[pb1011]

How do you know if you have to much crimp on a 40 bullet or not.

[supham]

The wall case should be straight. There should be no indentation at all at the mouth. I find it is easier to tell if you don't have enough. I get it close, then check the round in a case gauge. If it will not go in, I crimp a tiny bit more, and repeat.


Shannon

[Walkalong]

Just enough taper crimp to remove the bell, and maybe a hair more. I need magnification to see my crimp on auto calibers that headspace on the case mouth. Neck tension should be holding the bullet.

[pb1011]

Will it hurt if i have to much crimp on the case.

[fineredmist]

In a word, YES.

First of all you can put pressure through the roof and have serious problems and second, the bullets will tend to "keyhole" so your accuracy will drop. All you need to do is to take out the "bell" and you will be fine.

[243winxb]

How do you know if you have to much crimp on a 40 bullet The bullet will be deformed, and the brass will be thinned at the mouth. For correct taper crimp die adjustment, try this. Take a loaded round with the bullet seated to the correct over all lenght(oal). Put it in the ram/shell holder, raise the ram to the top of its stroke. Now take your taper crimp die and turn down by hand as tight as you can, you will feel when the brass is fully against the bullet. This should be done on the longest cast of the lot. Try to have brass that is close to the same trim lenght.

[Walkalong]

You won't put pressures through the roof with too much crimp. You will deform the bullet some, which never helps. You can create excessive headspace by moving the case mouth in too far, and that can cause problems, although the extractor will probably hold the case back so it will fire.

Got pics?

Here are some properly crimped (IMHO) .45 rounds (http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=78940&d=1211818258).

[Seedtick]

Walkalong - Just enough taper crimp to remove the bell, and maybe a hair more. I need magnification to see my crimp on auto calibers that headspace on the case mouth. Neck tension should be holding the bullet.

I use a black marker (dykem layout fluid, magic marker) and color the case wall up by the mouth before using the taper crimp die. The die removes the black mark where it touches. The crimp almost shines making it a lot easier to see.

ST

[cougar1717]

Having a factory cartridge on hand to compare your crimp with theirs' is very handy.

[mousegun380]

I read that a good rule of thumb is not to exceed .003" of crimp. (ABC's of Reloading) I know that is an open ended statement because it would be directly related to how much you have belled the case, but honestly my taper crimp does seem to always end up taking .003" off the case mouth diameter.

Just throw the calipers on it before and after.

[Riss]

The 3 thousandths rule I have heard also. It appears to be a good ballpark so that you are crimping half of the case thickness in on each side. Since wall thickness is around .003 then half from each side .0015 + .0015 would equal .003 I have heard it not as the rule to achieve. But the rule to not go over that amount.

[Larry Burchfield]

One of the best ways is after you load one or two stop and pull the bullet and see just how much crimp you have. If you use a hammer type puller you can tell by the number of times you have to hit it againt your block
IMHO
Larry Burchfield
SEABEES/RVN/67/68/69
DAV