Has anyone roll crimped a previously fold crimped shell?

[mojomandan]

I have buckets of various 12 gauge shells and want to follow some recipes for the Lyman Foster slug. All of these recipes call for a roll crimp, but all of my spent shells were previously fold crimped.

Without getting into a long-winded discourse on which crimp method is "better", or that the two may or may not differ in performance or pressure, I would like to know if it is worthwhile to buy a fold crimp attachment for a drill, and maybe a "Spin doctor" (each from BPI) to condition my shells prior to crimping.

So, if you have actually attempted or currently do what I am asking, please chime in on your experiences/recommendations.

[FullTang]

Hi Mojo,

I roll crimp on occasion, and it will work with previously fold-crimped shells, but the results are not pretty. I've made a DIY version of the "Spin Doctor", and it definitely helps---not sure if the BPI item would work better. New hulls that I've previously loaded myself with a fold crimp seem to work better, probably because the fold crimp hasn't had as long to set. If you have spent shells that were factory loaded, they might be more heavily set and have more "memory". Most folks seem to cut their old shells down to the crimp line, then roll them. This gets the right stack height for most loads, and it gets rid of the old folds that cause problems. BPI sells a cutter for this, but I made my own with some wood and a razor blade; others just cut with scissors or a knife.

[bikerbeans]

It works but results will vary depending on the hull. If you can get 3 or 3.5 inch 12ga hulls you can trim them to 2 3/4 and will have something akin to a new hull. FWIW, I have tons of fired fold crimped hulls and the only ones that roll crimp nicely for me are the older winchester AAs. This only applies to the 2 3/4" red 12ga hulls, never had much luck trying to roll crimp a previously fold crimp 20ga.

BB

[KCSO]

I have a trimmer and I tim off say 3/4th of the old crimp and them slip the shell over a heated rod for a short then they seem to roll crimp all right. I use both BP roll crimpers in a drill press and an old hand cronk roll crimper. With plastic cases you need to spin the case a little in the crimper to heat up the plastic and then put on the pressure and finish the crimp. It takes some practice but you can turn out a real nice crimp after some practice.

[longbow]

What KCSO said.

I roll crimp previously fold crimped hulls all the time. Some don't come out real well but if trimmed and "treated" the do pretty well.

If you want target grade ammunition the best to start with new hulls or shortened 3" hulls as mentioned but for general plinking and informal shooting, I find no problems with used hulls and sometimes less than perfect crimps.

If you have the hulls, give them a try and find out.

Longbow

[mojomandan]

Guys, many thanks for your informative responses. I forgot to mention all of my shells are 2 3/4", so I won't be able to trim much before crimping. Nevertheless, since many of you have already done this, I will give it a go and report back some time in the near future.

While I realize buying a roll crimp attachment and Spin Doctor is not a huge expense, my discretionary spending is very limited due to my difficulty in finding regular work.

[BK7saum]

Not trying to hijack this thread, but i have a bunch of roll crimped slug hulls laying around. If anyone wants them, they can have them for the cost of shipping. Just pm me if you want them


Brad

[CANUCK]

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First pic is of Spin Doctored Top Gun Hulls.
Second pic is of roll crimped Spin Doctored Top Gun Hulls. They are not perfect but OK.
Third pic is of roll crimped shot loads.
Fourth pic is of roll crimped Gun Club plus a similar Remington hull (without trimming or Spin Doctor). They are not perfect but OK.
They are the best I could do with previously fold crimped hulls.

[mojomandan]

Canuck, they look great to me!

Do you trim the hulls at all, or leave full length prior to reloading?

[FullTang]

Not bad at all!

[CANUCK]

I trim the Top Gun hulls approximately 1/8" as there seems to be so much inconsistency in their lengths.
The Gun Club Hulls were not trimmed at all.
The Spin Doctor was very difficult for me to learn to use and I ruined dozens of hulls before I sort of figured it out.

[Garyshome]

I trim about 1/4" off then roll crimp. they work fine and look great if you don't look at the roll crimp!

[donnrcp]

I use the BPI exacta roll and the spin doctor in a drill press. The spin doc is to reform previously roll crimped hulls. But I too have roll crimped reloaded fold crimped hulls as well. BPI has info on short shell reloading. I have had to trim some hulls that were too raggedy for the spin doc to save and they are stubby things. I will try them soon.

[WRideout]

I roll crimped some 12 ga blue Peters hulls that were fold-crimped previously. They were range pick-up, and looked like they had been through the trap season. At first I trimmed the end off approx. 1/8th inch, then I just started roll-crimping without the trim, and they seemed to work fine. I use them with slugs in my Win 1200. I use the steel BPI roll crimper on my drill press.

Wayne