Crimp or no crimp? - .223 loads w/ SMK 77 gr

[sinister]

Mark, the Redding neck-sizing S-die sizes just the neck to align and hold the bullet -- it does nothing else.

The Redding Small Base Body-only die re-sizes the case body dimension and bumps the shoulder back just a hair so that the loaded round fits the chamber correctly for semi-auto feeding.

A standard or small-base die that de-caps, sizes the case, and bumps back the shoulder in one stroke has a tendency to over work your brass.

During the up-stroke the decapping pin punches out the old primer and the die then re-sizes the case walls, bumps the shoulder back, and sizes the neck. On the down-stroke the decapping button rounds out the case mouth at the cost of opening it back up a few thousandths.

Using the Dillon 550, a separate de-cap station punches out the expended primer cap only. The S-Die re-sizes the neck to standard (you choose how much neck tension you want using different sized bushings) without opening/enlarging the case mouth opening on the down-stroke.

This is effortless on a Dillon. It would be a lot of work on a single-stage press.

[mark5pt56]

Sinister, Thanks for the info! It's not high volume, so one day, I can get the upgraded tools. It's just a way for me to shoot some quality loads without spending alot on factory match.
I look at the Sinclair catalog at the top end precision loading gear, nice but I doubt it would benefit me unless I had a bench rest gun.

If I need to do the higher volume for general shooting with 55 gr ball, the crimp die would be of more use I guess?


I do prefer the Varget, was going to try R15, but out on both. The only thing they had .223 wise was the BL-c(2) and H4895.

I wonder if that RRA NM I used to have had a tight chamber or the Lee die wasn't sizing it correctly. I never had feed issues with 5 other guns using the same die, including the Stealth and an Ultra Match. I guess that's the reason for the small base.

[1911snob]

don't forget TAC, its ball type powder that flows very nice.


My pet load is 23.6 TAC, CCI400 primers, 77g Nosler pill.

[sinister]

The powders I mentioned will do you well for bullets in the 68-77 grain range.

If you're going to shoot mostly 55s I'd recommend ball powders that slide through a powder measure fairly consistently -- Win 748, BLC-2 I think is a ball powder, 2230, and TAC.

The stick powders (IMR and H-4895, Varget, Reloader-15, and the VihtaVuori powders) are a little trickier due to the powder's "Stick" shape.

If you shop around for GI surplus powder pulled down from old rounds you can buy good (cheap and consistent) WC 844 from the same guys who pull-down GI bullets and brass, usually in up to 8-pound cans/jugs.

The sticker shock for reloading equipment and components doesn't take the sting out of ammo costs until one day you start wondering, "Gee, do I have 5 or 6 loads on this batch of brass?"

[boltcatch]

My loading tool sticker shock vanished shortly after the $.10-per-round surplus M193 I had been shooting permanently dried up. No regrets here at all.

[chadbag]

Things like H-335 (WC844) work better for lighter weight (55/62) while BLC-2 (WC846) are better (burn more efficiently) with higher weight projectiles (I believe those were originally 308 projectiles). These are probably not match powders. Varget, VV, etc work well for that application.

[KellyTTE]

To the OP:

I like the LFCD for odd ball issues. Recently I pulled apart some FN Riot ammo (308 with a rubber/plastic bullet) and reloaded it with some surplus/foreign 147gr pulls that I had. Where ever those pulls came from, they had a pretty deep/wide cannelure that a taper die couldn't get a grip on no matter how tightly I adjusted it. So I ordered a LFCD and that gave it the bite I needed to get a decent crimp. YMMV

If you shop around for GI surplus powder pulled down from old rounds you can buy good (cheap and consistent) WC 844 from the same guys who pull-down GI bullets and brass, usually in up to 8-pound cans/jugs.

I've been watching the normal haunts for surplus powder for about a year and not seen anything. Have any leads on some?

The sticker shock for reloading equipment and components doesn't take the sting out of ammo costs until one day you start wondering, "Gee, do I have 5 or 6 loads on this batch of brass?"

Amen.

[chadbag]

I've been watching the normal haunts for surplus powder for about a year and not seen anything. Have any leads on some?
.

I bought some WC844T and some WC846 at the end of December -- delivered in Feb some time -- from Pat's Reloading. Last I checked that were out but worth watching.

[30 cal slut]

After searching, I am surprised there are so few topics here on crimping.

I haven't found the need to crimp any of my loads for immediate consumption (mostly loads with 55 gr bullets sort of mimicking M193), plenty of neck tension to get them working in an AR, was wondering if anyone else just skips this process altogether.

[Hispeedal2]

Is a crimp needed? I say no. I went through several thousand rounds without crimping when I first started reloading. After purchasing an M1A, I realized that with that rough action, I would need a crimp. I was worried about accuracy from the crimp causing bullet inconsistencies. After testing both crimped and uncrimped (single loaded) through the M1A, I was surprised to see that the crimped rounds were slightly more accurate. This test was repeated in a Remington Model 700 PSS with the same results. From that point on, I started crimping everything. I think the increase in accuracy was from a more consistent neck tension. I use Lee crimp dies.

Crimping a rifle round for a semi-auto rifle provides a certain amount of confidence that set-back will not occur. It is a higher possibility than with a bolt gun since you don't actually observe the round being chambered. Does crimping ruin a perfectly good bullet? I say no more than ramming it through the barrel with intense heat and pressure that causes rifling deformation and copper fouling.

I say give crimping a try and post your results. I would post mine, but that test was nearly a decade ago.