Crimp or not...reloading hunting ammo?


25-06/120gr
270W/130gr
30-06/150gr

Thanks!

You don't need to crimp any of those even if you were shooting them in a semiauto. Sometimes though, crimping will improve accuracy a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by Grumulkin:
You don't need to crimp any of those even if you were shooting them in a semiauto. Sometimes though, crimping will improve accuracy a bit.

Good reply.....

I do not crimp rifle bullets unless I am using them in a lever action. Or in calibers were the recoil was so heavy that the bullet moved in the case. I believe that can happen with elephant guns.

The military crimps because its ammunition has to be used in everything. Some automatic weapons have feed rates so high that the bullet would move forward during feed.

Today we have the most perfect bullets ever made, and yet people think they can improve the accuracy by squishing the things. What you do not see with crimping is the deformation of the lead core.

This is what happens when you use a Lee Factory Crimp die on match 6.5 SMK’s. It is easy to over crimp and swage these bullets in the center. You don’t know until you pull them. This does not improve the accuracy at all.



I have been squadded with the world’s best shooters at Camp Perry. I have pulled targets with many of them . I have shooting buds who are National Champions at Long Range and have set Long Range records. They do not crimp their rifle bullets.

If there was the slightest accuracy advantage, the teeny tiniest accuracy advantage, everyone would be crimping their bullets.

No one, absolutely no one who can shoot straight, crimps their bullets.

Not. As to the accuracy issue I've never really tested it to any extent since the vast majority of my bullets in those chamberings don't have a cannelure.

L-B,

Aloha!

Our very own Saeed has an interesting piece on crimping somewhere in the Reloading Pages, Very Interesting, indeed. Take a look and see what he says.

Like SlamFire's photos of the SMK's above I have real mixed emotions about crimping a bullet without a cannelure - but having said that I really like crimping Barnes TSX's & TTXS's in the forward groove - give's 'em the "jump" Barnes claims in their pages IMO.

I measured a group from the target I brought back from the range last night. My 25-06 Remington with 100 gr. TTSX's and 55.5 grs. of H-4831SC using a LFCD as mentioned above - my last 3 shots after letting the barrel cool into .443", not too awful shabby.

BUT for $7-$10 I've purchased a Lee Factory Crimp Die for ALL the cartidges I load (last count 41) they have good application for some cartridges - old European ones like 9.3x72R and revolver cartridges especially.

If I use a bullet that has a cannelure that fits my O.A.L. scheme (and 99% will shoot very accurately where the ccannelure is placed on the bullet) I use it. The results have been positive; especially with my largest cartidges; 9.3's & .375H&H.

and ..... Yeah, I like the idea of crimping hunting ammo that may receive other than gentile handling when I'm out & about.

I'm still curious & an experimenter after rolling my own for 40+ years; not too far off the charts mind you; but color myself "flexible" and there maybe something out there that is a better "mousetrap".

For the cost of a LFCD, why not give it a try?

For many years I didn't crimp any rifle cartridges I loaded. Then I started loading for the 458 and 375, and crimping became a necessity. The first thing I noticed was the need to trim the brass to all the same length. The next thing I noticed was that the roll crimp wasn't working out well, so I got a Lee factory crimp die. That worked better than expected.

So, I still only crimp the 458 and 375, and it's working great with trimmed brass, and the LFCD. Does not seem to affect accuracy, but I really didn't test for that throughly. Heavy recoil cartridges need the crimp to assure function properly, so accuracy is what it is.

KB

I don't crimp.

Thanks for all the replies...

I load 2o different cartridges and crimp only my 375 H and H.

While crimping is necessary on some of the heavy recoiling cartridges and for use in tubular magazines I have never found it beneficial in other applications.

While some have found it to help accuracy, I suspect they simply corrected an existing neck tension problem.

Regards,
hm

I do not crimp my own ammo.

On the subject of improved accuracy, we did try an experiment a while back, and crmping DID seem to increase the accuracy slightly.

I experimented with a number of my guns and used a light crimp with the Lee factory crimp dies. On some cartridges it helped accuracy and on some it made no measurable difference. So for me. I crimp the ones where I saw a significant accuracy difference.

I think that crimping works with some loads, in some guns, with some loads but nothing is universal.

I roll crimp all cases for revolvers and taper crimp for auto pistol. On rifles I crimp only for my Trapdoor 45-70 and 50-70s as that makes a real difference in their accuracy. For a really heavy recoiling magazine rifle or for a rifle with a tubular magazine I would crimp.

quote:

This is what happens when you use a Lee Factory Crimp die on match 6.5 SMK’s.

LB, not exactly; that's an example of crimps done with a Lee FCD by someone who didn't know what he was doing.

It's unlikely a crimp will help hunting loads for a bolt gun but anyone who says "always" or "never" about anything in reloading, including crimps, also doesn't know what he's talking about. If you want to know if something will help YOU, try it. And do it right or you still won't know.

I don't crimp except for 375 H & H and heavier. However I do sometimes use a neck sizing die with interchageable sizing dies, by REdding, as I recall. Having adequate and consistent neck tension can be helpful to accuracy.

The only thing I crimp for are some cast bullet loads. Otherwise I dont bother with it.

I have tested crimping and found it has little if any effect on accuracy..Benchresters don't crimp..

I crimp double rifle rounds and some big bores, and most Lever action loads, but not the Win. 88, Savage 99 etc.

The loads you mention don't need to be crimped and the 270, 30-06, are the calibers I did most of my testing with along with the 338, 375 and 416..

I crimp the 458 Win and up calibers.

What is the shortcoming in your ammunition that you seek to resolve by crimping? If it is bullet movement, then in these calibers your neck tension is inadeqauate and crimping is the equivalent of placing a bandaid on a wound that needs surgery.

I load for several dozen rifle calibers ranging from .22 Hornet through .416 Remington. With the exception of some .223 ammunition destine for a particularly sloppy AR-15 clone, I never crimp any of them.