38 Long Colt Heeled / Heel Based Crimp Die - homemade ish

[tucumcari_kid]

Hi all. We've batted this around a bit - how to properly crimp a heeled bullet. I do 44 Colts with a heeled bullet and 38 Colts with a heeled bullet. I've had good luck with the 44 by just running the loaded round through a lee sizing die, I think 45 colt? But the 38 Colts is not that cooperative.

Glen ( AntiqueSledMan ) told me that a lee precision factory crimp die for a 35 Remington would do the trick however one must make a case holder / extension. I don't have the equipment to make the case holder, so I did this.
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I used a screw which was slightly undersized for the die and a matching nut. Since the die is a collett and not a taper die, the round is free to fall after the taper, so a proper case holder isn't needed. In THIS case, the nut and the extended screw just happens to fit into the plunger base without a case holder:
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So, from here, you need only adjust the length from the top of the nut to the neck of the case to the 35 remington case length and you will be close for a taper at the top of the case:
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as seen from the top. This will take some adjustment to get the crimp located just right. But it seems to work. I finished with some blue thread lock on the screw to hold the nut at the proper spot.

An alternate option I used was a 38 s&w case resizing die which just engages at about case neck level. That remains to be experimented with....

Good luck.

[AntiqueSledMan]

Hello Mike,

Nice job, I made a threaded shell holder out of Aluminum with a socket head bolt.
But I figured it didn't need to be flat, rather just hold the cartridge while crimping.
Very clever, thanks for sharing.

AntiqueSledMan.

[tucumcari_kid]

I was too lazy to find a flat screw and this actually worked after I cleaned it up anyway. I guess the taper I was using was an old Behr 38 s&w full length resizer. It seems to put a good friction hold on there. I have to shoot a few and see what falls apart.... Thanks for the help!

[Traffer]

I have found that crimping 22lr with a heeled bullet is done like this:

https://youtu.be/1Xr77rfjLdA

[okietwolf]

A friend of mine that I've sadly lost a few years ago and I had no shot at his reloading equipment had a device he made that looked a bit like a one sided tubing cutter with a blunt wheel. It went around the case and a thumb screw tightened it down, allowing the blunt "cutter" to roll the case mouth into the heeled bullet groove

[Traffer]

A friend of mine that I've sadly lost a few years ago and I had no shot at his reloading equipment had a device he made that looked a bit like a one sided tubing cutter with a blunt wheel. It went around the case and a thumb screw tightened it down, allowing the blunt "cutter" to roll the case mouth into the heeled bullet groove

I am in the process of trying to make up something like that right now. The commercial ammo guys use a good sized wheel that squeezes them into kind of pinch "trough" where the blade runs up against the case to crimp. They also have a knurling blade on them to make the cuts in the bullet for lube.
There is also a hand version that can be fabricated that uses two square bars one with a blade that squeezes it up against the blade as the other bar is run along side it...lot's of ways to get the job done, but the idea is to get that very end of the case crimped in.

[Traffer]

Old West bullet mould company makes dies and holders for 38 and 32 (I believe)

[okietwolf]

Traffer....I'm piecing it back together in my memory...lol. I think I saw it 3-4 times and never actually used it. I will search the memory banks and see if it's still there somewhere and attempt a rudimentary sketch

[Traffer]

Traffer....I'm piecing it back together in my memory...lol. I think I saw it 3-4 times and never actually used it. I will search the memory banks and see if it's still there somewhere and attempt a rudimentary sketch

Thanks but really no need. I have seen many variations and planned out several. I just lack the machining skills to make one. I have used a tubing cutter to go over a round that I crimped with a collet crimper...they come out very nice but I fear that the inconsistency of the collet crimp underneath will still affect the release of the bullet.
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[AntiqueSledMan]

Hello Guys,

I must say the bolt & nut idea is probably a fairly good way to go. I can now use my 35 Remington Factory Crimp Die to crimp 35 Remington, .357 Magnum, .38 Long Colt, and .38 Short Colt. Simply set up a different bolt & nut for each caliber. Possibilities are unlimited. I do thing a socket head bolt would help keep things straighter while crimping, also a nyloc nut threaded in backwards would keep position but still allow adjustment. I have built collets, a royal pain with heat treating and all. As far as crimping marks are concerned, less crimp less marking.

AntiqueSledMan.