Crimp or not to crimp

[Floralys]

Hello!

Do you crimp your cartridges after seating bullet?

I got mixed opinions on this as some suggested that crimp is important to get more or less same pressure for each reload, others were saying that it’s unnecessary as crimp is useful for semi-auto/full auto guns only and would make no difference in bolt action/straight pulls and have barely any impact on the pressure….

I will be reloading mainly for target shooting (223&308) and getting consistent shots are quite important, but not sure if this extra step is required for ammunition that will be used in bolt action rifles.

So I am interested in more options on this topic. Thanks

P.S. I am new to reloading world so trying to learn

 

[LeftHandGuy]

I apply a crimp from a Lee Factory Crimp die crimp to every round I load.

The few die sets I have that are not Lee sets, I buy the Lee FCD for as I like being able to crimp bullets even if they do not have a cannelure (crimp ring).

At the end of the day, all you can do is try doing it and not doing it to tell if it is worthwhile for your loads.

Neither 223 or 308 are big recoil producers, so crimping is not really a safety concern, and plenty of people have very accurate loads without bothering to crimp, and you will even find some people reporting that crimping their reloads made their ammo less accurate.

If you really want to know then you need a chronograph so that you can check for any variations in MV between crimped and non-crimped versions of the same load.

If you want to play it safe - apply a crimp!

 

[Foxyboy43]

Think of inertia through recoil and particularly in your .308 then read the Guru’s (Richard Lee) Reloading Guide - for consistency and accuracy - crimp. I crimp everything from .222 to 8mm.
It also adds very little in terms of pressure - a few hundred PSI - according to Richard L….

 

[enfieldspares]

Supposedly it is not necessary but I'd say "horses for courses". I used to crimp when I shot .303 Lee Enfield rifles competitively but don't really bother to crimp for other than cosmetic reasons on cartridges loaded for my rifles in .270 WCF and .30/06 that I use for stalking.

But whatever you do I'd say always be consistent. Although in side by side double rifles firing a heavy bullet and tubular magazine rifles firing any weight bullet I'd always use a crimp. And also (not that it applies in UK with thanks to Mrs Thatcher) in centrefire self loading rifles.

That is if you crimp or no crimp work up your handloads using that same crimp or no crimp throughout and if you zero then do so with rounds with that same degree of crimp or no crimp.

In other words it is NOT safe practice to work up a "hot" near manual maximum load with no crimp and then for future rounds loaded to that recipe then apply a stiff crimp that wasn't being applied when you were working the load up.

 

[nun_hunter]

I crimp as an extra yet very simple method of adding consistency.

Is it as effective and precise as neck turning, using bushing dies to neck size, measuring case neck thickness? No but it does some of the same work at a fraction of the cost and effort so why not.

 

[Cottis]

Nope. Good brass prep is key

 

[cjs66]

22 Hornet, nowt else. Not saying I haven’t tried it on others, just the Hornet is the only one I saw an improvement in group size.

cjs

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

I’ve never crimped, never seen the need.

 

[paul o']

Never have needed to crimp a bolt gun round. The only ones I used to do were s/a pistols and my semi auto or my assist close AR's due to straight line inertia forces the bullet forward.

 

[stubear]

Hello!

Do you crimp your cartridges after seating bullet?

I got mixed opinions on this as some suggested that crimp is important to get more or less same pressure for each reload, others were saying that it’s unnecessary as crimp is useful for semi-auto/full auto guns only and would make no difference in bolt action/straight pulls and have barely any impact on the pressure….

I will be reloading mainly for target shooting (223&308) and getting consistent shots are quite important, but not sure if this extra step is required for ammunition that will be used in bolt action rifles.

So I am interested in more options on this topic. Thanks

P.S. I am new to reloading world so trying to learn

I always crimp just for good consistent neck tension.

You don’t have to go mad with it, just a little bit does the trick.

The only rifle I do a real heavy crimp on is the .45-70 which is a tube magazine hence it needs it.

 

[Tarquin]

I have never crimped fullbore rifle rounds using jacketed bullet. I get an sd of 5 in my AI.

