I have a Taurus M85 Titanium 2 inch ported barrel 5 shot revolver. I'm using 158 gr Xtreme plated rn's. After shooting 3 rounds, I remove the 2 remaining rounds and measure their COL. They jump up 5-7 thousandths: 1.430 to 1.437'ish. Is this an acceptable creep or should I apply a tiny bit more crimp?
Revolver bullet creep
- Thread starter nevadabob
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Master Blaster
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Try reducing the amount of belling you are using by a bit. You are using a roll crimp die right? A few thousanths isn't much, and if you crimp more you run the risk of over crimping and cutting through the plating or even making the problem worse.
I'm using the Lee factory carbide crimp die. As I have been increasing the crimp, I've pulled a bullet to see if I'm cutting into the plating. So far just a mild to nominal groove mark. I don't have a chrono. I'm using AA #2 3.3 grains & AA #5 4.8 grains. I don't have access to our camera at the moment.
From what little info I can find on the internet, I think the 158's are a little too stout for my gun. But I've only got 950 bullets to go, so I'm stuck with this for awhile.
From what little info I can find on the internet, I think the 158's are a little too stout for my gun. But I've only got 950 bullets to go, so I'm stuck with this for awhile.
without seeing a picture, I'd have to say it sounds like crimp needs to be a smidge heavier..
I wouldn't get to barney with it, as you could buckle a case..
I wouldn't get to barney with it, as you could buckle a case..
243winxb
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Stop using this > Lee factory carbide crimp die. Lead & plated do not work well in lite 2" revolvers. S&W has a warning with there 10oz 337PD 38 special +P . No lead, as it may jump crimp. Adjust your expander diameter to give more neck tension. Start at .355" If bullets still move, go to .354" on the expander. Check to see that the FL carbide die is sizing enough. If the jump of the bullet does not lock up the cylinder, its not a problem IMO.
As said above you should start by increasing neck tension. If that's not right no amount of crimp will fix the problem. Take a closer look at the FCD - do your rounds get squeezed by the carbide ring as you crimp? If so, you should try ditching the FCD and using your seating die to apply the crimp. You CAN seat and crimp in one step but I do these separately step to avoid buckling cases.
also, take a look at this thread:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=469815
also, take a look at this thread:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=469815
Knock the carbide ring out of the 38/357 fcd and you'll be left with a fine roll crimp die. I found a photo of a pile of the bullet you're using (I think) and although it has roll marks it appears that it does not have a cannelure, but I can't really be sure. If that's the case you should be using a taper crimp and not a roll crimp. If the fcd you're using is specifically for 38/357, it's a roll crimp, as is the crimp in the seater die. Lee makes a fairly inexpensive taper crimp die for this, which works well (it's basically an fcd without the carbide). I seat and crimp separately, using a roll for cannelures and taper for non-cannelure bullets.
Both brands of plated bullets I've used were sized at 358, as are my cast. I use a Lyman M die to expand. The plugs that come with them are for jacketed, I have a custom plug to accomodate lead/plated bullets. If your sizer is sizing too small and/or your expander is not expanding enough or only flaring the mouth, the soft lead core could be swaged down by the case, possibly resulting in not enough neck tension. Another benefit I attribute to the M die is better concentricity due to, I believe, the combination of correct expansion for the bullet and the 2nd step allowing the bullet to start out more "square". In fairness, I use the Hornady seater die which theoretically also aides in concentricity. I like that the plug engages the bullet ogive rather than the tip.
Both brands of plated bullets I've used were sized at 358, as are my cast. I use a Lyman M die to expand. The plugs that come with them are for jacketed, I have a custom plug to accomodate lead/plated bullets. If your sizer is sizing too small and/or your expander is not expanding enough or only flaring the mouth, the soft lead core could be swaged down by the case, possibly resulting in not enough neck tension. Another benefit I attribute to the M die is better concentricity due to, I believe, the combination of correct expansion for the bullet and the 2nd step allowing the bullet to start out more "square". In fairness, I use the Hornady seater die which theoretically also aides in concentricity. I like that the plug engages the bullet ogive rather than the tip.
I use a taper crimp on X-Treme 158 Gr SWC's (125 Gr Powerbond HP too), which shoot great. I would do the same with the RN bullet. I can put a heavy taper crimp on the SWC and it handles it just fine. Neck tension is what you need mostly, and no amount of crimp can make up for poor neck tension, but in this application, a heavy taper crimp can actually help bullet creep, assuming adequate neck tension in the first place.
If you seat them deeper and crimp over the shoulder, they won't creep. Trying to crimp into a nonexistent crimp groove does nothing for bullet pull. You need a mechanical crimp, not a cosmetic one.
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