To Crimp, or Not to Crimp?

[NailGun]

Howdy All, I'm NailGun....and I'm a reloader... While I am not new to reloading, I am new to reloading 7mm Rem. Mag. rounds. And new to this forum. My question is: Has anyone had any experience with reloading non-cannalure bullets for a self-loading rifle? I noticed that the Remington, Federal, and Winchester 7mm Mag. rounds I have all have cannalures and crimps. I shoot a BAR in 7mm Rem. Mag. and am wondering if it is safe or advisable to use a Swift Scirocco or CT Partition (no cannalure) without crimping. The Lee book says something like....Ya Sure, You Betcha, Just Crimp Away using the FCD! I ran a dummy round through the magazine and action several times, and the COL remained the same with NO crimp. (I was happily surprised). However, while shooting, will the bullets stay put?....hmmm. Any thoughts? Thanks in advanced. NailGun

 

[USSR]

NailGun,

The only rifles I would consider crimping the bullet for is one of the lever actions with the tube magazine under the barrel, which I don't own. In reloading for my M1 Garand, I do not crimp. The degree to which the bullet is held in the case is determined by the amount of neck tension I put in the case neck. I control this by using Redding bushing dies, which IMHO is the best thing since sliced bread.

Don

 

[Shoney]

Frist, Welcome to the forum NailGun!!

I agree wih USSR. Test your loads in the weapon during live fire. Run one complete magazine thru, checking after each shot, but keeping the shells in their original order.

Although I dont think you will have a problem, if there is any bullet setback, turn your die down 1/16 of a turn, and retry. Make sure you are not going too far, as this will deform the case.

If you are not confident with your job, you could get a factory crimping die. Redding makes outstanding dies, but many top benchrest shooters use the "cheap" Lee factory crimp die.

 

[NailGun]

Thank You for the welcome Shoney. I loaded up five sets of four rounds to try out for velocity and pressure signs. I gave each round a 1/2 turn on my Lee FCD just for good measure, although when I tried pushing on the dummy round I made up - without a crimp - the bullet didn't push down in the case neck under hand pressure.....Maybe I am too paranoid, but I would hate to have one of these bullets creeeep back in the mag. while shooting and give me a sudden high pressure surprise. I guess plan "B" would be to purchase bullets with cannalures for the BAR, and purchase a bolt gun for the bullets that I bought without cannalures. Hate to waste good bullets after all.... Thanks for your input. NailGun

 

[Shoney]

As an afterthought, are you trimming your cases? Since it is second nature to me to do this, I sometimes forget to ask. I do this out of habit after every firing, and particularly on new cases. By doing this, you insure that you will have a consistent product, i.e. that each of your loads has the same length and therefore the same crimp.

New cases are fairly consistent, depending on brand, but do come in varying lengths.

 

[s&w 24]

the big thing with these bullets (or any for that matter) is neck tention. If you don't have proper neck tention you either need to resize the necks smaller or your bullets and case neck don't have enough bearing surface between them. If you seat some bullets to deep in the case you can end up with only a thin part of the ogive contacting the case neck.

the only other time not crimping a bullet has been a problem for me was when I was using compressed powder charges over long bullets. I had a few scoot around in the magazine and then I just put a light tapper crimp on them and bingo! no more trouble.

 

[NailGun]

Thanks Again for the replies. I always trim my cases, using the Lee trimmer. I inspect all my brass after shooting, and before - during - after reloading. The neck tension seems really good on this lot of Remington cases. I have had some S&B that just wouldn't grip a bullet. (Have some S&B's that are really good too.)
Usually I reload cowboy loads for our lever guns and revolvers, using either hardcast bullets, or jacketed bullets with cannalure. All those rounds get a crimp. Also load .223 Rem. loads for my bolt gun. With a bolt gun, the user has control over round feeding, so whether a bullet has a cannalure/no cannalure, crimp/no crimp usually isn't that big of an issue. The manuals I have (5) didn't really give a difinitive answer to whether or not to crimp a non-cannalure bullet and do not say much about autoloaders. The Lee book gives about the most information.....Would be nice to get second qualified opinoin. I am working up hunting loads for this rifle, with accuracy and reliability being the goal. I figure even starting load velocity is more than adequate for whitetail with a 7mm Mag. One shot, One deer, One BIG smile. Thanks again.... NailGun

 

[stillwalks]

to crimp or not to crimp?

Nailgun.....I'm a reloader also...Shotshells, rifle, and handgun....i also shoot a Browning Bar in 7mm rem mag.....as long as my neck size provides enough tension on the bullet....no problem....my background as a machinist causes me to mike up my brass so i can control deviation to a minimum. I usually only load 50 - 100 rds of 7 mag a yr. So...the decision is yours....do what you are comfortable/confident with.

 

[NailGun]

Thank You Stillwalks. I appreciate input from a fellow BAR user. I gots my rounds loaded up, gave em a light crimp with a Lee FCD even though these bullets didn't have a cannalure..... Waiting for a day when I have time and the wind is not blowing 20 mph. + (may be tough here in SD) so I can try em out. Guess I will have to find a pic host site to post pictures on, so I can show off my targets when I finally arrive at that rifle's "pet load". Regards, NailGun