How to crimp ?

[chriske]

I recently obtained some Hornady 240 gr swaged lead .430 bullets.
They're sort of knurled all over, waxed & lack any crimping groove.
So far, I succeeded in developing an accurate, light target load in .44 Spl, seating the bullet rather deeply & taper-crimping them.
Would taper crimping be sufficient for heavier loads ?
How would YOU crimp them ?

 

[Galil5.56]

A lot of neck tension goes a long way, but I like a good firm roll crimp done separately from seating, especially for really slow burning propellants used in revolvers. This is especially true for 44 mag and WW296/H110. When I load 44 Special I always use fairly fast propellants and 240 LSWC's, crimped with a moderate roll crimp. Taper would probably be just fine considering the propellant used; just the same I roll crimp. To me, taper crimping is for auto pistols to improve functioning by removing belling, and adds no additional pull like a good roll crimp can do.

 

[chriske]

Right. I understand & follow.

But in this specific case, with these specific bullets, would you roll crimp the case INTO the soft lead bullet ? Wouldn't that deform the bullet & wouldn't accuracy suffer ?

Or seat the bullets even deeper & roll crimp over the front edge of the cylindrical shaft, just where the truncated cone nose begins ?

 

[Slamfire]

I roll crimp most revolver rounds, taper crimp auto pistol rounds. I do not crimp any rifle rounds except 45/70 cast bullets.

There have been hundreds of pages written in gun magazines comparing accuracy to the type of crimp, and amount of crimp. One article will contridict the other.

In my opinion, if you have plenty of case neck tension, just add enough crimp to remove the bell, plus a bit. Overcrimping will damage bullet cores, especially in rifle bullets, but in pistol cartridges, I doubt you will ever see any thing on target. If you can shoot two inches at 25 yards with a pistol, you are darn good. If you can't shoot two inches at 100 yards with a rifle, you need more practice.

 

[Galil5.56]

would you roll crimp the case INTO the soft lead bullet ? Wouldn't that deform the bullet & wouldn't accuracy suffer ?

Yep, did it all the time with that exact same bullet, and other Hornady swaged bullets w/o a crimp groove. You do not want to crimp ahead of the shoulder for this bullet; just crimp at the proper OAL you plan to use. Almost all cast bullets have deep grooves all the way around the bullet and they work just fine. Also, 22 ammo although a heeled bullet type, have a crimp that cuts into the bullet and obviously this does no harm at all.

I have read that cutting into a plated bullet is not good, but I have never used any and can not comment with any experience... Ironic, as many 22 RF ammo uses plated bullets with a crimp that seems to cut into the bullet, breaking the plating???

 

[Walkalong]

Like Galil5.56 already posted, it is routinely done with lead bullets with no apparent harm. I roll crimped all my .44 Spl lead bullet loads back in the day. I still load some lead bullets in .44 Spl, and they get a good roll crimp as well. Plated bullets are an exception.

 

[chriske]

Thanks for the information, guys !
Guess it can't hurt to try what you suggested, as I can only learn.
If I discover anything spectacular, I'll let you know.
Thanks again.