nastynatesfish
Member
Here's mine all set and crimped on same step. You just have to set up your dies and take the time to do it right
Crimping issues ONLY, .44 magnum
- Thread starter drband
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i have a .357 magnum ruger blackhawk i bought used. after a so-so performance at the range, i slugged the throats and found one @ .356", four @ .357", and one @ .358". i called ruger, told them of my problem, sent the revolver to them, they replaced the cylinder and sent the gun back. the gun went from so-so to extremely accurate. i went from annoyed to extremely pleased!
murf
murf
sevt_chevelle
Member
I have an Uberti SAA in 44 mag that slugged out at .429 on the barrel but the cylinder suffered from out of round holes, not bad but enough to make you mad when shooting lead.
I came across this from over on the cast boolits site. He can ream/hone out your cylinder so they all match plus offers other gunsmith services.
Cylinder hone.net. The best way to get ahold of him is through Facebook.
He honed my cylinder and crowned a couple of barrels and am extremely pleased with the outcome.
I came across this from over on the cast boolits site. He can ream/hone out your cylinder so they all match plus offers other gunsmith services.
Cylinder hone.net. The best way to get ahold of him is through Facebook.
He honed my cylinder and crowned a couple of barrels and am extremely pleased with the outcome.
A post on seating and crimping in one or two steps.
Medium Roll Crimp on a D&J 125 Gr RFN - Using a Hornady seater to seat and crimp in one step.
Medium Roll Crimp on a D&J 125 Gr RFN - Using a Hornady seater to seat and crimp in one step.
Thanks Walkalong! I remember seeing that post. There sure are a lot of proponents on both sides of the issue. My takeaway was that you can produce excellent ammo either way, you just have to be aware of everything going on in each die to better make your decision.
BTW, those photos are amazing. I need to print them out so I have a visual standard.
BTW, those photos are amazing. I need to print them out so I have a visual standard.
boarshead44
Member
boarshead44
All of the above answers are correct but a biggie is making sure that you have a tight fit of the bullet before the crimp is applied. Take the expander plug out of the die and see if a sized case will slip over the shank part of the die with hand pressure. If not have it turned down to where it will. It may not take much but it is important for good accuracy. Keep your powder dry.
All of the above answers are correct but a biggie is making sure that you have a tight fit of the bullet before the crimp is applied. Take the expander plug out of the die and see if a sized case will slip over the shank part of the die with hand pressure. If not have it turned down to where it will. It may not take much but it is important for good accuracy. Keep your powder dry.
Crimping isn't a huge deal. I recently started loading .44 magnum and the setup was having issues with inadequate case tension. I also did not crimp as much as I probably should have. I went to the range and a few bullets jumped crimp. Most could be pushed back through with my finger to unload. One tied up the gun enough that I couldn't get the bullet back through without something to tap it back like a wooden dowel rod, so that ended that range day. Once home though, you don't even have to break down the loads, just turn your crimp die further back down and put a heavier crimp on each and they are still good. I tell you my story of failure just to show you that there isn't much to worry about because even if it goes wrong, it isn't a big deal.
TimSr
Member
Told ya it was simple! Now all you have to do is shoot some and watch for bullets creeping out under recoil.
Looks fine for a light crimp for use with a light load, maybe a medium load in a heavy gun. If it were me, I'd crimp it a bit more just for the heck of it, but there is nothing wrong with that. If you were using a slow burning magnum powder like H110, you would definitely want more on it.
Thanks for your input! I'm going to load up a few light to medium loads and hit the range with my son tomorrow!
It will be a blast! [emoji41]
FROGO207
Member
FWIW I have three Super Blackhawks. All three had at least one cylinder throat that was too small for accurate cast bullet shooting. They shot jacketed fine however. So I reamed all of them in each revolver to match the largest barrel +.002. Now I have good groups with lead bullets. I had some small throats with Ruger 357's that needed reaming as well. So be sure to slug all throats as well.
Have fun and report back!
One thing to be aware of is that revolver brass slowly shortens with time, especially with warmer loads, which can require minor die adjustments through time. For instance I like to run the minimum case bell I can to open up the mouth and after maybe 3-4 loadings, I needed an extra 1/8-1/4 turn on my expander because it was shaving lead on seating. Likewise if you run a really slight crimp, if it shortens enough it may no longer crimp so just something to keep an eye on.
One thing to be aware of is that revolver brass slowly shortens with time, especially with warmer loads, which can require minor die adjustments through time. For instance I like to run the minimum case bell I can to open up the mouth and after maybe 3-4 loadings, I needed an extra 1/8-1/4 turn on my expander because it was shaving lead on seating. Likewise if you run a really slight crimp, if it shortens enough it may no longer crimp so just something to keep an eye on.
nastynatesfish
Member
Mine I was using a 225gr Barnes xpb. Sorry about the delay
Bama Drifter
Member
So on testing cylinder of my SBH I found the hardcast bullets slip through the chambers, yet produce halfway decent groups. Still need to slug barrel. Is there anything wrong with slippage through the chambers or should the bullet encounter more resistance? Thanks.
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