Reloading them magnum rounds

[Don1357]

So far I have been reloading 45-70 and .44 with cast bullets, and that has gone peachy. Now that I got a rifle in .325 WSM I'm back to not knowing what the heck I'm doing.

Crimping... RCBS dies do very little expansion of the neck so as it is the FMJ bullets go in quite tight. The first problem I'm having is that I can't tell between not crimped, and crumpled case. Unlike cast bullets with a nice define cannelure the 150gr Speer projectiles I'm using do not have a that grove, I can't tell when they are crimped, and when I try I end up crushing the case. Looking at the Lyman manual 48 it says that bullets without a crimp groove cannot be crimped...

I already ordered a factory crimp die but in the mean time could somebody answer the following?

1. Why on earth most of these die sets are only 2 dies! Would it have killed them to include a separate crimp die?

2. Do I need to crimp these? the fit is pretty tight but they will be coming out of a Browning BLR lever rifle.

[country gent]

The reason for the 2 die set is that you can set the die slightly high and seat without crimping then adjust to crimp in a separate step. What they should include is a 7/8" washer .030-.060 thick. with this the die can be set to give the desired crimp then the washer added under the ring and used to seat seperatly first just by adding the washer and a small adjustment to the seating stem.

When setting the crimping die you need the cases to be the same length as a group with in .002-.003 at the most. Run the case up to top of stroke and then run die down to touch a empty case mouth. I then back the die out 1/2-1 turn ( some presses drop slightly going over center and leaving the die touching will be to low) Lower ram and drop die 1/4 turn raise ram andsee if it touches. Continue this once it touches you can measure the amount of crimp with calipers knife edges in the case mouth ( or pin gages). .002-.003 is a lot of crimp for a bullet with no groove. When measuring you need to measure case before and after running thee case into the crimping. If you cases vary in overall length then crimps will never be consistant, burrs on the case mouth will have a poor effect on crimps also.

Bullet with out a crimp groove can be crimped but its a touchy processs to do. On my match ammo I relied on neck tension and didn't crimp ammo. ( 223,243,6.5,308)

[BK7saum]

I do not crimp rifle rounds with jacketed bullets. I have found it unnecessary, even in a semiautomatic. As you said, neck tension is "quite tight". You should be quite good with uncrimped ammunition.

[Three44s]

The Lee factory crimp die is the only way to successfully crimp a non-grooved bullet. All the regular crimp seater dies will likely crumple your case mouths.

The other point I will make is that one can seat your bullets in one pass and then back the seater punch off and readjust the die body to crimp on a separate pass. Sometimes that will alleviate crumpling necks.

Best regards

Three44s

[MT Chambers]

Don't crimp rounds for those type cals. cast or jacketed.

[Love Life]

A dial caliper, better would be a micrometer, would tell you all you need to know...

[Don1357]

Thanks, that's what it 'felt' like but being the first time doing it I wasn't sure. I have been spoiled with how easy is to set a crimp on cast boolits with defined crimping groves, you can easily see how much crimping is happening. I think I'll be happier separating the crimping operation.

[Kevin Rohrer]

A dial caliper, better would be a micrometer, would tell you all you need to know...

Can you recommend a micrometer that is <$100?

[rbuck351]

The made in China mics are quite accurate and a 0 to 1" should cost about $25.

[Don1357]

I'm old enough to remember how expensive these things were, and the crappyness of Chinese knock offs. Nowadays the off-brand ones are quite good.

Look for one with enough resolution. There are some out there that only do two decimal places in inches. That is good enough for many things (.01 is almost 1/64")but not for reloading.