Load 45Colt or 45WinMags with 45acp dies?

[JGorski]

Tell me you can't do this and the other way around? Did a search and can't believe how many retards are out there, all you need is a different shellholder.

 

[Pinecone]

.45 LC is a .480 case diameter. Shoots a .454 cast bullet, .452 jacketed.

.45 ACP is .473 at the mouth and .476 at the base. Shoots a .452 cast, .451 jacketed.

.45 WinMag is a longer .45 ACP case, same dimensions.

Can you do it? Sure, you CAN do lots of things. Should you cross .45 ACP/.45WinMag dies with .45LC? Probably not. .45 ACP and .45 WinMag look entirely doable, as long as the die has sufficient length (.45 ACP die may be too short depending on the die).

 

[JGorski]

So using 45acp dies would work a little better than the other way around.

 

[ksthomas]

If you have dedicated 45 Win Mag dies, then no, you wouldn't be able to crimp the ACP cases. Just as you couldn't crimp 38 Special cases with dedicated 357 Mag dies. Should do just fine reloading the Win Mag using ACP dies, just by backing the dies up a bit to proper height for crimping, seating, etc.. Anymore, I'm not even sure anyone makes dedicated dies like this, as they're generally advertised as 44 Spl/Mag, 38 Spl/357 Mag, etc.. As Pinecone said, 45 LC is another matter entirely, as there's different body dimensions involved. But again, 45 LC to load 454 Casull, no problem, since they share body diameters, differing only in length.

 

[JGorski]

So I should pay no attention to what these dies say on the label?

 

[Pinecone]

Hornady lists one die set for .45 ACP, AutoRim, and WinMag. And a separate die set for .45 Colt.

Hornady Manufacturing Company :: Reloading :: Metallic Reloading :: Dies & Die Accessories :: Handgun Reloading Dies

That number is no longer made, but it seems that a while ago, Hornady did sell those dies marked that way.

My Hornady dies that I purchased over ten years ago are marked "45ACP/AR/WIN/LC". So, I figured that I'm already a step ahead because I don't have to buy the reloading dies. I was in a gun shop recently and noticed that they have Hornady dies for "45ACP/AR/WIN" and a seperate Hornady die set marked "45 COLT".

Answers:

It would be diff to get good results using 45acp dies to load 45colt. The roll crimp is one issue, case size the other (0.474" vs 0.480")

If it is set #544554 and for "45 ACP/AR/WIN/LC" then you might want to keep it if you ever plan on shooting .45 Colt. That set is lousy for reloading .45 ACP, but great for .45 Colt (the LC part of the description). The crimp die is actually a roll crimp, not a taper crimp which is required for ACP rounds.