, so good. More testing and rounds to come.
And yes, even with the lock out die, I still try to visually verify every charge, but it is nice to have a "second set of eyes" around for added safety.
I started with the DAA 2-in-1 die (modified Lee die), but had tons of trouble with it. I finally gave up. The crimp was horrible, more like a roll crimp than a taper crimp. I either could not get the rounds to plunk, or else the case lip started getting turned into the bullet causing a slight bulge underneath the crimp.
I then switched to a Hornady "Custom Grade New Dimension Taper Crimp Seater Die", and voila! Within about 5 minutes, I was cranking out perfectly seated and crimped rounds. This is after dicking around with the DAA die for about 3 nights, and wasting a ton of brass and bullets.
My first Hornady die ever, and I have to say, it works pretty well. I am pretty sure now that the DAA die is defective somehow, although I kept figuring that it had to be user error, right??? I tried everything, and nothing worked. I even seated with another die, and tried just adjusting the DAA die to crimp without the seating stem, and I could either never get enough crimp to plunk, or it would start curling in the rim of the case. Nothing in-between seemed to exist no matter how little I adjusted the depth at a time. It was a VERY frustrating experience. I kept at it for so long because I figured it was me...
I know there are lots of folks that don't advocate seating and crimping in one station, and then there are those that have been doing so for 500 years. I was a bit leery, and then after the disaster with the DAA die, I almost gave up. Glad I stuck with it.
I hate to not use my nice Redding Competition Seating Dies, but who knows, maybe someday I will get a Mark 7 Evolution, and have enough tool head positions to go back to separate seat and crimp stations.
So far, so good. More testing and rounds to come.
