insulinboy
- are you leaning toward any particular press. If going progressive, the Hornaday Lock N Load is on sale at midway.
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Progressive press question
- Thread starter insulinboy
- Start date
insulinboy
- are you leaning toward any particular press. If going progressive, the Hornaday Lock N Load is on sale at midway.
I crimp them because it seems like the best way to me. I always pay attention to weather the bullets I clear from my semi-auto are staying the same length as they were when loaded.
I used to shoot a lot of IPSC matches, and my guns were always more reliable with a good crimp, particularly when shooting lead.
Every reloading manual that I have ever read says to crimp them. The only exceptions are bolt action, or single action rifles.
I do my taper crimps in a separate step from seating, and do my roll crimps in the one step manner while seating.
It has worked for me for a lot of years and a lot bullets.
Personally, and I know it is just my opinion, I don't like the the Lee Factory Crimp Die, I have a few and consider (357, 45Colt, and 3006) them a gimmick.
I have never seen a load manual that said to use one. I guess the Lee manual probably might.
I used to shoot a lot of IPSC matches, and my guns were always more reliable with a good crimp, particularly when shooting lead.
Every reloading manual that I have ever read says to crimp them. The only exceptions are bolt action, or single action rifles.
I do my taper crimps in a separate step from seating, and do my roll crimps in the one step manner while seating.
It has worked for me for a lot of years and a lot bullets.
Personally, and I know it is just my opinion, I don't like the the Lee Factory Crimp Die, I have a few and consider (357, 45Colt, and 3006) them a gimmick.
I have never seen a load manual that said to use one. I guess the Lee manual probably might.
Not really leaning towards anything. And the Hornady is a good price, but I don't know. Its a lot more than the lee after buying dies and everything to go with it.. Hell its an extra $200 to get the automatic shell loader the lee comes with. If the hornady reviews were better I might consider it, but their reviews don't seem to be any better than the lee
Yeah, I'm not sure if its worth the extra coin either. If going Lee, would you go the route of the Loadmaster over the Pro 1000?
At this point yes. Simply because I can set it up the way I want to since I will be decapping/sizing and priming off of the press. I will have the press do the powder, bullet seating, and crimping.
Since it can accept up to 5 dies I can also use it to do everything should I change my mind later. But I prefer to prime off the press.
Since it can accept up to 5 dies I can also use it to do everything should I change my mind later. But I prefer to prime off the press.
I prefer to prime off the press as well but I didn't spend much time trying to get the priming system to work on the pro 1000 before giving it away.
I use the factory crimp die on center fire rifle and it seems to give a slight accuracy edge that's worth the step too me. It's at best 1/4' more likely 1/8" in the test I have performed. Uniform neck tension is a key player in accuracy. Some will turn their necks to be uniform-bench rest shooters.
Pistol brass, the primary reason I use a Lee taper crimp is to push it through the die to remove sight bulging (high pressure + lose chamber tolerance) with the bulge buster kit. Straight walled cases (.40/10mm) and a specially made die from 9mm Mak for 9x19mm.
I have opted due to 4 die sets to roll crimp/crimp as a separate stage not as part of bullet seating (rifle) currently.
We're not in disagreement over the crimping part. I crimp as well, but in semi-autos, I only crimp with a taper crimp, and only enough to remove the bell (and just a little bit more). Truth be known, most SAs would be fine without a crimp, as long as neck tension is adequate. And neck tension is controlled by a) the amount the case is resized, and b) by the diameter of the expander (belling) plug. Most of my SA cases show a very slight, almost imperceptible, bulge at the base of the bullet, indicating the bullet is just slightly larger than the resized & expanded case. This prevents bullet setback much better than relying on a a crimp. Of course, like you, I use a roll crimp when loading .357, .44, .45 Colt, etc, as this assists in powder burn and preventing bullet jump in a revolver.
I'm with you on the FCD...I see no use for them in pistols and revolvers However, I *do* use one for my 5.56, as I load a lot of uncannelured bullets and I certainly don't want bullet setback in an AR! It probably deforms the bullets a bit, but I'm still getting groups under 1.5 MOA, so I guess it's not hurting accuracy that bad.
I've never owned the Hornady, but I do know it's a better press than the Lee (I've operated both). My progressives are a Dillon Square Deal B and an old 550B, but if I were starting over, I might get a Hornady just because I like their design. And I've never heard much bad about them from folks that own them.
Why are you guys insistent on sizing & priming off the press??? I used to do it that way years ago (before I got a progressive), but if you're going for a progressive press, why do things the hard way? My Dillons prime much better and more consistently than I was ever able to by hand priming, or on a single-stage press.
Now, the first time I process once-fired 5.56, I first resize/deprime on a single stage, but that's so I can decrimp the primer pockets and trim the brass. After all of that is done the first time, they get run through the 550 like any other brass case. Easy-peasy.
