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Irish, you and I have the same 243. I love that gun, but am using the 105 gr A-Max.
Back to the question, the answer is maybe. If you are shooting Bench Rest (one shot at a time), you do not need to crimp. Some even think that it hurts accuracy to crimp. These are people that weigh each and every bullet to make sure they are exactly the same. They are generally shooting 500 to 600 meters or more and are looking for extreem accuracy. (Money is involved in their compititions.)
The rest of us slobs are happy when our groups are .5 to 1 MOA together (1.1 inch apart). We use our guns mostly for hunting. (it gets too expensive just to shoot up our ammo nowadays, even when reloading.) So for safety's sake (we load 4 to 5 rounds in our magazines), we crimp. Some, say it makes the ammo more reliable and insures that all the powder is burnt and gives better FPS on our shots.
Now Slamfire and I have gone around on this topic before, and he is correct that the Rifle Crimping Die will impart a slight dent in the bullet (ones without a cantilure in them, those with a cantilure it will not). But to be extreemly honest about this, the heat from firing your gun will start to soften (melt) your bullet the second it starts to travel down the barrel and will reform your bullet to your rifling. Don't believe me on this, just grab a hold of your barrel right after firing a shot, just bring along some burn cream to fix your hand.
Now I personally believe I get a fuller burn of my powder by crimping, also I am a coward and do not want to fire off a second or third shot where the bullet has changed OAL because of the recoil and blows up my gun.
Aaaa the question, to crimp or not to crimp, it's a personal choice.
Do you feel lucky, boy!! (Clint Eastwood quote)
Jim
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