.38spcl taper crimp?

[Gillster]

Found a price I liked on some Berry's plated bullets. I didn't realize at the time that they lack a crimp groove. I picked up a taper crimp die for my 550 but don't know how to set the die. Is there a standard or just so it fits in the chamber checker? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.


Chris

 

[P95Carry]

Chris - with cast/swaged bullets a crimp groove is no biggie. A roll crimp will ''bite'' and engage a bit - not even a strong roll.

A taper can do also - in fact with mild target 38 loads, after case sizing - just the case grip can suffice on it's own - crimp being just enough to remove any belling from stage 2.

Let the round OAL be your guide for seating depth.

If you wanna set that die - I reckon just get it down enough so the belling is cancelled out - that should do... and check for easy chambering.

 

[ReloaderFred]

With plated bullets, one of the errors commonly made is to crimp too tightly, which will cut through the plating and cause all kinds of problems, including causing the bullet to keyhole. Just use enough crimp to remove the case bell, and you'll be fine. Berry's makes a really good bullet, by the way. I've shot many, many thousands of them.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[BluesBear]

When setting a taper crimp die...

Use your eyes and your fingers. If you can tell it hasn't been crimped enough then it hasn't.

If you can feel or see that it has been crimped then you've crimped it too much.