Hornady die crimping question

[JJE76]

I have the 308 and 300 black custom die sets. Is there a way to do a light crimp instead of a full one?

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[Local Loader]

Use less pressure, a little shorter stoke or raise the die up.

 

[TDH]

I have the 300 Hornady dies, but I use a LEE for putting a light crimp when needed. But if it adjusts like most of the pistol dies, you need to raise it up/down until you get the crimp you want. Might be a PITA though. I think the Lee is like $12, might be worth it.

Good luck!

 

[JJE76]

Just getting into it. The crimping or not to crimp has me scratching my head.

 

[Local Loader]

If you're using a bolt rifle than not everyone uses a crimp or just uses a light to moderate crimp just to hold the bullet. If it's for a semi-auto than must people use a moderate to heavy crimp.

 

[JJE76]

Mostly 300 blackout or 308 ar platform. Bolt gun in the future

 

[Local Loader]

I would go with a moderate to heavy crimp for that to help prevent any feed issues or lose bullets from the vibrations.

 

[DizzyJ]

I don't crimp my rifle cartridges, bolt or semi-auto. If you've got .0025-.003" neck tension you should be fine.

Just my opinion.

 

[ron]

Over many years I have reloaded thousands of rounds of 308 for my M1A semi-auto. I never crimp any 308 30/06 or 223. And all of them are fired from semi-automatic rifles. Match grade ammunition for competition shooting. Standard RCBS full length dies will hold enough bullet tension the bullet cannot be pushed back in the case. I have never reloaded for a 300 blackout and know nothing about it

 

[ron]

Do a test with everything the same but one lot is crimped and one lot is not crimped. You will see half the group size with a no crimp lot

 

[TDH]

I mostly agree - I use cast and coated bullets for my 300 blk subs, so I use an M-Die to expand the mouth a little. I use the FCD to remove the flair. I use one 223 bullet with a cannelure so I do lightly crimp that as well.

To crimp or not to crimp, that is the question.
.... Hamlet or some other guy

 

[2ndtimer]

I have the 308 and 300 black custom die sets. Is there a way to do a light crimp instead of a full one?

When I crimp, I always do it as a separate step after seating. If you try to seat and crimp at the same time, you can bulge a case or crush the shoulder. I also use the Lee factory crimp die on all my .223 ammo that will run through AR's. I have one for my .308 Win., but so far have been happy running them with just neck tension in my PA-10. I never crimp for ammo used in bolt guns.

 

[TTSX]

Lee factory crimp dies are where it's at. I've buckled more than one case trying to seat and crimp in the same motion. Especially if you have a 5 position progressive.

That said, I don't typically crimp unless I expect the bullet to be pushed on or fairly heavy recoil. 30-30, .357 and .375 Ruger come to mind

 

[Local Loader]

I crimp and seat in the same step. I have my die set to do a moderate crimp on cannelured bullets. I just raised the die about 1/2 to 3/4 and adjusted the seater pin accordingly for the bullet position I want. For non-cannelured I just use a little less pressure on the bottom of the down stroke with the same die. Seat depth only changes by about 0.005m and they stay within 1.5 at 200 yards. Not trying to go beyond 400 yards with them so works great for me, testing to see what works best for you is what is do. Try different depths and crimps and combos of and see what works best and go with that.

 

[Pepe-lepew]

Most rifle bullets do not have a crimp groove, don't crimp those.

I do not crimp rifle rounds unless it has a crimp groove and will be used in a tubular magazine, like 30-30 or 45-70, or I am loading lead bullets.

 

[fredoesway]

I have the 308 and 300 black custom die sets. Is there a way to do a light crimp instead of a full one?

type into your search engine, roll crimp vs. taper crimp. everything you need to know.