Need a few crimping questions answered !!!!

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Countryguy1982

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Just getting set up for reloading. thinking bout all i am lacking now is my case trimmer. and hopefully will be good to go and get started.... Anyway just got my first set of dies. ... for my 6.8 spc. are set of lee's . in it is a full length sizer/decapper and a bullet seating die. ok i am reading alot of people are putting crimps on their ammo for auto's especially ar rifles sense they are hard on the round, slamming it in the chamber etc.... and alot of people are using factory crimp dies....... in the little paper that came with my lee dies, it says that the bullet seating die will put a crimp on a round???? ok so does that mean that it does good enough???? or am i going to have to buy a factory crimp die???? any reason why people are using a factory crimp die instead of just using the bullet seating die.... to anyone who answers my greenhorn questings.... thanks a bunch one of these days when i am old and grey , hopefully i will be able to return all the favors and help some newcommers out..
 
Yes, it will crimp if adjusted to do so.

I prefer not to crimp unless the bullet has a crimp groove. I don't like forcing the case mouth against the bullet shank. It is far easier to work with a crimp groove because the case mouth has somewhere to flow into.
 
Buy the Factory Crimp Die. It applies a nice collet crimp, case length is not critical, works with cannelure or no cannelure bullets, improves accuracy all for less than $12.
 
ok the crimp groove is the little slotted ring that goes around the bullet right? the one you see on some factory ammo right where the case neck stops? reason i am asking is that i am more than likely gonna be reloading hornady sst and its got a ring around the bullet thats got little slots cut in it. its not slick all the way down like a few other boxes of bullets are.
 
If you have a cannelure to crimp into, the standard seating die will seat and crimp in one operation and do just fine. Whether the die crimps or not depends on how how you set it up.
 
You do not need a lot of crimp either! I've seen pics of folks crimping so tight they actually cave in the bullet shank in doing so, definitely not needed. A little dab'll do ya!
 
I've seen people crimp so hard they collapsed the case and stuck the round in the chamber.
 
Don't bother crimping bottle neck cases, it simply isn't necessary except in rare circumstances, and will only cause you frustration. If brass is properely resized and the dies are in good spec, neck tension is all that is needed. I've seen more posts about problems crimping bottle neck cases, than you can shake a stick at. Why cause yourself the frustration over something so unnecessary.
 
Most of your bullet pull force with jacketed rifle bullets comes from neck tension. No crimp at all is the most repeatable. For an AR, If your rounds don't change OAL when they chamber you are good. If they do you have an oversized expander plug, are compressing powder too much, lube in the case neck. If the bullet has a cannelure you can band-aid these with a little crimp but you're not addressing the root of the problem. Magnum handgun / lead bullets NEED crimp, tube mag rounds and uber magnum big bore rifle rounds also. Not much need on low power stuff like 6.8.
 
The bullet seater crimp is what is known as a roll crimp, and is entirely dependent on the case length. If you set your crimp for a particular case, and then load another case that is slightly longer, it will then crimp slightly more.

It is also best to roll crimp into the cannelure. Through load development, you may find that your best COALs put the cannelure forward of the case mouth.

If you feel that crimping is required, the Lee FCD is a great option. It uses a collet and the interaction with the shell holder to produce the crimp. It is not dependent on case length or a cannelure.
 
It looks more like a taper crimp. A roll crimp has a radius. A rifle crimp is a straight taper.
 
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