Bullet Crimping

rexracer707

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Minuteman
May 12, 2017
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I'm loading up some 55gr V Maxs for my AR, I don't get the cannelure ones cause I mainly shoot my bolt gun at varmints. I had a problem once last year where a bullet got jammed down the neck of the case when it came out of the mag to the chamber, it may have been a fluke but I quit using those reloads in the AR.

I know your not supposed to crimp non cannelure jackets, but I was wondering if anyone did put a light crimp on it just for durability while cycling out of the mag to the chamber.

It just for varmints so I figured it may be Ok, It's not going to be match grade ammo.

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While I think adequate neck tension should be enough to hold them I dont see how a light crimp would do anything detrimental or overly unsafe or anything. I mean, sure, they might not be as accurate but if they meet your standard after testing a few then go for it. Really only one way to know if they mess up your load in the gun.
 
I've been putting a very light crimp on my 69 gr SMK's for years, gives me all the accuracy I need out to 600 which is about all I've ever needed in 3-gun.
 
Spife, I thought the next tension would hold them as well, that's why I thought it may have been a fluke, it only happened once in a 20 round mag.

Fursniper, I love those smk' s for my 300 and 500 yard matches, what kind of accuracy do you see out at 600 yards?

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"Fursniper, I love those smk' s for my 300 and 500 yard matches, what kind of accuracy do you see out at 600 yards?"

Well, it's good enough to get 1st round hits on a full size IPSC target at 600 with a 1-6 scope in 3-gun, that's about all I care about. I don't shoot paper with it. If I want precision I shoot my bolt guns. In 3-gun I'm more concerned with reliabllity 1st & accuracy second (up to a point!).
 
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People who load over worked brass use crimping as means to overcome sloppy reloading practices.
I have shot God only knows how many rounds through M1 Garand, Galil, M1A, HK 91 / 93, Mini 14, AR platforms in large and small caliber.....
To me the HK and Galil are two of the hardest on brass. For the HK a shooting in North Dakota along the Red River finds his brass in Minnesota

Guess how many were crimped? Yep you got it! Zero
Guess how many Alibis I had shooting XTC? Yep you got it! Zero!
Crimping can for some enhance accuracy.
Crimping for Govt OEM ammo is a safety issue.

One has to remember that there were a who lot of people who when Distinguished shooting AR with 69gr SMK and 748 powder! That 69gr with a good shooter works! Has it been surpassed? Yes....
 
I'm not into over working my brass, and it is definitely not sloppy reloading. I'm thinking it was a one time deal.

I have 300 loaded and I will be zeroing and testing a mag full this weekend and see how they do before crimping.

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I don't like those Seater-Crimp design dies . When I do a 'light' crimp on AR15 handloads, I do with Lee collet-crimp die and use a single stage press . It even gives you the feel for when you get an oddball thin or thick Neck wall so you can cull it out if you want .
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I've shot 10's of thousands of rounds out of my semi autos. Never crimped a single one and never had any issues to date with feeding or accuracy. I shoot 55vmax in my 10.5" SBR, it loved them accuracy wise. I'm shooting LC brass annealed every 3rd firing and sized in a Forster FL sizing die bumping .003.
 
i don't reload for semi's but somewhere down the road i acquired a taper crimp die for 308 its for use in semi's i believe you might want to research them as it might fit what you need. i use them for my semi auto pistols but never for a rifle.