[rc109a]

Ok, my really good friend decided that he was going to reload me some ammo the other day. I will not normally shoot someone elses reloads since if I am going to get a kaboom, I want it my mistake not someone elses. The other reason is his reloads always have left something to be desired. Well he left me nine 223 rounds that he was so excited about doing (last time he reloaded 223 was about 6 years ago). I decided to check them out and pull one apart. I could not get it apart. I tried a kinetic puller and one in press, but it would not come apart. I noticed that the cannalure is not visible and it looks like these are really crimped excessivly. What is your take? I don't crimp my AR 223 rounds, but this just looks really bad.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj162/rc109a/IMG_0052.jpg
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj162/rc109a/IMG_0053.jpg
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj162/rc109a/IMG_0049.jpg

Am I just being paranoid?

[BacSi67]

I would'nt touch them with a stick! LOL

[Walkalong]

That is a serious crimp. :eek:

Should shoot fine, assuming he got the powder right, but the brass is gonna be rough.

[Virginian]

I bet his brass doesn't live too long. But, that is a crimp !

[rc109a]

I was worried about the pressure. I have no idea what powder or charge he is using. With this crimp I was afraid he might cause a kaboom in his gun.

[IMtheNRA]

What was your friend trying to do? Does he think this is what a normal crimp is supposed to be like?

[Floppy_D]

My only concern would be damage to the bullet. It looks like it crimped behind the cannelure.

[rc109a]

I am not sure what his intention was other then lack of experience. I have been tring to sit down with him and show him how to do it, but just before we sit down he produces his current masterpieces and then says he does not need any help. He has it figured out. A very impatient person. You think this is bad you should see his 45acp rounds. The cases are all rippled. I did call him tonight and told him he better stop since I don't like visiting people in the hospital. Hopefully he gets the hint.

[Ridgerunner665]

That is too much crimp...but its only hard on the brass IMO.

[Sport45]

That may have been cause by excessive case length as well. If the cases are too long you could have pressure problems. If it's just overcrimped I'd shoot it.

[rc109a]

These are not excessive cases. In fact they are the shortest 223 rounds that I have seen. I will have to measure them when I get a chance, but they are pretty short compared to all my other rounds (a quick visual at least 1/8inch).

[JDGray]

That crimp is exsessive, but wont cause overpressure. 55K psi, will iron it out:D

[Sport45]

When you compare, be sure to check the case length and not the overall length. If you don't know the trim length of .223 compare them to case length of new ammo.

Oh yeah, on a side note you can download and use IrfanView. It's free software that is pretty easy to use to resize, crop, and otherwise edit photos.

[steve4102]

It looks like a Lee Factory Crimp Die to me. Might be a little more than I like, but nothing to worry about. What's inside would concern me more than a tight Lee Factory Crimp.

[Idano]

:D Now that's some funny looking reloads. :D I would definitely pull one of the bullets and check the charge, I agree with Steve the crimp would not be my concern. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't want the guy reloading my brass, I like it to much and want it to live a long life and the main reason I never crimp my .223 brass. I'll bet you couldn't get that bullet out with a kinetic puller; on a properly resized brass driving a 22 cal bullet that hasn't been crimped takes some work. The boy definitely needs some guidance.

[Jenrick]

Might try giving the bullet a slight push with a bullet seater to pop them down a bit, to loosen the crimp bit. Might be able to pull them after that.

-Jenrick

[The Bushmaster]

Crimp exsessive, but only harmful to the brass. I, too, would be more worried about the powder charge. Your "friend" is a danger to himself and others around him. If, as you say, he can't be convinced to change his bad habits...

One way or the other, pull the bullets or toss them...

[rc109a]

Could not pull with a kinetic puller. Vice grips were the only chance. I pulled all, dumped the powder and poured oil in cases. I will dispose of them accordingly. I will call him again today and make sure he did not go and load 200 rounds yet (since he bought 200 bullets). He is a great guy and means well, but just a little misplaced on guidence.

[jfh]

OK, last fall I decided to try .223 reloading--keep in mind that I have loads of handgun experience, and I just haven't learned rifle yet.

I set up my Lee dies per directions, and I always build 'dummies' first to check out physical assembly. Done per LEE directions, my first two dummies' crimps looked like the pictures here.

If one is working without a mentor, you sometimes don't know any better--but pictures helped me out. When I went to pull them, I couldn't do it, save for the pliers routine.

Jim H.

[Bullet]

I bet you won't have to worry about bullet setback.:rolleyes:

[stubbicatt]

The factory crimp goes a long way to giving really uniform accuracy, all other variables under control. That crimp is a bit much, but it looks like the bullet canellure is nearly in the right place. I might have seated them a scosh longer, assuming that it didn't exceed the maximum OAL.

Dude should back of the FCD maybe 1/4 or 1/2 turn.

The other thing I noticed when I looked really hard at the first photo, it seems he didn't back out his case actuated powder measure enough, as the necks seem to have been pushed back into the cases enough to round off the body/shoulder junction. I wonder whether these will even chamber, or if they chamber, whether you can extract them?

[ArchAngelCD]

That crimp does not look like it was made by a Lee FCD IMO. The crimp itself doesn't really bother me but the fact he thinks it's a good reload does. If he's wrong about the crimp and doesn't want to accept any help then I would worry about what else he might be doing wrong.

Did he weigh the charge? Is he using a suitable powder? Did he over charge by mistake? Is he using the correct primer????? Well, I'm sure you get the ides.

There is no way I would fire anything he has reloaded unless I was there to see the entire process and checked his powder charge for myself.

[scrat]

If you ask me it looks like he used a set of wire crimpers those pliar types and just cranked the bjebus out of it. I just dont see how a lcfd can do that without distorting the neck.

[flashhole]

Tell your friend to read this thread.

[jacobhh]

I agree with ArchAngelCD after seeing those crimps,
I wouldn'nt trust anything about any of those loads.