Crimping Hornady Interlocks

[Bayourambler]

I'm about to work up some 165 grain Interlocks for 308 bolt action. Should I just go ahead and crimp ends at the cannelure? What difference does it make? I have never used the crimping feature on bullet seating die. All I reload for is bolt action and single shot.

 

[dgod]

I would suggest that you check to see if the loads will chamber, sometimes when you try to chamber, the bullets will require a lot of power to get the bolt closed.

Check the loads and the area around the crimp, if the brass can be felt, and if it seems that the brass is too pronounced, then I would try a Light Crimp, try if firearm again, repeat until happy. Just go slow, as it is easy to crush brass around the shoulder.

Good Luck
Dan

 

[.308 Norma]

I'm about to work up some 165 grain Interlocks for 308 bolt action. Should I just go ahead and crimp ends at the cannelure? What difference does it make? I have never used the crimping feature on bullet seating die. All I reload for is bolt action and single shot.

I use 165 gr Interlocks in a 30-06, and 139 gr Interlocks in a couple of 7mm-08s (my wife's) and don't crimp any of them. Well, actually in order to crimp into the cannelures around those 165 gr Interlocks, I'd have to seat them deeper than I want to. I've worked up a really good load for mule deer using 165 gr Hornady SPBTs seated just 1/64" from touching my Ruger 77's lands. But that leaves the bullet's cannelures above the tops of the cases.
At any rate, I've never seen a need for a crimp with any of the bottleneck rifle cartridges I load for. And I load for some pretty darned hard kicking rifles. Yeah, yeah, I know everyone - factories crimp their rifle ammunition. But one of the reasons I handload is to build ammunition that is typically better than factory fodder.

 

[Blue68f100]

Only rifle rounds requiring a crimp are tubular magazine fed guns. So to your question. No I would not crimp them.

 

[Sunray]

You can ignore the cannelure altogether. Crimping isn't necessary unless the load is hot or being used in a lever action.
Forget the off-the-lands stuff until you've worked up the load too. It's just a load tweaking technique that's not absolutely required.

 

[.308 Norma]

Only rifle rounds requiring a crimp are tubular magazine fed guns. So to your question. No I would not crimp them.

I have to retract what I said before about my not seeing a need for a crimp with "any" of the bottleneck rifle cartridges I load for. I do crimp the bullets in place for my 30-30 and my wife's 32 Special - both Model 94s (tubular magazines) Winchesters.