[Quoheleth]

I don't have the camara at the house...wife took it to school [again] so I'll have to get it in a couple days and post some pics.

Reloaded my first 25 rounds of 158 gr 38 Special yesterday using my Lee hand press. (I *hope* a little more practice will help with some speed. Right now I'm obviously being deliberate and dbl checking my dbl check; speed is NOT primary concern right now.)

I only did 25 so if I tanked it, it wasn't too much $$ and time wasted. The depriming & full length sizing went just fine. The priming is slow - using the ram-prime that came with the kit - but very functional. I had to re-set the expanding die; I was scraping lead off of my lead SWCs. In fact, I will probably set it just a bit deeper next time.

I'll save the drama...how do I know if I am crimping too tight or too loose? There were a few that must have gone sideways somehow - it's like one side of the crimp was crimped harder than the other. If they are crimped too tight, is that dangerous in my GP100?

FWIW, I'm loading these babies with 4.3 (or was it 4.5? I forget right now, and I'm away from my notes) gr AA#5.

I'll try to post some pics in a day or two if that'll help...

Q

[O.S.O.K.]

Well, this is hard to answer. First of all, I suggest that you seat the bullets with the die adjusted so that there's no crimp and then run them through again with the bullet seater backed off and the die adjusted down to apply the crimp - this gives a much cleaner seat/crimp as the bullet is not moving while the crimp is being applied.

The crimp should be a slight roll-in of the lip to the bullet. Hard to describe - just enough that the bullet will not pull out under recoil but not so tight as to be cutting into the bullet.

I'll go take some pics of some revolver ammo that I just loaded so you can see those.

ETA: OK here's a pic of some 44 Special rounds that I recently loaded:
http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data//500/HPIM1025.JPG
The brown stuff on the bullets is Lee Liquid Alox - an excellent lube. But this clearly shows a proper crimp for cast bullets. You may not be able to get quite as deep of a crimp for jacketed bullets - just want the crimp to touch the bottom of the crimping caneluer on those.

Hope that helps you!

[Pumpkinheaver]

Light .38 spl loads need very little crimp. I have tested various levels of crimp in my Smith 36 from heavy to zero crimp. With light loads I found no bullet movement even with no crimp when using light loads. I would just out a slight amount of crimp on these.

[Steve Koski]

Agreed. Use a light crimp. No need to mash the living hell out of the case mouth here.

[Grandpa Shooter]

.38 special loads in general do not take much more than gently rolling the mouth of the case into the canellure on the bullet. It is held by the rim on the case ,not the mouth of the case like straight walled uncrimped rounds. Too much crimp or seating the bullet too far can run your pressures up higher than they need to be and with a higher charge (more powder) can be dangerous.

[jibjab]

I agree with the above posts, however I find when using slower powders a heavier crimp will help the powder burn more completely. Too much crimp can buckle the case mouth and chambering these rounds could be a problem.

[The Bushmaster]

One other thing that hasn't been answered for you, Quoheleth. The offset crimp on the case mouth may be that you didn't trim the cases first and the case mouths may not be square with the case. Not to worry...I doubt that you can over crimp a .38 Special to make it dangerous for a GP 100 without seeing a really distorted bullet...

[O.S.O.K.]

OK guys - crimping is such a subjective thing - judging by the photo above, how would you describe the crimp that I applied to those 44 Specials?

They are standard presure level, 240 grain SWC, gas check bullets cast from wheel weight alloy and sized to .430" in a Lee push-through sizer (best for the money IMHO).

I'd call this a "medium to heavy crimp". The 3" Smith that I shoot these in has pretty stout recoil (surprisingly).

However, I apply this level of crimp to all cast loads (rimmed rounds) that I load. Autoloader rounds get taper crimped of course.

So what would you're assement be?

[The Bushmaster]

O.S.O.K. They look like they have been crimped.:D What else would you like to know about your .44 special rounds???:evil:

[Walkalong]

Medium Roll Crimp. I crimped my lead .44 Spl. loads just a tad more, but yours are just fine.

Are you serious about be suprised about the recoil in a 3" Smith?

A 624 or a 696?

My 696

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=57262&d=1177795802

[zxcvbob]

If you have a 9mm seating die, you can use it to taper-crimp .38 Specials and .357 Magnums. It works really well for bullets that don't have a cannelure.

[jibjab]

Ahh, Happiness is a warm S&W 696 :)

[Quoheleth]

Thanks, guys. I guess I was "crimping the hell" outta those .38s. Will back off a bit for next batch. I had bought a box of LSWC .38s a few weeks ago, but forgot to set a couple back for comparison to my reloads.

And, yes, I didn't trim my cases. Lee's manual said not necessary for revolver loads...was taking him at his word. However, I will also state that I didn't really try side-by-side comparisons of my empties. I checked them for any stress marks, but not length.

...but I did notice (before trying to prime it!) a .357 case that somehow snuck by, so I'm not totally sitting there with my press handle in my ear.

Easy on the .38s, but when I work up to the maggie loads, those gotta have a pretty stiff crimp, right? That's down the road a bit...

Thanks again,
Q

[O.S.O.K.]

Nice 696 there!

My 696:

http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data//500/medium/HPIM1027.JPG

The recoil of standard 44 Special loads was beating the hell out of my hands with the issue grips and ditto for some Hogues that I installed.

Now, keep in mind that I shoot 44 mags in double action revolvers with no problem - the issue here was the grip design.

Anyhoo, I solved this by getting some classic Eagle grips - shown in the above pic. These are round gripframe to square gripframe conversion grips. They are sweet! The little revolver still bucks but it doesn't cause me any pain now. And yes, the recoil of the 44 Special in this revolver, which is not really lightweight does surprise me some.

Quoheleth: I'd recommend the level of crimp shown in my initial post for all of your revolver loads. Its what I use in all of mine - including 44 mags and it works great - never any problems. Also has worked perfectly in lever action rifles with tubular magazines.

[Quoheleth]

Quoheleth: I'd recommend the level of crimp shown in my initial post for all of your revolver loads. Its what I use in all of mine - including 44 mags and it works great - never any problems. Also has worked perfectly in lever action rifles with tubular magazines.


OSOK, thanks. I'll play with it after lunch (eat first, reload 2nd).

I'm not ready to start - yet - but what about 45ACP? How hard of a crimp for those? Would lead be different than FMJ stuff? I am using Lee stuff (tight budget, here) - would the Lee Factory Crimp be a worthy investment when I get to that point?

[The Bushmaster]

Walkalong and O.S.O.K. Would you two quit showin' off!! ;):D

[Walkalong]

Nice one there O.S.O.K. The Bushmaster is jealous. :evil: :D

Looks like yours is a no dash. I'm jealous too. ;)