Crimping .303 british round.. For enfield

TransAm1991

TransAm1991

Regular
Rating - 96.6%
28   1   0
Location
Windsor, Ontario
Been doing a bit of research, and I have come to a conclusion that you don't have to crimp a round going into a bolt action rifle.
That being said, what do you guys think?

The reason I'm asking this, for some reason,the crimp feature on my Lee die just wrecks the brass, it causes the shoulder to fold over itself.
 
No, you don't have to crimp ammunition for bolt actions, save possibly for very heavy recoiling rifles, like a .458 Lott.

The reason that your seating die is damaging cases is because you have the die body screwed in too far and are over-crimping. Odds are that there is nothing wrong with the die.
 
TransAm1991 said:
The reason I'm asking this, for some reason,the crimp feature on my Lee die just wrecks the brass, it causes the shoulder to fold over itself.
Click to expand...

That does not sound right, I have used mine (Lee) and have never had had problem. Is it adjusted too tight?, I just have it for a very light crimp and it seems to work fine.
 
If the bullet has a cannelure, why not? A light crimp can't hurt and might help - if only to keep the COAL the same when feeding from the magazine.

I would certainly agree that there's no need for a heavy crimp.
 
The only ammo i would consider crimping is a heavy bullet in a relvolver or a rifle with a tube magazine.

303 brit in an Enfield - never.

But, a properly set up lee die would not do any harm.
 
The crimp function in a seating/crimp die is controlled by how far the body of the die is screwed into the press. In order to seat without crimping, back it off so that the crimp shoulder is not in contact with the case mouth when the press ram is in the up position. The seating adjustment screw of course needs to be adjusted to allow for the different position of the die body, depending on whether you are crimping or not.

Have you read the instructions that came with your die set?
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi-data/instruct/RM3508.pdf
 
easiest way to set up your bullet seater/roll crimper die:

1. Leave the die body screwed out. screw the seater in and seat a bullet, gradually further and further into the case until you reach your desired overall length.

2. screw the bullet seater all the way out. With the round in the shellholder and the ram fully upwards, slowly screw the die down until the crimp shoulder contacts the case. You'll feel it. When i do it, i don't even hold the arm of the press, and watch it for movement (it'll move when you hit the case neck with the die.

3. Retract the ram downwards, give the die another half turn down, and tighten the jam nut.

4. with the bullet seater still screwed out, run the round up into the die all the way. This will put a SLIGHT roll crimp. with the ram upwards and the round in the die, now screw the bullet seater down until it hits the bullet.

5. LOAD AWAY! :)
 
I love to crimp. You need to try different loads. I found for instance my 303brit and my 223 in bolt action both prefer crimps. My 7mm mag does not like crimp. My 223 groups increase significantly from adding a crimp. Just keep in mind though that crimping may add pressure. So work your loads up as usual. and follow the above advise for setting your dies. You can also buy a lee factory crimp die...thats what i prefer over the crimp in the seating die.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom