44 Special Taper Crimp Die

Status
Not open for further replies.

Jack B.

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
1,946
Location
Cocoa
I need a taper crimp die. I have been loading 44 special's with plated bullets and I need a die that will apply a crimp to hold the bullet firmly in place without buckling the case. Does anyone know if this type of die is available and where I can purchase one.
 
Here is a taper crimp on an X-Treme 200 Gr bullet in .44 Spl. It works quite well, but yes, you need good neck tension to start with, although combined with it the right amount of taper "crimp" can help, but too much can hurt.
Medium Taper Crimp on an X-Treme 200 Gr FP in .44 Spl Pic 1.JPG
Medium Taper Crimp on an X-Treme 200 Gr FP in .44 Spl Pic 2.JPG
 
Had a similar problem in reloading my 6.8SPC. Some bullets come with a cannelure others don't. Got a taper crimp die from RCBS so I'm sure they make one for .44 special.
I also bought some plated .44 bullets for my .44 mag. without a cannelure but I'm only loading those to around 900fps. so a light roll crimp seems to work just fine.
 
Despite popular internet lore you can actually use a regular 44 cal roll crimp with plated bullets. Just don't crimp the snot out of them. If the bullet doesn't have a cannelure a roll crimp can make a "slight" one for you.

https://www.berrysmfg.com/faq#FAQ12

Question: Why is there no cannelure in your bullets?


Plated bullets are very difficult to cannelure, it requires an extra step after the plating process and if not done carefully, can ruin the plating. We only put a cannelure on two bullets (45-70 and 500 S&W), you shouldn't need a cannelure on our other bullets. If you feel the need, you can use a snug roll crimp to keep bullets in place. Just ensure you don't get the roll too tight, such that it severs the plating and destroys the bullet.
 
Yep, I have used a roll crimp on "non cannalure" bullets, just not as much "roll" as for a bullet with a crimp groove or cannalure. It is easy to use too much crimp with a taper crimp die as the crimp isn't as easy to see as a roll crimp. Just watch some forums and you'll see a bunch of new reloaders questions about semi-auto handloads not chambering due to a bulge. Too much taper crimping bulges cases too...
 
you can chamfer the inside of the case, expand but don't bell the case with your expander die and then seat your bullet. rifle rounds are loaded in this way.

luck,

murf
 
Here is a taper crimp on an X-Treme 200 Gr bullet in .44 Spl. It works quite well, but yes, you need good neck tension to start with, although combined with it the right amount of taper "crimp" can help, but too much can hurt.
View attachment 851261
View attachment 851263
Thanks for posting those two pictures. That's the exact same bullet I have been loading in .44 Spl for my Ruger Blackhawk. I use a Dillon 550 and don't seem to have any trouble with the crimp. Mind sharing the powder and load you're using??
 
I use a Redding crimp die on 38 Special that works very well. Also, I have an elderly C&H crimp die for 45 ACP. There are taper crimp dies for revolver cartridges. They are to put a taper crimp on your rounds.
 
f you are buckling the cases during the seat/crimp step, try separating the processes. I generally will seat in one step, then crimp in another. Prevents that whole buckled case thing.

This quote has the simple way to solve buckling. There are several events that can aggravate case buckling. First is the seating/crimp die is set too far down. The cases buckle in the crimping stage. The other problem that may be linked to the first has to do with case length. Untrimmed brass at different lengths can have some cases that are buckled . The long cases can buckle if the die was set on a short case.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top