Help With Redding Profile Crimp Die

[moosensquirrel]

A friend lent me his Redding Profile crimp die for me to try on some .223 so I could seat and crimp in two steps rather than one. Even though the trim lengths are 1.750 +/- .002 at the most, I was getting occasional bulges at the shoulder trying to seat and crimp at the same time. I have been reloading for 40 years, but never bothered to load .223 (mixed head-stamp, but fired 1x by me over the last 30 years or so) and have never had this happen in any other caliber.

Can anyone explain the method for adjusting the Redding Profile Trim die. Is .002 +/- too much tolerance?

Thanks, Moose

 

[Greybeard]

I might just be me, but I found that Redding dies are a little tighter than most. I prefer seating the bullet then crimping in two separate operations. I have done both (seating and crimping) in one op. It sound like you are crimping then seating the bullet (because of the bulge).

Back your die out, and keep your bullet depth the same, once you have a good depth on the bullet slowly turn your die in while backing your depth out.

it’s a little tricky but it is doable. Or, you can set a good bullet depth with a good shell, then slow drop the die down creating the crimp. Remember one adjustment affects the other. Hope this helps.

 

[moosensquirrel]

Thanks: All these years and it has only happened this week and only with .223. Could it be that some brass is softer than others (I have a mix) and the friction of seating collapses the case? Except that I have time on my hands (to hot to work outdoors after dinner), and a lot of projectiles, brass, powder, primers, etc., I would not bother loading it except for my bolt rifle.

Regardless, I am going to finish these up whether it makes sense or not, they are just for plinking. So, I followed the instructions in the Redding video, but cannot tell a crimped from an un-crimped round??

I am waiting on a Lee Factory Crimp die which I use on all my pistol rounds and is easy to adjust and see the difference: It will not ship for another two weeks, so I will truck along with this one in the mean time.

 

[Greybeard]

S/B is a little harder than say Winchester. Might want to make sure you are sizing correctly/expanding for the bullet. If it happens on select brass, it could be thicker necks causing the bullet to run a little short.
Should be able to run your finger on the top of brass after crimping and feel just a little difference. Remember strong crimps would likely increase pressure also.