Should I crimp my 223's? If so, Why and How should I set up the die? Trial and error like everything else I guess. Thanks for any responses.

If you like to fiddle, by all means, crimp. Sometimes it works (cuts my 270 loads from 2.5 ish to 1.3'ish 5-shot groups --- doesn't do anything for my 7 mag). Spring the 10 bucks or so for the Lee factory crimp die and save yourself some hair pulling. HTH, Dutch.

I also use the Factory Crimp die, for semiauto fire only. If you have a bolt action, that's a whole different story.

But, if you want to set the Factory Crimp die, here's a quick way:

1. Thread the die into the press, with the ram raised, and shell holder in place. Thread down until the die is firmly in contact with the shell holder.

2. Lower the ram, and screw the die in 1/8th turn.

3. Run a loaded uncrimped round in, and then check the crimp. If you want a bit more, screw the die in by 1/8th turn increments until the crimp you want is achieved.

Be careful! The Factory Crimp die is so effective, you can literally iron a deep groove into the bullet itself, without buckling the case.

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Happiness is a 200 yard bughole.

Okay, I got a question. What about crimping bullets that don't have a connelure? I'm going to the range this weekend with 7 new loads to test in my .270. I'm trying 130 gr. BTs (something new for me, but they should be great for an upcoming hunt). I'm looking for the accuracy as I'm told a 400 yd shot is not out of the question. I have read more then once that bullets without connelures can be crimped - in a manner of speaking. Would it be worth a try? I can use the factory die, or a Lee crimper.

Steve

With the lee factory crimp die bullets without a canelure can be crimped just as well as the bullets with one.

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From my cold, dead hands!
Thanks Chuck!

I taper crimp all of my rifle ammo.