223 crimp. Who crimps, who doesn't?

[Ryo]

I always do a light crimp.

 

[Spitpatch]

This would apply only to "roll crimps". At a minimum a taper crimp is required on any cartridge that requires the case neck be flared or "belled" in order to seat the bullet.

Know you cartridge and what it's requirements are. Blanket statements can be very confusing, sometimes dangerous, when followed by beginners.

In the realm of specifics and technicality, I do stand corrected. Certainly, any brass belled for bullet insertion needs return to form (and if that can be referred to as a taper crimp, so be it). I would presume your reference may be to semi-auto pistol cartridges such as .45 ACP and such. The "crimp" in this case (no pun intended) occurs without choice, really, during the seating of the bullet. My sloppy generalization toward "Crimp" referred to an operation of choice during (or seperate from) the seating process (either taper, roll, or Lee factory: "clamp or collet crimp"?). I would imagine it is somehow possible to seat a .45 ACP bullet in brass without the necessary (and automatic) taper crimp that occurs in any common seating die, but I would not venture to do that (hence the validity of your correction), nor recommend it. As it occurs most normally without thought, I mistakenly believed it did not need mentioning.

 

[deadshot2]

I would imagine it is somehow possible to seat a .45 ACP bullet in brass without the necessary (and automatic) taper crimp that occurs in any common seating die, but I would not venture to do that (hence the validity of your correction), nor recommend it. As it occurs most normally without thought, I mistakenly believed it did not need mentioning.

Do not overlook the fact that many do not have their seating dies adjusted properly, or have backed off the body on purpose. The seater plug is then adjusted down until the desired OAL is reached. I've seen finished cartridges for .45 and 9mm that looked like the bullet was seated in a "funnel" and the shooter couldn't figure out why they wouldn't chamber.

Just remember, if everything was truly automatic, where dies produced perfect rounds everytime, what good would a forum like this be? No problems=no questions. No questions=no answers. No answers=nothing to argue about. What fun is that?

 

[Spitpatch]

"...finished cartridges for .45 and 9mm that looked like the bullet was seated in a "funnel" and the shooter couldn't figure out why they wouldn't chamber."

Otherwise known as the "wall-scrape" method of chamber residue removal. A time-honored technique, utilized only by those truly "in the know".

 

[rdt]

i find crimping with seat dies creates highly variable results. I use Lee Factory Crimp Dies instead. Roll vs Taper crimp is built into the Lee FCD (roll for 38, Taper for 45 . . . )

 

[motoman98]

I bought a taper crimp die from Dillon Precision for .223: Then you don't have to worry about cannelure or not, case length being perfectly equal, and/or bullets being shoved back into the case which is NOT SAFE.

 

[asorum]

I crimp all of my .223 and use a Lee tool.