45 acp crimp or no crimp ? - Page 2

T. O'Heir · December 15, 2014, 02:41 PM

...Every cartridge needs a crimp..." Does not. For example, .38 WC's should never be crimped.
All .45's tend to prefer a crimp. Taper only. Aids feeding. Some times just putting in a wee(only enough to take out the flare) crimp will make feeding issues go away.

condor bravo · December 15, 2014, 05:15 PM

Off on another tangent but I guess that's OK. Why should .38 wadcutters never be crimped? Note that factory .38 wc's are not only crimped but the crimp is a roll crimp over the top edge of the bullet to ensure that the bullet is even with, or even slightly below, the case mouth. The S & W Model 52 .38 target pistol requires this flush bullet seating and accuracy is superb. Of course I guess that doesn't really say that they couldn't get by without the crimp except that the rounded roll crimp probably helps feeding.

polyphemus · December 15, 2014, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Off on another tangent but I guess that's OK

Yeah man! go'head and digress,why start a new thread,when you can always
muddle the the waters and get me all bent over backwards.
Just kidding,don't hurt me!

condor bravo · December 15, 2014, 05:54 PM

Right on; we're all still friends.

DR Owl Creek · December 16, 2014, 01:56 PM

I use a taper crimp die after the bullets are seated in all of my pistol cartridges (9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP). For the 45 ACP, I crimp to .470" with jacketed bullets. I go about .001" over that for cast lead.

Dave

jrobin3360 · December 16, 2014, 03:38 PM

Of the head of my reloaded cartridge fits flush with my Lyman case gauge, crimp or no, then it's GTG. If not, it gets just enough crimp to fit.
That way, they work in all my guns.

mikld · December 16, 2014, 04:30 PM

On some of the thousands of wadcutters I've reloaded in 38 Special, 99% get crimps. Some get a taper crimp, most get a light roll crimp, and I have, out of curiosity shot some sans crimp (that means without a crimp). Can't understand why anyone would make a blanket statement about no crimps on .38 wadcutters...

Jim Watson · December 16, 2014, 04:49 PM

If I don't ROLL crimp my .38 wadcutters, my M52 is reluctant to feed them. Even my PPC revolvers are easier to speedload with a bit of crimp.

I was once a member of the .45 ACP School of H&G #68 at 1.250" OAL and little more taper crimp than required to level the flare. I put up with the occasional misfeed, just thinking my FLG was not as sharp as the national names.
Then I got a box of Black Hills "remanufactured" SWCs as an IDPA match drawing prize. They were loaded shorter and had a substantial taper crimp. They fed smoothly. I concluded they knew what it took to get SWCs to run in the most .45 autos on the market. So I started loading to their OAL and crimp and have had great function ever since.

December 15, 2014, 02:41 PM	#26
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	...Every cartridge needs a crimp..." Does not. For example, .38 WC's should never be crimped. All .45's tend to prefer a crimp. Taper only. Aids feeding. Some times just putting in a wee(only enough to take out the flare) crimp will make feeding issues go away. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

December 16, 2014, 04:30 PM	#32
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	On some of the thousands of wadcutters I've reloaded in 38 Special, 99% get crimps. Some get a taper crimp, most get a light roll crimp, and I have, out of curiosity shot some sans crimp (that means without a crimp). Can't understand why anyone would make a blanket statement about no crimps on .38 wadcutters... __________________ My Anchor is holding fast! I've learned how to stand on my own two knees... Last edited by mikld; December 18, 2014 at 12:14 PM.

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December 15, 2014, 05:15 PM	#27
condor bravo Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2014 Location: Nevada/Ariz/CA Posts: 1,753	Off on another tangent but I guess that's OK. Why should .38 wadcutters never be crimped? Note that factory .38 wc's are not only crimped but the crimp is a roll crimp over the top edge of the bullet to ensure that the bullet is even with, or even slightly below, the case mouth. The S & W Model 52 .38 target pistol requires this flush bullet seating and accuracy is superb. Of course I guess that doesn't really say that they couldn't get by without the crimp except that the rounded roll crimp probably helps feeding.

December 15, 2014, 05:54 PM	#29
condor bravo Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2014 Location: Nevada/Ariz/CA Posts: 1,753	Right on; we're all still friends.

December 16, 2014, 01:56 PM	#30
DR Owl Creek Member Join Date: June 7, 2014 Posts: 22	I use a taper crimp die after the bullets are seated in all of my pistol cartridges (9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP). For the 45 ACP, I crimp to .470" with jacketed bullets. I go about .001" over that for cast lead. Dave

December 16, 2014, 03:38 PM	#31
jrobin3360 Senior Member Join Date: June 30, 2013 Location: Kentucky, near Ft Knox Posts: 153	Of the head of my reloaded cartridge fits flush with my Lyman case gauge, crimp or no, then it's GTG. If not, it gets just enough crimp to fit. That way, they work in all my guns.

December 16, 2014, 04:49 PM	#33
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,528	If I don't ROLL crimp my .38 wadcutters, my M52 is reluctant to feed them. Even my PPC revolvers are easier to speedload with a bit of crimp. I was once a member of the .45 ACP School of H&G #68 at 1.250" OAL and little more taper crimp than required to level the flare. I put up with the occasional misfeed, just thinking my FLG was not as sharp as the national names. Then I got a box of Black Hills "remanufactured" SWCs as an IDPA match drawing prize. They were loaded shorter and had a substantial taper crimp. They fed smoothly. I concluded they knew what it took to get SWCs to run in the most .45 autos on the market. So I started loading to their OAL and crimp and have had great function ever since.