Cannalure Question

[Tactical30]

If I am loading for a AR (.223) and the bullet has a cannalure like the Barnes M/LE 62gr. or the Remington 62gr Match bullets do you HAVE to crimp the cannalure? I dont crimp any of my bullets (im new to reloading). I just load for accuracy and they seem to work fine but havnt tried the bullets with cannalures. Do you have to crimp bullets with cannalures or can you just seat the cannalure just above the top of the case neck (or below?)without crimping. I have a set of Forester BR dies. Are all seating dies able to crimp or just the specified ones. I read in the Speer book you back off the die 1 single turn for not to crimp. Thats what I have been doing, now if you dont back it off 1 turn it will crimp the bullet?

 

[michaeltx]

Re: Cannalure Question

You can ignore the cannelure, as long as you have enough neck tension that the bullets don't move under recoil.

 

[Powder_Burns]

Re: Cannalure Question

Ignore the cannelure it is not critical. You don't have to seat to the cannelure although you may find that it is located at the ideal seating depth for you, but other times it isn't and its nothing to sweat. The cannelure is for crimping, and unless you are shooting a heavy load that mandates the use of a crimp, you probably won't notice any ill effects.

For crimping I set up my die at the required depth in the press to get my desired amount of crimp. It is very sensitive to case length so trimming must be uniform if you are to crimp in batches. I do not seat and crimp in the same step, I shim the die body above the crimp groove by putting a washer between it and the press. When I am done seating, i'll back off the seater stem and remove the washer, then go to the crimping step.

 

[Victor N TN]

Re: Cannalure Question

If you don't need it, don't use it. I actually crimp very little. Only on heavy recoiling and some auto feeder rounds. In some autos the force can make the bullet cram into the case. But if you don't need it...

 

[sinister]

Re: Cannalure Question

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style="font-weight: bold">You can ignore the cannelure, as long as you have enough neck tension that the bullets don't move under recoil.</span></div></div>

Cannelure crimps are meant for mass-produced ammo to be used in full automatic weapons. Some advocate crimping into a cannelure because they may chamber and eject that round a few times.