45acp Crimp or no crimp
- Thread starter MadMarty
- Start date
Your bullet should be held in by neck tension only! Your crimp should just remove the flare created by your expander die. Make a dummy round and do the drop test into your chamber. you should hear a plonk when it falls in and it should slide out when you hold the barrel up. If it's stuck in there then something is up. Either OAL too long too much or too little crimp.
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Armored Metal
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I use the Lee factory crimp die + I check every round with a Dillon case length gauge.
In a pistol?
Taper crimp enough to remove case mouth flare, to hold the bullet firmly and chamber reliably. Unless you are using it in a revolver with moon clips the case will headspace on the case mouth so a roll crimp is a bad idea.
Taper crimp enough to remove case mouth flare, to hold the bullet firmly and chamber reliably. Unless you are using it in a revolver with moon clips the case will headspace on the case mouth so a roll crimp is a bad idea.
I'm unsure how you could not crimp .45 ACP, or any other pistol cartridge. At the very minimum, you need to crimp enough to remove the flare on the case mouth. My rule of thumb for .45 is to crimp such that diameter at the case mouth is around .468"-.471".
As far as crimp type goes, is there even such a thing as roll crimp dies for .45 ACP? The only calibre I can think of where there is an option for crimp type is .38 Special, where taper crimp is preferred over the standard roll crimp for loading some types of wadcutters.
As far as crimp type goes, is there even such a thing as roll crimp dies for .45 ACP? The only calibre I can think of where there is an option for crimp type is .38 Special, where taper crimp is preferred over the standard roll crimp for loading some types of wadcutters.
I run a 625 Revolver with major PF ammo, and I've learned that I must use a firm crimp.
What was happening with no or little crimp was, every bullet after the first was shot would pull slightly. By the time the last round was fired the bullet would be pulled by around 1/2 the seating depth.
Never an issue with my 1911, only happens with the Revo it seems (probably because I run it fast in IPSC) With a firm grip, quick shooting and recoil, I can only surmise that it acts somewhat like a bullet puller.
What was happening with no or little crimp was, every bullet after the first was shot would pull slightly. By the time the last round was fired the bullet would be pulled by around 1/2 the seating depth.
Never an issue with my 1911, only happens with the Revo it seems (probably because I run it fast in IPSC) With a firm grip, quick shooting and recoil, I can only surmise that it acts somewhat like a bullet puller.
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I've talked with someone locally that had bullet creep from too light a crimp or too light a neck tension in a 1911. Unlike Tac111's revolver a pistol tends to hammer the bullets INTO the cases.
He shot the loads and by the end of the magazine the last one or two were pushed back so far that the pressures peaked to somewhere above what the barrel could take. The barrel's chamber split open and blew the magazine out of the frame. The grips broke away from the screws and bruised his hands up pretty bad too. Nothing broken though.
He also admitted that he could feel the power of the rounds climbing with each shot but it didn't really register until the Big Boom at around shot # 5 or 6.
So it comes down to evaluating the neck tension. And to hedge the bets I like the idea of a light taper crimp. Not enough to pinch right into the bullet and possibly fail to rest on the chamber's headspacing edge. But enough to pinch against the side of the bullet to add a little resistance to being pushed back.
I'd also load the first magazine of such ammo and after measuring the first few rounds in the magazine I'd shoot three or four rounds then drop the mag, feed out the rest and measure them for OAL to see if there's any movement. If good then no problem.
He shot the loads and by the end of the magazine the last one or two were pushed back so far that the pressures peaked to somewhere above what the barrel could take. The barrel's chamber split open and blew the magazine out of the frame. The grips broke away from the screws and bruised his hands up pretty bad too. Nothing broken though.
He also admitted that he could feel the power of the rounds climbing with each shot but it didn't really register until the Big Boom at around shot # 5 or 6.
So it comes down to evaluating the neck tension. And to hedge the bets I like the idea of a light taper crimp. Not enough to pinch right into the bullet and possibly fail to rest on the chamber's headspacing edge. But enough to pinch against the side of the bullet to add a little resistance to being pushed back.
I'd also load the first magazine of such ammo and after measuring the first few rounds in the magazine I'd shoot three or four rounds then drop the mag, feed out the rest and measure them for OAL to see if there's any movement. If good then no problem.
Johnn Peterson
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Thanks for posting the pic. I've heard about this from another 625 shooter too. Will definitely have to keep this in mind when I start reloading 45acp. Looks like a standard "light" taper crimp will be fine for my 1911's, but from your pic, it looks like you have a pretty serious crimp already and your bullet still moved. Did you stick with a taper crimp die or change over to a roll crimp?
For the OP, and to add to my last post. Kept this one, was the last on a moon clip (6th) that wasn't fired on a stage. Have since added more crimp.
Thanks as well for the pic! I like to see it in the flesh - as it were.
Im going to have to buy a taper crimp die then! I have everything to start reloading for my new 1911 (and first time for handguns) but all I have is the Lee 3 die set.... weird that they have a 3 die set and the 4 die.
Im going to have to buy a taper crimp die then! I have everything to start reloading for my new 1911 (and first time for handguns) but all I have is the Lee 3 die set.... weird that they have a 3 die set and the 4 die.
- What he said. This is a no-brainer; all cartridges headspace. They all locate their correct depth in the chamber somehow - this is what "headspace" means. Rimmed cartridges are easy - they rest on their rims at the chamber mouth; bottlenecked rifle cartridges usually (not always) headspace on their shoulder (the "not always"? - .303 British and 7.62x54R are rimmed bottlenecks that headspace on the rim; the "R" in 7.62x54R means "rim").
- And what happens if they headspace wrong? As in say, a roll crimp on a cartridge that's supposed to headspace on the case mouth? There will be nothing stopping the cartridge from falling too far into the chamber, and then the firing pin will not even reach the primer, or will just shove the cartridge forward instead of denting it; gun go 'click' instead of 'boom'. Interestingly, an older friend was recently complaining that his .45 ACP was misfiring his handloads something dreadful - on discussion, it turned-out that he was roll-crimping them. I offered to mount-up my spare cylinder and shoot 'em off in the Webley with moon clips, to help him salvage the brass; ain't I a helpful soul?
Finding-out how the cartridge you're reloading is supposed to headspace, is one of those "little things" you must learn before you try to reload that cartridge. And for cartridges that headspace on the case mouth, you should also look-up your case dimensions to see what diameter the finished cartridge should be, and mike a couple of your reloaded cartridges across the case mouth to see if they're too small; there's a bit of wiggle-room in case you're loading-up some +P's and need a firmer crimp, but not much.