 

[Len the dog]

Well there we have it, 10 replies so far, 5 crimp and 5 don't. I guess it's just down to personal preference.

As for me, yes for 22 hornet, no to 22-250.

 

[NullMac]

Do you crimp your cartridges after seating bullet?

God no.

I got mixed opinions on this as some suggested that crimp is important to get more or less same pressure for each reload,

That is controlled by neck tension.You size the neck to a specific dimensions say two thou less than the actual bullet diameter so the neck is stretched by a consistent amount. Most of us just rely on whatever die we have at the time though so it will be a lot more than 2 thou at a guess but its consistent then great.

The top boys don't crimp so its fair to assume it is not the best way.

others were saying that it’s unnecessary as crimp is useful for semi-auto/full auto guns only and would make no difference in bolt action/straight pulls and have barely any impact on the pressure….

it is bound to affect the pressure as it will be a lot stronger than a bit of friction between the neck and bullet.

I will be reloading mainly for target shooting (223&308) and getting consistent shots are quite important, but not sure if this extra step is required for ammunition that will be used in bolt action rifles.

Neck tension then. Google bushing dies and expander mandrels for your information.

 

[UpNorthMI]

I crimp all of my loads.

 

[NullMac]

Well there we have it, 10 replies so far, 5 crimp and 5 don't. I guess it's just down to personal preference.

No its down to use case.

OP's question was about target shooting. You will not find half of the target shooters on the line crimping

 

[Len the dog]

OP's question was about target shooting. You will not find half of the target shooters on the line crimping

If we're going to be pedantic, he said 'mainly' for target use.

 

[NullMac]

I crimp as an extra yet very simple method of adding consistency.

Is it as effective and precise as neck turning, using bushing dies to neck size, measuring case neck thickness? No but it does some of the same work at a fraction of the cost and effort so why not.

Unless you have a custom chamber neck turning is a waste of time I would suggest as it will do nothing. Measuring case neck thickness, sorting brass by weight etc etc are a waste of time. May be of some value in benchrest, dunno it's not my game. In other contexts PRS, Stalking etc, the pros will tell you that you are wasting time and effort. Neck sizing went out with the arc.

Crimping does not replicate any of the processes name checked above.

If you want to use current state of the art processes then you would use a bushing die for FL resizing then an expander mandrel to set the id to a couple of thou less than your bullet diameter.

Tough to learn reloading on the internet. Every view under the sun is still available.

 

[LeftHandGuy]

Tough to learn reloading on the internet. Every view under the sun is still available.

Quite! Anyone with the slightest amount of "Google-fu" can drum up any number of respected authorities to justify whichever reloading techniques happen to flatter what they already do or happen to like. Whether it's volumetric loading, neck size vs FL, stick vs ball, SRP brass vs LRP brass, magnum primers or regular primers, open hollow point vs ballistic tip, neck turning, flash-hole uniforming.

At the end of the day, all you can really do is try it in your rifle and work from there. You can try and calculate an impact on pressure by recording MV, or you could simply take a view on whether your group sizes shrink, grow, or stay the same.

As I said above, I crimp all mine, and I am confident enough in my loads and their repeatability on target to know that if I miss an animal it's my fault as a marksman as opposed to inconsistency in my ammunition. I believe that the step of crimping the bullet in place aids that consistency, but I don't have the time or interest to delve any deeper than that. I have a single shot 30-30 and and single shot 32 SPL - perhaps crimping these is wholly unnecessary - but then again, maybe I'll get a lever gun in either of these chamberings, at which point the crimping moves into the "important safety feature" category, so I KISS all my reloads with the FCD and invest my valuable time into worrying about where the hell to find primers at a price I am willing to pay for them.....

 

[Smellydog]

I crimp mine.
I want anything to aid a good ignition.

 

[suburban bushwacker]

I crimp as an extra yet very simple method of adding consistency.

Is it as effective and precise as neck turning, using bushing dies to neck size, measuring case neck thickness? No but it does some of the same work at a fraction of the cost and effort so why not.

seems obvious