Taper crimping a cast wadcutter

[Bisbee]

Is there any advantage/disadvantage in taper crimping a cast wadcutter in a 38spl. Using 3.4gr Win321? Does accuracy suffer by not roll crimping? The boolit is from an H&G #50.. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

[runfiverun]

you don't need to "crimp" a wadcutter.
the taper crimp is used to just flatten out the case flair enough to chamber the round.
low pressure soft boolits have a tendancy to just get torn up by a roll crimp.

[stubshaft]

you don't need to "crimp" a wadcutter.
the taper crimp is used to just flatten out the case flair enough to chamber the round.
low pressure soft boolits have a tendancy to just get torn up by a roll crimp.

+1 - There is not enough recoil to make the boolit creep.

[williamwaco]

+2

You don't need a real crimp but I do recommend removing the flare.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

On crimping 38 special loads there are 3 possible ways to go; no crimp, roll crimp or taper crimp. The purpose of a crimp is to prevent the bullet from moving in or out of the case after being seated. Another school of thought relates crimp to proper ignition. Yet another view is that crimping cold works the brass/mouth of the case and contributes to cracks/case failure therefore the less one crimps the better it is for brass life. You may subscribe to any or all of the above. Wadcutters in the 38 usually are target loads and are not hot-rodded anyway, but different folks have different opinions for different reasons. I use the H&G # 50 as well as the H&G #251. I do not roll crimp either...its either remove the flare (no crimp) or a very slight taper crimp...underline very. I would suggest trying all three possible ways to go and keep close track of the results....what counts here is accuracy and grouping...not what anybody else thinks or does. Its not a complicated process--only a slight adjustment of the die and what works best for you and your gun(s) is the most important determining factor. Also try different powders & loadings. LLS

[fecmech]

I use a taper crimp on all my .38 and .357 loads, just enough to remove the case flair and that's it. I have enough case tension in my .357 mag loads(15/296/173 gr swc) that I get no bullet pull. So with that in mind I see no reason to work the case mouths any more than I have to.