Bullet seat and crimp question W/pic

[BBQJOE]

I have been loading .38's with a soft point jacketed round. Did over 500 recently without any problems in the seating and crimping area.

Just got a different bullet, a hard cast, and I'm not sure as to where this bullet should to.
My crimping die doesn't seem too pleased with this bullet, feels like I'm forcing it a bit much, and it feels like it wants to hang onto it.
Here is a pic with two different seating depths, and the subsequent crimp.

Should the crimp be in the groove going around the bullet or below it?

Bullet one, or bullet 2?
Thoughts please.
Thanks

 

[Sunray]

That's a pretty heavy crimp on #1. That crimp will take a lot of pressure for the bullet to be released. Relax, dangerous it ain't. It's a bit hard on the case mouth though. Lots of work hardening. Generally, you don't need a crimp a .38 at all or just a light one. Especially a cast bullet.
The longer one looks just fine. Drop a few into the cylinders just to be sure you've gotten the belling out, then go shooting.

 

[BBQJOE]

Thanks Sunray.

 

[joneb]

Have you measured the bullets diameter ? what brand of bullets ?
To much crimp on both I think, definitely the one on the left , .38 spl requires little to no crimp if fired from a revolver with the proper neck tension at standard pressures . You can check this at the range by measuring the last bullet in the cylinder to see if it jumped. I would seat the round on the right in the pic a bit more and back off the crimp.

And Joe, a book called the ABC's of reloading would be a invaluable resource to you

 

[Walkalong]

The bullet needs to be seated a bit further. You want to crimp into that groove.

Bullet 1 is close to right. (almost perfect, is that better BM? )

Bullet 2 is wrong.

That is a fairly heavy crimp, more than necessary in this application, but OK. Tough on brass though. Match the amount of crimp you want to the groove.

Less crimp, you don't have to seat as far. More crimp, seat farther down to take the crimp in the groove.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Cartridge or bullet #1 is absolutely correct. That crimp is exactly what I put on mine to lock the bullet in. As stated it does shorten the life of the case, but they are cheap. .38 Specials DO require a crimp. And in most cases a firm one at that. My (not so) humble opinion...

 

[sansone]

I thought the crimp on #1 looks a little too much. but no harm really except to the lifespan of the case. yes, crimp into the bullet's groove. you will notice
extra force required when trying to crimp on the bullet's flat-wall. on a hard cast bullet you won't even ACHIEVE a crimp on it's flat-wall

 

[Khornet]

I'm with Bushmaster

In my Model 19-4 my first batch of .38 reloads with a moderate crimp performed erratically and several times the bullet lodged in the bore. Increased my crimp to firm and the same loads worked very well indeed.

 

[Oohrah]

I also believe number one is correct

 

[Steve C]

The left bullet in your picture is close to being properly crimed. Below is a picture of a typical cast bullet with the same type crimp groove as your bullets and what the crimp should look like on the finished round. Seat the bullet a bit deeper and increase your crimp if needed.