Well, Hello Biogenic, You cannot really tell the accuracy effect of your crimp
unless you test for accuracy at 50 yards from a Ransom Rest. Since most of
us don't have a Ransom Rest or 50 yds to test at; you'll have to make do
with what's available. First of all, Just removing the belling is not a good reason
to crimp the cases. This kind of comment is very popular with non Bullseye
competitors. The crimp does affect accuracy, and the crimp dimensions are
determined by the powder charge, bullet design and weight, whether jacketed or cast and
even distance to the target(25yd or 50yd line). Some of the most accurate 50
yd loads I shot in Bullseye competition had .462" crimps. Yet I also shot some
50yd loads that had had lighter charges, and they had .467" crimps.
If you want to shoot some average charge loads for fun and plinking, I recommend
a crimp of .468 or .469"s if loading cast LSWC. The last time I checked factory
plated 185gr SWC's the crimps were .469". Lately I've been shooting a
Timed and Rapid fire load(for 25yds) that uses a 200gr LSWC bullet with a 3.2 gr
charge of Bullseye powder and this load shoots reliably, is X-ring accurate using
a .469" crimp. A 45ACP handgun has to be setup to shoot wadcutters at such a light charge.
So, I encourage you to load safely and try various crimps, from .465" through
.470", and test to see which crimp works reliably and gives acceptable accuracy
in your particular gun. For the doubters, I have been shooting Bullseye since
1972 and have been reloading 45 ACP Bullseye match loads since 1974.
Tony