Bullet Crimp?

[Steve1]

I like to load my bullets out to almost touch the rifling on most of my rifles (for accuracy). I usually load 130 grain bullets for my 270. My Remington 700 has a fairly long throat. The only real problem is that there isn't the full length of the neck gripping the bullet. After resizing the cases, the neck doesn't hold the bullet quite as tight as I would like. I bought a Lee bullet crimper and it seems to hold the bullet really well. I really like the way it grips the bullet in place.

I've read that you shouldn't crimp a bullet unless you crimp it into a bullet canleture (I think that's what it's called). That it can increase pressures drastically.

I haven't noticed any change in pressures. My loads are as accurate as ever. I like the peace of mind, knowing that my bullet isn't going to move or get stuck in the barrel. Am I doing the right thing? Can you forsee any problems with this?

One day I was out hunting antelope. I had a dandy buck about 200 yards away. All I had to do was peek over the ridge and shoot. Well, I thought I'd double check to make sure I had a bullet chambered. I pointed my rifle up and opened the bolt. I used my thumb to keep that bullet from flipping out. Holy Crap! There was the brass with no bullet in it. The bullet was stuck in the barrel. What was I going to do now? The case was still full of powder....so I closed the bolt. I crawled up to the ridge and shot that antelope dead. I guess I was lucky that the powder didn't spill out all over.

I went to crimping my bullets after that and didn't have any further issues. My bullets may have been loaded a little too long that day. Or maybe my chamber was dirty. That's the first time a bullet has stuck in the chamber. I sure don't want that to happen on another hunt.....

At any rate I'm wondering if I'm doing the right thing by crimping my bullets that don't have a canleture built into them?

 

[918v]

A lot of people are stuck on seating into the lands. Then they experience problems and are forced to resort to half-ass fixes. The best solution is to load to mag length. You will get the same accuracy. I'm getting .2" accuracy jumping .1". It's entirely possible and common.

As far as crimping into a non existent cannelure, it will not raise pressure. What people perceive as an increase in pressure is really a stuck case due to a collapsed shoulder due to the use of a STANDARD crimp die without a cannelure.

A Lee collet die applies pressure to the case from a different direction and does not collapse the shoulder and will not cause the case to stick.

 

[mdmp5]

You can crimp rifle bullets if you want. It's not that it raises pressure so much, but it induces a deformity into the bullet, as well as some additional runout. If you need to crimp them to hold the bullet in the neck, then do it.

However, your problem can be solved another way. Get yourself a bushing die with a proper size bushing. I am going to make an assumption: The die you are using is not a f/l bushing die, but a standard f/l die, and the expander ball is ripping the mouth wide open. Might work with some brass, but brass like hornady is too thin, and the bullet will not sit in the case mouth.

 

[bigedp51]

If you need to increase neck tension or the grip on the bullet all you need to do is spin the ball expander in a drill and reduce the diameter .001 or .002 to increase neck tension. This way you will not be forced to crimp the bullets and deform the case mouth.

Also 918v hit the nail on the head is saying you do not need to seat into the lands, your not dealing with a custom made bench rest rifle you have a factory made hunting rifle and need to be practical.

 

[Steve1]

My resizing dies are RCBS. That sounds like a good fix, to spin the expander ball to reduce it's size. Can you use regular sand paper for that?

My rifles are factory rifles.....but I fine tune them to where they will really shoot well. I love Remington 700's. Loading the bullet out to almost touch the lands is probably the biggest trick I know for improved accuracy. I don't want to move the bullet back....

I recently shot a 1/4 inch group (four shots at a 100 yds.) with that same 270. Maybe that is more accurate than you need for most hunting. but I like the fact it will shoot that well. For longer range shooting that accuracy is important. I don't take a lot of long shots though, because I don't like wounding game. But if a longer shot is needed, I want an accurate rifle.

 

[Garyc]

The lee factory crimp die does a great job and is the way to go if you're wanting to crimp. I crimp most of my hunting loads, rounds that ride through a few shots in a magazine will often have the bullet set back under recoil if not crimped. Tuning a load by adjusting seating depth is common, saying that a load will shoot just as accurately if seated at magazine length is incorrect, it most certainly does make a difference in most rifles. Everything's a trade off and on a hunting rifle I like a little jump to the lands even if I have to give up a little accuracy. Seating into the lands runs the risk of pulling a bullet as the OP saw, that can ruin a hunt if it happens and powder gets dumped all inside the action. Loose powder can jam up an action, I know because I've done it and it took a lot of work with a Q-tip to get it all out. Better on a hunting rifle to find the best load you can without seating into the lands even if it does mean sacrificing a little accuracy.

You can adjust the amount of crimp with the lee factory crimp die by turning it into or out of the press a bit. On bullets with no cannelure it's best to go with a light crimp, just enough to keep the bullet from moving. No need to really have the die cranked down, it can deform the bullet some if you have it set for a really hard crimp.

 

[Steve1]

I appreciate the advice on this. I took that resizing die apart. I think I'll spin it in a drill press and try to reduce the size of it slightly. I'd better buy a set of calipers before I embark on this project. It would probably be easy to take off too much metal.

I'd probably be smart to back off on bullet length some. I sure hate to change a load that I can drive tacks with. I'm also going to start carrying a cleaning rod with me, for hunting. I've got some that break down small. It might be the only way to get a stuck bullet out. If you were miles from town, it might be worth it's weight in gold.

 

[smschulz]

I started hitting all my loads with a very light crimp with the Lee unit.
Don't know if helps much, don't think it hurts any either.
I use more pressure if the bullet has a cannelure otherwise just a small tap.