Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Crimping

Which is better - Roll Crimping, "Lee - Factory Crimping", or none.
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<br>Why?
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<br>What are your experiences?
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I would think maybe the lee one, but myself I have gotten away from crimping, even in my automatics and my 375 H&H, but I would think the Lee style would be more consistent, and I don't think it is as necessary to trim to the same length as you would have to when using say RCBS dies. So that might be a benefit.

Strider
<br>I have done a lot of experimenting in the last several months with crimping. What I have found is sometimes it helps a lot and sometimes it doesn't. So far it has never hurt anything. Standard deviation seems to be less but that doesn't always mean smaller groups. I use the Lee factory crimp dies. All factory ammo is crimped and it is said it is because of automatics and the like but what about a round like the 303 Savage or some others that were never chambered in a autoloader ?
<br>I had two Weatherby's a while back I could not make shoot, one a 257 and a 340. Tried everything I could think of but about 2 inches was it. In desperation I tried some factory ammo. It shot 1\2 inch groups over and over !!!! I noticed that a 210 Partiton in a factory load has a cannalure (spell check) but the ones we get dont. Went back to the range with the same loads crimped and got 1\2 inch immediately !! Try both ways is all I can tell you.
<br>You know rifles are somewhat like women: they are very precisious, loving,wonderful to look at, but they never tell you what they want and they are all different. You just have to figure it out on your own. Then the temperature changes or she talks to her mother and you are back to square one !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
<br>Charlie Sisk

I remember a test that Saeed did way back before he had a big forum (Accurate Reloading) on crimping. As I recall, it improved the average group size of every gun/caliber, but not every load. I belive it never had an adverse effect, but sometimes had very little effect, if you see what I mean. Velocities also became slightly more consistant.
<br>It raised pressures a bit, so if you crimp take that in mind.
<br>Shane