New reloaded ? About .357 mag loads

Here you go.

Mrx1987 said:

Hi new here names who cares me name lol anyway. I can not find any fmj data. I’m using aa#9 fmj from north east reloading. Only fmj data i can find is on a seria 158 Gr. Fmj. Can I use that and start at minimum or….? All the other data same but the bullet same grain type jus brand. O and as far as my crimp for 357. Mag with Hornady xtp 158 gr. My crimp on canna lure look exactly like pic I uploaded? Too much or wat ur thoughts n comments plz. Going shooting and I Dnt wanna blow my pops .357 up lol mine is 20 day away.

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Way too much crimp. Back it way down. You could seat the bullet a little deeper too.

Blue68f100 said:

Way too much crimp. Back it way down. You could seat the bullet a little deeper too.

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My thoughts as well. @Walkalong should be able to post a pic or two with the proper seating depth and crimp.

And welcome to THR.

chris

Mrx1987 said:

Are those even safe to shoot with that heavy of a crimp? I got 100 ish…..

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Assuming it is factory ammo or safe published data reloads yes it’s safe to shoot. A FMJ is no different than a 158 Jacketed bullet data wise so it should be easy to find. As far as the crimp, yes that’s heavy but not dangerous. It may effect accuracy as too much crimp can damage the bullet and jacket. The crimp is there to keep the bullet in place so it does not move until fired and then to hold it for nanosecond so that proper powder burn can take place. Trick is to use just enough so these things take place without causing damage to the bullet and shortening the life of the brass by overworking it.

Mrx1987 said:

And this my actual crimp .357 and that my .45 so wat u think?

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The 45 has a taper crimp and headspaces on the case mouth - the 357 a roll crimp and spaces on the rim. Can't compare them. That is quite the roll crimp on the 357.

Here's a pic of a heavy roll crimp on a 480 Ruger.




chris

I use a crimp like ballman6711's on heavy .357 loads.
Tough to see a good crimp on .45acp---I taper crimp so the measurement at the case mouth is .469.

Old thread with quite a few pics: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/how-much-crimp-lee-fcd-guidance-sought.469815/

Heavy crimp on .32H&R Magnum

Heavy crimp on .38Spl.

Heavy crimp on .44Spl


All of those were done with a Lee FCD, too. It's all in the setup. If the carbide ring is too small, have it ground to your desired spec's. Carbide cuts lousy but it grinds like magic fairy dust.

Read the instructions that came with the die set. It’ll tell you how to increase or decrease the crimp.

Your crimp on the .45 looks good. Many people measure the crimp with a caliper where the crimp is. Nofendertom gave you his measurement for his .45. I don’t load .45 so I can’t help you. I do it a little different. I adjust the die for length first. Then I do a dummy round (no primer/powder). I seat the bullet with minimal crimp. Then I tap the bullet on top a couple of times. Then I measure it. If it moved back into the case at all, I tighten the crimp and repeat with another dummy round. When I get just enough crimp to prevent setback, I tighten the die completely and repeat 1 more time, measuring and testing setback. If alls good I do a plunk test on every gun in that caliber I own. If they all plunk, I’m good to go. I do this for .380, 9mm and .40. It would also work for your .45.

The pic of the .357 is overcrimped in my opinion. Doing so likely deformed the bullet which will affect accuracy. It will also shorten case life. And it you were pushing max pressure, it could cause an unsafe pressure situation.

As far as your question if it’s safe, that would depend on the gun they are being shot from and the load itself. If the load is well below max and it’s being shot out of a modern firearm chambered in .357, I wouldn’t have a problem shooting them. If it’s a max load, personally I wouldn’t chance it.

All that said, welcome to THR and reloading. It’s a never ending learning process. Then when you think you know it all, you forget something

Edit: You may have a crimp only die which should be easier to adjust than a seating/crimp die.

I'm a little surprised nobody has said it yet, but if you don't already have one you should buy a reloading manual or three and read them. I think the questions you're asking would be answered in most of them. If you can't afford a new one right now, there are digital copies of earlier editions available online for free. The load data might a little outdated, but the information on how to go about reloading ammunition safely is still spot on. If you Google "free reloading manual pdf" you should find a few pretty easily. I am partial to the Lyman.
https://archive.org/details/LymanReloadingHandbook48thEdition2002Ocr_201902

Good luck, and welcome to THR.

barnfrog said:

I'm a little surprised nobody has said it yet, but if you don't already have one you should buy a reloading manual or three and read them. I think the questions you're asking would be answered in most of them. If you can't afford a new one right now, there are digital copies of earlier editions available online for free. The load data might a little outdated, but the information on how to go about reloading ammunition safely is still spot on. If you Google "free reloading manual pdf" you should find a few pretty easily.

Good luck, and welcome to THR.

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I stopped handing out that advice after I found out it offended some people.
Still a good idea but, I'm not going to be the one to get flamed for suggesting people buy books and read them.

GeoDudeFlorida said:

I stopped handing out that advice after I found out it offended some people.
Still a good idea but, I'm not going to be the one to get flamed for suggesting people buy books and read them.

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Mea culpa, I think I'm the one who flamed you.

Mrx1987 said:

So mine was super heavy/maxed out then huh?

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Pretty much. The amount of crimp necessary isn't set in stone. You're at the point of risking buckling the case. For me: Blue dot and slower burn rate powders do better with a heavy crimp. Universal it faster burn rate I get away with a medium to light crimp.
The weight of the gun can also change the amount of crimp you need. A black hawk needs less than a snub nose ultra light 357.

barnfrog said:

Mea culpa, I think I'm the one who flamed you.

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It’s all good.

For .45acp I seat the bullet, then crimp in a separate operation (crimping die.)