Reloading Clinic

[ceh383]

Why do they need to be so deep?

A shallow crimp lowers pressure, usually not a big issue. Too deep crimps raise pressures, usually not an issue with target loads, can be a problem with hunting loads.

The factory loads could be a little deeper maybe .010 and the reloads could be a little less deep maybe +.010-.020.

You can't really see it well in the pictures, but the factory shells are at about .015" deep and the reloads are about .035" deep, right where they should be. I can't find the image, but some in that flat were around .005" deep.

[2mean2like]

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/effect-crimp-depth-shotshells

Check out Hodgdon reloading website. States the effect of crimp depth

[SanDiego619]

You don't really need a scale do you? When I used to load shotgun shells way back when, the press used bushings for the powder. We just looked up which bushing to use in a chart. Same with the shot.

I weigh every charge for rifle, maybe it's less important in shotgun shells?

[ceh383]

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/eff...pth-shotshells
Check out Hodgdon reloading website. States the effect of crimp depth

Yes, but keep in mind the .050" ~ .055" depth they are using is for 12ga shells, proper crimp depth varies with gauge. .035" is about perfect for 28ga.

[ceh383]

I weigh every charge for rifle, maybe it's less important in shotgun shells?

[tanks]

[W.R.Buchanan]

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/eff...pth-shotshells
Check out Hodgdon reloading website. States the effect of crimp depth

This was an excellent reference, had not seen it before.

The Winchester Universals are no where near .050 deep.

In the picture I posted above you can see the mouth of the hull is slightly flared out. This is because they didn't push the crimp deep enough, and it only takes a simple die adjustment to fix it,,, instead of sending out millions of rounds of substandard ammo.!

That's why I prefer the Federal Cheap Stuff. The crimps are perfect.

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

It's called "Attention to Detail!" An important part of the Reloading Discipline.

It's not that hard to look at every few shells to check the crimp. Everything else pretty much has to be there. Powder charges aren't going to vary that much on a bushing style of power measure. unless something gets in the mix adn clogs it up. This would be very rare. But you could look at a few everytime you have to reload you primer tray,,, 100 rounds? or move the loaded rounds away from the machine.

I load on progressive loaders as well. I usually have a look at the loaded rounds as I box them up. This holds true for shotshells which get boxed up as well. Easy to see bad crimps when stacking them into the MEC Boxer thing before you push teh box down over them.

Just remember that Automatic Machines make bad rounds just as fast as they make good ones. Going to sleep while reloading is not a good thing and everybody needs to pay attention at all times while doing it.. You obviously haven't had to tear down a hundred or so bad shells yet. You won't want to do it more than once.

Randy

[tanks]

...

I load on progressive loaders as well. I usually have a look at the loaded rounds as I box them up. This holds true for shotshells which get boxed up as well. Easy to see bad crimps when stacking them into the MEC Boxer thing before you push teh box down over them.

Just remember that Automatic Machines make bad rounds just as fast as they make good ones. Going to sleep while reloading is not a good thing and everybody needs to pay attention at all times while doing it.. You obviously haven't had to tear down a hundred or so bad shells yet. You won't want to do it more than once.

Randy

I look at the shotgun shells both at the crimp and the primer as I move them from output bucket to processed box (then to a bucket) 5 at a time.

Pistol rounds get case gauged 100 at a time and primers inspected. After reloading tens of thousands of rounds I have torn down a lot more than 100 rounds as even with a progressive press now and then a primer will not seat properly or the case gauge will fail. I found a bullet puller die to be the most efficient method to go through it all. I reload only .40 S&W so it makes it easy.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I look at the shotgun shells both at the crimp and the primer as I move them from output bucket to processed box (then to a bucket) 5 at a time.

Pistol rounds get case gauged 100 at a time and primers inspected. After reloading tens of thousands of rounds I have torn down a lot more than 100 rounds as even with a progressive press now and then a primer will not seat properly or the case gauge will fail. I found a bullet puller die to be the most efficient method to go through it all. I reload only .40 S&W so it makes it easy.

OK then none of this is new to you. Just the Spolar? Spolar is pretty good with their factory setups so You should have had perfect rounds from the first pull. Mine was unused and had 100 rounds on the counter which is how many Spolar loaded with it during setup. First ones I did were perfect..

I don't get many Rejects on the 550B so I have a Hammer type Bullet Puller.

I load .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and .223 on the Progressive.

All my other rifle rounds are loaded on my Hand Press now as it is easier to use than my Rock Chucker and batches are only 50-100 long so it makes no sense to set up the 550B for those short runs. All the charges are weighed when they are dropped as part of the operation. My powder measure drop tube has a Trickler in it so I drop right into the scale pan and then trickle to perfect, goes pretty fast.

My Pistol Rounds are .40 S&W .45 ACP .44 Special/Magnum all with cast boolits. Some plated boolits for .40 and.45.

Rifles are .223, .30-30, .308, .30-06, .303 Brit, .35-303, .44 Magnum, and .45-70, Everything but .223's with Cast Boolits but some jacketed as well depending on the end use. .44's and .45-70 are strictly Cast Boolits, and both my Marlins have never had a Factory Round fired thru them. Neither has my SBH .44. or My S&W 696 .44 Spec. I've been casting .44's since 1976. I think the .44 Spec/mag is the most versatile cartridge out there.

We have a guy over at Castboolits who lives in Finland. He has a Merkel Double in .470 NE and has been having loads of fun Casting Boolits for it.. He shoots it alot and has actually gotten several of his practice loads to regulate in that rifle, He has taken an Elephant or two with his full house handloads. (Solids!) somewhere in Africa.

I had nothing else to do this afternoon.

Randy

[tanks]

...He has taken an Elephant or two with his full house handloads. (Solids!) somewhere in Africa.
...

Solids are required for elephants.

I like CEB bullets for my hunting loads. Here is my stock of .458. Enough for plenty of trips to Africa.

[ceh383]

I want to clarify my earlier statement I made about checking 8 ~ 10 shells per 100 I load. I usually load as I go, if I need 100 for a shoot I load 100...this is most of the time. I load on a progressive machine and find powder drops vary significantly until the turret is full, so I always check the first 8 and add/subtract powder as required. Then I'll check 1 or 2 during the rest of the run. If I do need to load more I still check the first 8 and then 1 or 2 per one hundred after that.

I stopped reloading metallic in the mid 90's. I moved away from the two ranges I was a member of and my shooting dropped off drastically. I went from about 1000 a week to about that in a year, plus I had no real space for the equipment, so I sold it all. At the rate I shoot it I have nearly a lifetime supply of the calibers I still own, .40, 45acp, 357mag, 38spcl, 44mag and 30-06. I really used to enjoy it...until my boys moved out of state.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Tanks: Those should last you for a while. What are the 258 gr bullets for?

The 450 gr are solids? And the 420 and 258 gr are soft points or expanding bullets?

Randy

[tanks]

258 grains is for PG (2,950 fps) 420 is expanding (though acts different) for Buffalo and 450 is solids.

[W.R.Buchanan]

PG?