- Location
- south central Alberta
are you guy's crimping the bullets in your handloads? in your M14, I would think it would be required, as the trip out of the magazine is a rough one. but anything I have read no one really says that they are crimping
to crimp or not to crimp
- Thread starter crooked barrel jed
- Start date
- Location
- Montreal, Quebec
I reload 13 calibers.
All my rifle calibers are crimped for consistent accuracy.
My handgun calibers are NOT crimped exception being .44 Mag and .357 Mag
Some folks crimp everything, and some don't crimp at all. I do not strive for 1/2" groups at 100yds, I just want to deliver shots in the kill zone.
Like you said, the M14 (I have one of those too) is a "rough exit". If your .308 was a bolt action, then maybe I would attempt a no crimp.
I did as a matter of fact have a misfeed once with a light or uncrimped reload. The bullet got shoved way back into the case which would have raised the pressure considerably had I tried to fire it. I disassembled it and increased the crimp on my die setup.
Once the M14 is "tuned" it is an awesome rifle to shoot. If you can, attend one of Hungry's clinics.
All my rifle calibers are crimped for consistent accuracy.
My handgun calibers are NOT crimped exception being .44 Mag and .357 Mag
Some folks crimp everything, and some don't crimp at all. I do not strive for 1/2" groups at 100yds, I just want to deliver shots in the kill zone.
Like you said, the M14 (I have one of those too) is a "rough exit". If your .308 was a bolt action, then maybe I would attempt a no crimp.
I did as a matter of fact have a misfeed once with a light or uncrimped reload. The bullet got shoved way back into the case which would have raised the pressure considerably had I tried to fire it. I disassembled it and increased the crimp on my die setup.
Once the M14 is "tuned" it is an awesome rifle to shoot. If you can, attend one of Hungry's clinics.
The Garand I use is just as rough an action as the M14, and as per recommendations from the serious Garand competition shooters at the CMP Forums I do not crimp.
I have never had an issue or failure to feed with this, and because I have consistently gotten excellent results without crimping I will continue with my non crimping process.
I have never had an issue or failure to feed with this, and because I have consistently gotten excellent results without crimping I will continue with my non crimping process.
DaveMachine
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- That one place with a cowboy complex
I've wondered about this myself. I've heard lots of people say you have to crimp with a semi-auto, but Federal Gold Medal Match, for example, is not crimped so does that mean I can not use it in my AR15? So far it has worked fine.
I reload for 7 calibres and while most of my handloads go thru my bolt guns ( seems a lot of time and effort to send them thru a semi ) I have shot handloads out of my AR, my SL8, several M14's and my Garand. I never crimp and have not had a single issue whatsoever. I have also shot quite a bit of commercial match (FGMM) thru my M14's to establish baseline accuracy and had no problem. Like all internet opinions offered YMMV
I've loaded and fired thousands of rounds for thru my m14s without crimping... i've never had a problem..
I did have some brass one time that the bullet seated with no resistance at all.. if i pulled on the bullet with my fingers i could move it.. i ended up crimping those in the end.. but i didn't shoot them not crimped, so not sure what would have happened. I just played it safe with those.
I think if you can feel resistance in your press when seating the bullet you should be ok..
on a few occasions I've taken the odd one out of the pipe after firing one and measured it , and there was no change in the OAL.
I did have some brass one time that the bullet seated with no resistance at all.. if i pulled on the bullet with my fingers i could move it.. i ended up crimping those in the end.. but i didn't shoot them not crimped, so not sure what would have happened. I just played it safe with those.
I think if you can feel resistance in your press when seating the bullet you should be ok..
on a few occasions I've taken the odd one out of the pipe after firing one and measured it , and there was no change in the OAL.
No Crimping Here
I have fired quite about a thousand rounds through my mini-14 and about 300 now through my M-14. As a rule, I do not crimp any loads and in particular, I have not had an issue with my loads in those rifles.
