question about 9mm crimping

[AZIROC]

I have been reloading 9mm for a while and always "crimped" the round in the same die as the bullet seater. (lee die set) and by crimp i mean i take the little bit of belling back out of the case and "crimp" it to where the sidewall is around .375-.378. a friend of mine said he used a separate crimp die and is more like a rifle "crimp" die on his pistol rounds. should i be doing a separate crimp?

 

[Boxerglocker]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

It all depends in the dies you have and the bullets you use. FMJ you would have much issues crimping and seating at the same time. Lead or moly coated bullets can be challenging.
Most progressive presses are set up to do then in separate operations but you can have success doing it together as well.
I load on a Dillon 650 and there is a separate station for each.

 

[MALLARD]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

if the dies you are using work for you i dont see a reason to consider buying another die.

 

[AZIROC]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

Before I left work I found the box the dies came in. In the description for the bullet seating die, it says *paraphrasing* If a crimp is desired, screw the die further down until desired crimp is achieved. The bullets I have used so far are just the plated Berrys 115gr. I do know that if I have to pull a bullet to check a powder or if I accidently seated the bullet to far in, the bullet is pretty much useless because it seems the plating is beyond thin and "shrinks." IE if I accidently seat to 1.05 instead of 1.15, that bullet will never seat in a new peice of brass to 1.15 cause that little bit extra plating shrank and will "stop" at 1.05 no matter how much of a crimp i put on it at 1.15.

 

[former naval person]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

AZIROC...exactly. Berrys are swaged from dead soft lead and plated with a .001 or so of copper. The re-sized case neck is small and hard enough to size the bullet down. If you want reusable, the traditional jacketed bullet will re-expand the neck after sizing to a greater extent. Sort of, "You pays your money and you takes your choice".

 

[427Cobra]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

I perfer to crimp with a tapper crimp die, I could never get a consistent crimp with my Hornady seating\crimp die, it was either too much or not enough crimp.

 

[AZIROC]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: former naval person</div><div class="ubbcode-body">AZIROC...exactly. Berrys are swaged from dead soft lead and plated with a .001 or so of copper. The re-sized case neck is small and hard enough to size the bullet down. If you want reusable, the traditional jacketed bullet will re-expand the neck after sizing to a greater extent. Sort of, "You pays your money and you takes your choice". </div></div>

Ive shot and reloaded the same cases ive shot previous berry bullets out of and had no issues. should I be, or should I say would it be better, if i went to a true FMJ?

 

[leadbullet]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

a separate crimp die like the lee, is very usefull if you use mixed brass, the larger crimping surface this die provide, uniforms the tension and increases accuracy a bit, in my testing anyway. I ,now, don't care about sorting pistol brass by brand as everything shoots good enough for me and the matches I go to.
hope this helps.

 

[AZIROC]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: attherange</div><div class="ubbcode-body">a separate crimp die like the lee, is very usefull if you use mixed brass, the larger crimping surface this die provide, uniforms the tension and increases accuracy a bit, in my testing anyway. I ,now, don't care about sorting pistol brass by brand as everything shoots good enough for me and the matches I go to.
hope this helps. </div></div>

This is where I am at. I use to care for pistol brass enough to sort it. i may see if i can use my friends press when he loads his next batch of 9mm and see if adding a crimp is that big of a accuracy gain for me.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

A Lee Factory Crimp Die for pistols is designed so rounds have maximum feeding reliability, but since the entire length of the loaded case is resized accuracy suffers, this is due to the bullet being resized as it passes thru the carbide sizing ring, this is bad especially if plated or lead bullets are used.

 

[Deadshot2]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 427Cobra</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A Lee Factory Crimp Die for pistols is designed so rounds have maximum feeding reliability, but since the entire length of the loaded case is resized accuracy suffers, this is due to the bullet being resized as it passes thru the carbide sizing ring, this is bad especially if plated or lead bullets are used. </div></div>

I agree that it <span style="text-decoration: underline">could</span> be an issue, however, the sizing ring does most of it's work near the base where the "glock bulge" tends to form. As for too much crimp being applied and harming accuracy, that part is adjustable. One only needs to put enough "crimp" on the case to push the case mouth portion back against the bullet, without distorting the bullet.

I've found that I am of more hindrance to accuracy with my 9mm than crimping will ever be. I've never worried about accuracy beyond 25 yards with a 9mm as long as I can hit a canning jar lid inside that distance.

 

[AZIROC]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

so am i putting to much of a "crimp" on the brass/bullet when i seat the bullet because i cant reuse the bullet if i seat it to much? i know with my rifle bullets that are FMJ and my nicer 147gr HP, i can reuse the bullets if i seat them.

The more i think about it.. im just going to go blast these berry bullets this weekend and stick t oFMJ. may cost alittle more, but this small headache isnt worth it.

 

[former naval person]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

Well...the part inside the case is smaller than before...does it allow blow-by or tipping? Does the accuracy suffer? Only you can answer that by loading and shooting both the sized down Berrys and the Standard jacket bullets and see if harm is done. By the way...the ring of carbide in the Factory Crimp die doesn't really size down the whole cartridge. It is for functional reliability. If you'll notice on some loaded rounds, the short bullets tend to bulge the case on seating on one side because the short bullets are more likely to be seated tipped. The Lee FCD is meant to iron that bulge out on loaded cases that might otherwise cause a failure to feed. It may affect accuracy, but at most pistol fight ranges, a slight decrease in accuracy is more than acceptable when the result of a failure to feed might mean your wounding or death from a bad guy. JMHO

 

[Munson]

Re: question about 9mm crimping

I have been reloading 9mm for many years. I reload on a 650 and also a square deal B. I have been using Berry's 124g bullets for about 10K loads, and have gone through many of the same cases multiple times. I have never seen an issue with the cases. I would just keep loading. If you start to see an issue with a case, chunk it in the can.