Rossi 45Colt crimp taper or roll crimp? Does it matter?

emerson

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
22   0   0
Location
Dawson Creek
I searched and the results were unclear. NOT PLINKING LOADS. I understand the difference, and the need for a taper crimp on semi-auto rounds that headspace on the mouth. Will a taper crimp hold full power 45 Colt loads in a tube mag lever? I'm most interested in your experience with full power 45 loads. Shooting plated Campros and Barnes Buster bullets etc. I don't cast now, and with Campros about $0.20 each I wonted start right away. Thanks for your time.
 
Thanks Ganderite. Lots of different opinions on dies and procedures and not everyone is trying to produce rounds for the same purposes. I did some looking online and at my Lee crimp die I use for 44, it roll crimps and has worked well. I haven't been trimming the cases and haven't had any issues. From what I read case length had to be pretty uniform to use the seating die as a crimper. I couldn't find a Lee 45 Colt roll crimp die locally, but X-reload had the 4 die deluxe set in stock so I ordered that. I have mostly Lee stuff, I know it doesn't meet standards for some, but for the kind of ammo I need it works. I'm a bit cheap.
 
Last edited:
Straight wall revolver cases benefit from a roll crimp. As for length variations, it may be necessary to trim all cases to a recommended minimum trim length, but unlike bottle-neck cases, it is highly unlikely you will ever need to trim a case a second time. A bit of a pain, but time well spent to produce uniform ammo. Uniform case length, and a uniform roll crimp produce most uniform muzzle velocities, as the crimp mimics neck pull in bottle-neck cases.

The common three die sets include a roll crimp in the seating die, giving a good, one-step seating/crimping action. They seemed to work fine for the IHMSA revolver shooters, who have a pretty demanding standard for revolver accuracy. Elgin Gates in his excellent Reloading Guide for Handgun Accuracy did not recommend any other technique, although several were available, even in 1982!
 
Last edited:
Thanks Ganderite. Lots of different opinions on dies and procedures and not everyone is trying to produce rounds for the same purposes. I did some looking online and at my Lee crimp die I use for 44, it roll crimps and has worked well. I haven't been trimming the cases and haven't had any issues. From what I read case length had to be pretty uniform to use the seating die as a crimper. I couldn't find a Lee 45 Colt roll crimp die locally, but X-reload had the 4 die deluxe set in stock so I ordered that. I have mostly Lee stuff, I know it doesn't meet standards for some, but for the kind of ammo I need it works. I'm a bit cheap.

For most applications I have, I prefer Lee.
 
Ordering from X-reload it was $3 more to my door than if Wholesale had everything in stock, which they didn't. I'll give a few $ to support a non big box org.
 
With full strength loads you'll also want to use a flat point bullet that has a cannelure groove to take the roll crimp. The flat point being a bit of extra insurance for safety in the mag tube.

I've had some issues when I tried to use a roll crimp in the same die used for seating. Particularly if you want a little more aggressive roll crimp. And if using plated bullets starting the roll crimp before the cannelure groove is reached risks tearing the plating. So that's TWO good reasons to use separate dies or separate operations for seating and crimping.
 
Back
Top Bottom