Seater plug and taper crimp adjustment?

Macoute · January 27, 1999, 08:24 AM

Once you have your taper crimp die set for the crimp, can you just adjust the seater plug for bullets with different lengths or does the crimp have to be adjusted again for a different bullet length? Thanks.

Contender · January 27, 1999, 06:30 PM

Normally, I'd back the die body off a half turn(no crimp), seat the new bullet style to the chosen depth in the case by adjusting the seater plug,back the seater plug off a turn,then adjust the die body for the amount of crimp wanted, leave the shell up in the die then screw down the seating stem snugly onto the bullet. This will but you very near or exactly at the proper adjustment. Adjust the stem slightly if you need to seat deeper after that.

If you were to just try to seat a new bullet length without backing off the crimp setting, chances are you would crimp and crush the bullet at the wrong depth and ruin a number of rounds in a trial and error process.

When all is said and done I prefer to seat and crimp in a seperate operation.

Cheapo · January 31, 1999, 12:52 PM

At first flush, it would seem that you could just sacrifice one sample case with the new bullet, just to see how close the depth is to being correct. Then just adjust the seater stem. And sometimes that does work.

The problem that arises is with roll crimps and cannelures that are not as deep on the next bullet type. The perfectly good crimp for one bullet may result in crunched and buckled case mouths/necks when crammed into a shallower cannelure. Usually it's not enough to ruin 3-10 rounds of ammo that gets made while observing the operation, but it's still a hassle.

Of course, you get this same effect, far worse, when crimping into the bullet where there is NO cannelure.

If you back the die body out exactly one turn before establishing depth, it's quite easy to back the seating stem out the right amount when you return the die body to the crimping position. I keep a Sharpie pen on the loading bench to make an index mark to assure repeatability when doing this. If you're lucky, the seating stem will have threads the same pitch as the dies, resulting in a plus-one/minus-one situation. :-).

January 27, 1999, 08:24 AM	#1
Macoute Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Posts: 24	Once you have your taper crimp die set for the crimp, can you just adjust the seater plug for bullets with different lengths or does the crimp have to be adjusted again for a different bullet length? Thanks.

January 27, 1999, 06:30 PM	#2
Contender Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 1998 Location: NY Posts: 680	Normally, I'd back the die body off a half turn(no crimp), seat the new bullet style to the chosen depth in the case by adjusting the seater plug,back the seater plug off a turn,then adjust the die body for the amount of crimp wanted, leave the shell up in the die then screw down the seating stem snugly onto the bullet. This will but you very near or exactly at the proper adjustment. Adjust the stem slightly if you need to seat deeper after that. If you were to just try to seat a new bullet length without backing off the crimp setting, chances are you would crimp and crush the bullet at the wrong depth and ruin a number of rounds in a trial and error process. When all is said and done I prefer to seat and crimp in a seperate operation.

January 31, 1999, 12:52 PM	#3
Cheapo Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 1998 Posts: 986	At first flush, it would seem that you could just sacrifice one sample case with the new bullet, just to see how close the depth is to being correct. Then just adjust the seater stem. And sometimes that does work. The problem that arises is with roll crimps and cannelures that are not as deep on the next bullet type. The perfectly good crimp for one bullet may result in crunched and buckled case mouths/necks when crammed into a shallower cannelure. Usually it's not enough to ruin 3-10 rounds of ammo that gets made while observing the operation, but it's still a hassle. Of course, you get this same effect, far worse, when crimping into the bullet where there is NO cannelure. If you back the die body out exactly one turn before establishing depth, it's quite easy to back the seating stem out the right amount when you return the die body to the crimping position. I keep a Sharpie pen on the loading bench to make an index mark to assure repeatability when doing this. If you're lucky, the seating stem will have threads the same pitch as the dies, resulting in a plus-one/minus-one situation. :-).