Iam gonna load some 44 magnum rounds today,its been years since i loaded for a pistol,all i have is a old 3 die set from lyman,should i go ahead and load up my rounds,then unscrew the sizer die and take out the middle,then screw it down a littleat a time on a live round until i get a slight crimp on the case mouth?I just need to be sure and not crimp to much or screw my die down to much right ori will crush the case?i just dont know how to tell if i have the right amount of crimp...
Thanks for any help..

Not being familiar with Lyman Dies , are they taper or roll crimp ?.

I use RCBS ,Dillon and Redding dies and my 44 Dies are taper crimp , which is done in the bullet

seating Die . I've been doing them that way for 44 years and never had an issue .

Thanks DOC,I was just fixing to ask if its done when seating the bullet...thanks

Nope, the crimping portion should be in the seating die. The sizing die will not crimp, but squeeze down the bullet & case, not desireable. Your Lyman seating die should adjust like this:
Put a sized case into the press, run it up, then screw the die into the press until it touches the case mouth (stops). That is the beginning of the crimp. Now seat a bullet into the crimp groove, then back the seater stem out, screw the die down until it roll crimps the case mouth. Then screw the stem back down & lock everything in place. You should then be ready to seat & crimp in one operation.

I don't think you will be happy w/ a taper crimp w/ the 44. Use fredj's instructions for a good roll crimp, Get as much crimp as possible w/o buckling the case

Thanks so much for the help,i got it done right and everything went smooth and came out looking great,i had a good idea how to do it,its just been so many years ago,it all came back to me once i started. I need to buy more brass now

For decades I had been roll crimping my revolver loads, with the accompanying nuisance of case trimming to insure a constant crimp. Some months ago, I replaced my press with a Dillon + some Dillon revolver dies. The latter come with the accu-crimp, i.e. with both taper and roll crimp possibilities. I made some bullet retention tests with taper crimped .44 Mag and .357 Mag full loads and nothing moved. Ergo, I've now switched to taper crimping my revolver loads and do no longer have to pay attention to case length.

You've got some great advice above. My only addition would be to go slow when you are crimping during the seating process to determine the amount of crimp you are putting on the cases. It's easy to add a little more crimp by screwing down the die a 1/8 turn at a time.

If your loads are really hot and you might want to keep an eye out for the unfired bullets migrating out as a result of hitting the recoil shield of a revolver. Good luck

quote:

Originally posted by TEANCUM:
If your loads are really hot and you might want to keep an eye out for the unfired bullets migrating out as a result of hitting the recoil shield of a revolver. ...

Anybody(with any sense) got a clue what this is about?

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:

quote:

Originally posted by TEANCUM:
If your loads are really hot and you might want to keep an eye out for the unfired bullets migrating out as a result of hitting the recoil shield of a revolver. ...

Anybody(with any sense) got a clue what this is about?

Why don't you explain it to us, smartguy? Or is this another one of your ad hominem posts? Make sure you include which one of Newton's laws of motion is at work here.

quote:

Andre Mertens

That's pretty much what I found out , it's really unnecessary to roll crimp

least wise for my shooting purposes . Target and Hunting .

quote:

Originally posted by onefunneee:
Why don't you explain it to us, smartguy? ...

Be glad to.

It is spelled - Oscar Mayer - pure idiot bologna! Just like onefunneee's posts.

Taper crimp is for automatics where the case headspaces on the rim.
Roll crimp is for revolver where headspacing is the rim.
There are two things to consider - case grip on the bullet and crimp.You should not be able to push the bullet into the case with your thumb .If you can you need a different expander.
With proper bullet grip and a roll crimp you will get more consistant burning of the powder and better accuracy.
Elmer Keith explains it very well in his "Sixguns" book !

quote:

Originally posted by mete:
Taper crimp is for automatics where the case headspaces on the rim.
Roll crimp is for revolver where headspacing is the rim.
There are two things to consider - case grip on the bullet and crimp.You should not be able to push the bullet into the case with your thumb .If you can you need a different expander.
With proper bullet grip and a roll crimp you will get more consistant burning of the powder and better accuracy.
Elmer Keith explains it very well in his "Sixguns" book !

Mete

I think that you are undertaking a monumental task there trying to educate Hotsh$t on crimping of pistol loads. His preferred place to post know, since he got run off the medium caliber forum, is the air rifle board and he relishes the air pistols. I think this is due to the total lack of recoil they have as you well know by now he has lost his..................balls and cannot tolerate any recoil.

Good luck in your efforts to educate the old fart but you might have better success with crayons and large colored pictures. The poor boy is from the Carolinas and can't read.

Has anyone else had about enough of this round after round of Hot Core bullcrap from both camps? Hard to respect any advice that comes from a bunch men acting like 3rd graders. Not sure what I was thinking when I believed you guys has more sense than the McSwirly crowd over at 24, y'all are starting to make them look like mature adults.

On the .44 I have had better results crimping when not doing as part of the seating process rather I make it an extra step and roll crimp use the Lee Cripmer. YMMV http://www.midwayusa.com/viewp...productnumber=563825