38 Super reloading question(s)

[jr_roosa]

The downside of not enough crimp isn't lack of neck tension. There's plenty of neck tension without any crimp.

If you don't crimp enough, you'll have feeding issues because the case mouth will be just a shade too big for your chamber. My 1911 likes a pretty solid crimp, so much so that I crimp in a second step so I don't get a little ring of copper or lead scraped off the bullet.

I just seat a batch with a washer under the lock ring to keep the die body a little high, then pull out the washer, back out the seater and crimp the whole batch. Unless I'm loading over 100 rounds with the same bullet, it saves me time compared to getting the die set up just perfectly.

When I'm rich I'll get separate seat/crimp dies for each of the bullets I shoot and leave them set up.

Ahhh...to be rich...

-J.

 

[Walkalong]

Once you set up your die, you should never have to fool with it again as long as the press remains the same. It takes 5 minutes or less to set up a seater/crimper for an auto caliber.

There is so little crimp, and bullet movement while crimping, going on in .38 Super and other auto calibers, that there is absolutely no reason to crimp separately unless you just want to.

I am using a Hornady seater for .38 Super, which I like a lot, but it has a little ledge inside that looks like a roll crimp ledge which is poor for taper crimping, so I crimp in a fourth step. (Maybe that ledge is just a stop and not meant for crimping...dunno)

The RCBS seater/crimper has a nice taper crimp built in and will do a fine job of crimping while seating in auto calibers that nee only a light taper crimp.

 

[USA]

atblis, I'm loading Hornady 115gr FMJs. I believe the case mouth max dimensions listed in my manual is .386". .381" is what I'm getting around and Walkalong already replied he's getting .380"-.381".

I'm going to try loading a few more rounds tonight and see if I can get that seater straight. I have quick change dies so I can set it and forget it once I get my COL right.

 

[atblis]

I was thinking 9mm. Yeah, that's fine for 38 Super.

 

[Walkalong]

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