223 crimping

[Prc329]

I searched but either I did something wrong or I just couldn't find the answer I wanted.

Should I crimp my 223 reloads? The reason I ask is I have some Wolf gold that occasionally I have a situation where I release the bolt and instead of picking up the bullet and chambering it it smashes against the feed ramps and pushes the bullet further into the case. Is this because of lack of crimping or some other explanation. It only happens occasionally with Wolf Gold. No other ammo I use including my reloads did this.

[Wil-c]

I always crimp any rounds I'm reloading for a semi-auto. More specifically I use a taper-crimp die on all of them. I've found that to be the best in terms of reliability and/or accuracy. I've read crimping sacrifices some accuracy & that's probably true, however I'm not willing to sacrifice any reliability for any additional degree of accuracy.
In my own experience, whatever difference in accuracy there might be between crimped & non-crimped really doesn't matter relative to my shooting ability.

Sounds like that wolf ammo is the problem, I don't like wolf ammo, however costly it is I get US made ammo. Personally I prefer American Eagle as the cases seem to be the easiest to work with when reloading.

[30Cal]

I don't crimp. You might want to load up a couple 5 dummy rounds with sized cases, chamber them from the mag and measure to see how far the bullets set back if any. If it's say 0.005" or less, I wouldn't worry about it. If they go farther than that, then you don't have enough neck tension (usually caused by an oversized expander ball).

You shouldn't need to crimp, but you can if you want.

Ty

[Prc329]

All my loads were fine, it was the wolf gold I had a weird problem with. Made me wonder about crimping. I have an extraction problem I need to sort out but that is a whole different thing. Throws the rounds forward and puts a small dent in the cases in the same spot. At first I thought it may have been pressure issues but it was on factory ammo as well.

[ocabj]

The reason I ask is I have some Wolf gold that occasionally I have a situation where I release the bolt and instead of picking up the bullet and chambering it it smashes against the feed ramps and pushes the bullet further into the case. Is this because of lack of crimping or some other explanation.

No amount of crimp that will not damage the bullet will prevent this kind of bullet set back. If on a fired cartridge the bolt comes back and slams home with full force to chamber the next round, which happens to hang up on the feed ramp, that bullet is going to get pushed in.

[rksimple]

I think in the literature that comes with the Lee crimp die it says that accuracy can be increased because it uniforms neck tension. Go figure.

I've been crimping all of my .223 lately for use in my ARs. I haven't had any setback problems with most brass. I was doing some load development to duplicate m855 using Win brass and had one setback on me all the way back into the case. Don't know if it was because of the thin Winchester brass or what, but I crimp all the gas gun ammo now.

Wil- be careful with the American Eagle brass. I've seen both FC and LC headstamps. The Federal (FC) is soft brass and the primer pockets open up quick. Pay attention to how the primers feel when you seat them. I've blown a few primers with FC and now I've learned. I leave it where it sits.

[C.G.]

No amount of crimp that will not damage the bullet will prevent this kind of bullet set back. If on a fired cartridge the bolt comes back and slams home with full force to chamber the next round, which happens to hang up on the feed ramp, that bullet is going to get pushed in.

+1. That is why I do not crimp (except the .50 Beowulf which would not chamber without crimping).

[Jicko]

Read the article I just posted today: http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...ad.php?t=61350

Answered you EXACT question, with detailed explanations too!

[Prc329]

I read that a few minutes ago. Great info.

[Wil-c]

I think in the literature that comes with the Lee crimp die it says that accuracy can be increased because it uniforms neck tension. Go figure.

I've been crimping all of my .223 lately for use in my ARs. I haven't had any setback problems with most brass. I was doing some load development to duplicate m855 using Win brass and had one setback on me all the way back into the case. Don't know if it was because of the thin Winchester brass or what, but I crimp all the gas gun ammo now.

Wil- be careful with the American Eagle brass. I've seen both FC and LC headstamps. The Federal (FC) is soft brass and the primer pockets open up quick. Pay attention to how the primers feel when you seat them. I've blown a few primers with FC and now I've learned. I leave it where it sits.

RK, I've heard/read the same about the Lee factory dies, I've never tried them so I can't comment. I've had good results with RCBS small base 223 dies then finishing them with a Redding taper crimp die.

Thanks for the heads up on the AE brass, thinking back on it you're right. It does seem to be softer, hence easier to work with. I also liked Winchester white box ammunition for most any caliber. I think that brass was a bit better quality, although reaming the crimp out of the primer pocket is a pain.

[jdberger]

In the aforementioned article, the author mentions the Dillon SuperSwage to roll out the primer crimps.

I can attest, it's freaking awesome (and even neater when you are able to teach your kids how to use it!!!).