Hey all- I’m a fairly experienced reloader with a bunch of tapered shoulder calibers, but am now reloading for my 450 3-1/4” NE. Obviously a straight wall case. I think I’ve got the case flairing understood, so next is bullet seating and crimp. I’m using Hornady Standard seating die. There’s not much I’ve found on YouTube, etc. so looking for some guidance before I move forward.The crimp is what’s got me a bit stuck. Thanks!

I've been reloading for 58 years now. I shoot long range every Saturday of the year except two for holidays.
I crimp all of my center fire loads.
The reason is straight forward. As the primer fires, its gasses move the whole powder charge up against the base of the bullet and the bullet starts to move forward, this causes the volumetric area in the case and the in the chamber. this of course will effect accuracy and chamber pressures.
Now a crimp on the bullet should be strong enough to withstand the primers force and not move. This for most cartridges is 30 pounds of pulling force. I built a device for my COAX press that can, for set up, measure the pulling force.
This crimp does not damage the bullet in any way.

What is the real question? Crimping is the same as bottleneck, if that is what you mean by tapered shoulder. Your brass has to be all the same length, and your bullets have to have a crimp groove.
Don't try for too much because you can buckle the case. Same for any caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
What is the real question? Crimping is the same as bottleneck, if that is what you mean by tapered shoulder. Your brass has to be all the same length, and your bullets have to have a crimp groove.
Don't try for too much because you can buckle the case. Same for any caliber.

Yeah, my question is how to crimp on a straight wall cartridge- I figured it’s a simple process, I’ve just never reloaded straight wall cases….. so if it’s just as a bottleneck case- I’ve got it. Thanks!!

Despite the possibility of one bullet in a double rifle moving 'forward' when the other is fired, I don't recall that many contributors to the DB forum here bother crimping.

I agree with sambarman338 on the need to crimp.
There's a lot of bearing surface on a .458 480gr bullet which resists movement.
When I was first loading for doubles, I would chamber two, fire one and then measure the second cartridge for OAL. At least you can do this to decide if a crimp is necessary.

Now, if you really want to crimp, I suggest the following:

First, make sure all of your brass is trimmed to the same length or all the same if new.

Second, remove the seating stem from your seating die and adjust the die in your press to give you the crimp you're wanting on an empty case. In this example I'd have the crimp just at the very mouth of the case - enough to smooth over the edge of the case mouth so to speak.

Last, adjust the seat stem to seat the bullet matching the case mouth to the cannelure on the bullet.
As dpcd says, just a little is enough to avoid any case distortion or buckling.

I had taper crimp dies for my double rifles. I used them after an incident on a buff..It just takes one time!

The best way to crimp thin necked cases being straight or bottle necked is the seat bullets without crimping. You them back off the seating punch. With seating punch backed off you run ram to the top and then on each round turn the die down until you feel the neck roll in. You then back die off and do the next round. Perfect tight crimps every time without buckling the neck or shoulder. I've use this method for many years loading 25-20 to 577 Nitro.

quote:

Originally posted by srose:
The best way to crimp thin necked cases being straight or bottle necked is the seat bullets without crimping. You them back off the seating punch. With seating punch backed off you run ram to the top and then on each round turn the die down until you feel the neck roll in. You then back die off and do the next round. Perfect tight crimps every time without buckling the neck or shoulder. I've use this method for many years loading 25-20 to 577 Nitro.

This is exactly how I do it and do it with every double rifle I load for.

quote:

Originally posted by McKay:

quote:

Originally posted by srose:
The best way to crimp thin necked cases being straight or bottle necked is the seat bullets without crimping. You them back off the seating punch. With seating punch backed off you run ram to the top and then on each round turn the die down until you feel the neck roll in. You then back die off and do the next round. Perfect tight crimps every time without buckling the neck or shoulder. I've use this method for many years loading 25-20 to 577 Nitro.

This is exactly how I do it and do it with every double rifle I load for.

Similar for me. I adjust the seating die to touch the brass. Raise the arm and then turn the seating die another 1/2 - 3/4 turn or so and tighten the lock washer. Then I take a small Allen wrench and put that between the bottom of the die and the press. I adjust the threaded seating stem to get the bullet at the seating depth I want and I seat all my bullets. Then I remove the Allen wrench and screw the seating die down on the press. I back off the threaded seating stem five or six turns to avoid pushing the bullet further into the case. Now the seating die is going to crimp when you run the ram all the way up. That way I can seat all the bullets, then crimp all. Sounds more complex than it is.

Thanks all, crazy how the straight wall got in my head….. after all the advice I’ve successfully got a bunch of rounds done!

Although I used a special tapered crimp die, prior to that I used the factory roll crimp on my doubles without any problems, most problems with crimping comes about from using too much crimp. use a very light crimp, with doubles or any caliber seemed to work quite well for me..Not a bad idea to turn a thousand or two off your expander ball and choose a 99% powder charge such as 4831 for instance. These are options that I used over the years and worth a try.