In the M-14, I examined a cartridge extracted from the camber and did not notice any markings on the bullet a result from the normal chambering action at all.
All my loads are to Nato velocity spec (2,750 fps) and with some loving care to the cases, I now have had three cycles with the brass. The only complaint I have (which is truly minor indeed) is that extractor chews the head a bit too aggressively for my taste.
I have fired quite about a thousand rounds through my mini-14 and about 300 now through my M-14. As a rule, I do not crimp any loads and in particular, I have not had an issue with my loads in those rifles.
In the M-14, I examined a cartridge extracted from the camber and did not notice any markings on the bullet a result from the normal chambering action at all.
All my loads are to Nato velocity spec (2,750 fps) and with some loving care to the cases, I now have had three cycles with the brass. The only complaint I have (which is truly minor indeed) is that extractor chews the head a bit too aggressively for my taste.
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my Norc does the same... I'm pretty sure they all do that.
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
I reload about a dozen different calibers and I crimp everything.
You can add several hundred more through mine.
Crimping and sealing of both cannelured bullets and harder primers are some NATO centerfire ammo specs for use in self-loading small arms for a good reason - Safety. Issues resulting from bullet setback can cause unsafe pressures. Bullet setback and primers popping out from setback is much less likely when both primers and bullets are crimped in. Sealing waterproofs and prevents water from getting the powder and primer wet and the cannelure on the bullet gives the crimp much more holding power.
Bullet setback can be caused by numerous reasons such as; loose ammo being banged around or dropped, from cycling a round into the chamber, loaded magazine being dropped, etc.
By Not crimping non-cannelured bullets for use in self-loading centerfire (Semi-Auto) firearms such as the M14 would increase the possibility of bullet setback greatly thus decreasing safety proportionately.
Soft primers should be avoided in the M14. The forward inertia from the bolt being slammed forward in the M14 can cause the floating firing pin to hit the primer fairly hard, increasing the chances a soft primer may ignite.
Bullet setback can be caused by numerous reasons such as; loose ammo being banged around or dropped, from cycling a round into the chamber, loaded magazine being dropped, etc.
By Not crimping non-cannelured bullets for use in self-loading centerfire (Semi-Auto) firearms such as the M14 would increase the possibility of bullet setback greatly thus decreasing safety proportionately.
Soft primers should be avoided in the M14. The forward inertia from the bolt being slammed forward in the M14 can cause the floating firing pin to hit the primer fairly hard, increasing the chances a soft primer may ignite.
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"...NATO centerfire ammo specs for use in self-loading small arms for a good reason..." Yep. The ammo may be used in an MG. And for no other reason. Slam fires are caused by improperly seated primers, not the rifle.
Crimping is not required in a semi-auto. Crimping is detrimental to accuracy an dhas nothing to do with consistency. You only need to crimp heavy recoiling cartridges and a light crimp for lever actions.
You don't need CCI "milspec" primers either. Those are just magnum primers.
Crimping is not required in a semi-auto. Crimping is detrimental to accuracy an dhas nothing to do with consistency. You only need to crimp heavy recoiling cartridges and a light crimp for lever actions.
You don't need CCI "milspec" primers either. Those are just magnum primers.
The circumstances from bullet setback usually has very little to do with Slam Fires. Bullet setback can be caused from a number of circumstances as I listed above in my previous post. Just because the Chinese M14 is a moderately powered cartridge in semi-auto configuration does not make it immune to bullet setback and the possible over pressure hazards such as KABOOMS and not Slam Fires per sey.
I am not aware anything was required in reloading for Semi-auto, centerfire other than the proper components, crimping is to hold the bullet securely to prevent movement which may cause setback or forward movement. Crimping is a safety and reliability feature when reloading for centerfire, self-loading small arms. Whether one chooses to ignore the additional safety and reliability crimping provides then that is their potential problem down the road - KABOOM!
. It is possible crimping can degrade accuracy, however, so does the slightest bit of bullet setback???
