A while back I had a complete reloading setup but got frustrated trying to set everything up. I had it all down except the crimp. I was using a Lee factory crimp and for the life of me couldnt figure out how much crimp I needed. When I needed money for another project the reloading gear went out the door. I would like to pickup another setup but want to get the whole crimp thing down. I have since talked with a few locals who tell me they dont crimp at all. Is that fairly common? How do I know how much crimp to use? I dont plan on using Lee again.

I've used the Lee Factory Crimp with excellent results for 23 years. Follow the instructions that are enclosed with it. I use a "medium crimp" on all my rifle bullets. You can see the crimp line as a band around the mouth of the brass case/seated bullet. By looking at the band you can pretty much tell how hard a crimp you have. A way I test my crimp is to hold the shell down on a flat surface (wood) and push down with a moderate amound of force. If the bullet slides further into the case I need a harder crimp. This is especially true for me with my 45-70 loads. I Lee Facory Crimp all my loads with great accuracy.
Hope this helps.....

I have not used the Lee factory crimp. Only time I do crimp is as follows:

Leveraction rifles with tube magazines.
Autoloaders, unless the case headspaces on the mouth.
Revolvers, especially large bore.
My one and only double gun.(.405 Win)

Other than that I don't, and that would span the range of 0-.300 Weatherby. Weatherbys had brakes.

Some cases loaded with lots of very slow powder may benefit from crimping due to velocity variations that may occur if neck tension is weak. A poor ex. would be the .44 Mag and H110 which benefits from a heavy crimp. Neck tension created by the sizing process is usually sufficient to hold the bullet securely and firmly enough for proper ignition of the propellent. Always keep the application in mind though, in time you will recognize the pitfalls.

I've used the Lee factory Crimp die ever since they first came out. A light to medium crimp is usually fine, but the big thing is that your bullet pull is consistent... that is, if you do not crimp, there will be a good bit of difference between how much "pull" it takes to get the bullet moving. Using a Lee factory crimp, or any other crimp for that matter will make this more uniform... Plus, the Lee die takes out most if not all "runout" and will nearly always improve your accuracy. Again, somewhere between light to moderate will do fine... Dave

Generally, crimping for rifle cartridges should not be necessary except for LA, automatic etc. as stated before.
The Lee taper factory crimp is different to other crimps as it applies a spring adjusted force to the case. So, differences in bullet dimension, neck thickness and diameter can be equalized - the extraction force is, more or less, always the same (due to the spring effect).

When you spend a lot of care on case preparation (weighing components, neck turning and a bushing die), you do not need any crimp. - In a rifle which deserves the effort.

I like the Lee Factory crimp die, as well as the collet sizing die. They are plain and simple good ideas and as far as I can tell the patents are still in force.

The quality of Lee gear is best described as consistently adequate. I have and have had a lot of Lee gear. My strategy has been to outfit myself with Lee stuff, and then upgrade as finances allow.

Without some details it's hard to tell if you need crimp or not. What are you shooting? Revolvers need a pretty good crimp, autos can be kind of picky as many headspace on the cartridge mouth.
Most rifles don't need it at all, but some lever actions do.

[ 12-03-2002, 20:41: Message edited by: Loren ]