Seat and crimp 38 sp in one step... easy this time?

One guy's approach . . .

Ahh, to crimp, or not to crimp, that is the question . . .

And then there's taper crimp, roll crimp, purpose, bullet used, firearm used, etc . . .

I load/shoot a lot of 38 Special. I seat and crimp in separate steps; but I would admittedly be less inclined to do so without my progressive press. Before I went progressive, I would seat/crimp in a single step in a lot of cases.

However, even on a single stage, I would seat and taper crimp plated bullets in separate steps. The thin plating is a bit delicate to do in a single step.

Most lead, you can seat and roll (or taper) crimp in a single step. But I think separate steps is always preferable because lead shaving is a real thing.

I have a Dillon 550. It's a 4-station progressive; which is one more station than I'll ever need. I recondition brass and do the actual loading in separate processes - to me, they are two different things and I'll likely never merge them. I have separate reconditioning and loading toolheads set up for each caliber. So when I'm at the press, I'm either reconditioning brass, or I'm loading - one or the other; but never both. (I hand prime and powder charge on loading blocks, btw.)

When I'm loading 38 Special, with the first station, I have a taper crimp die; the die body is set to just take out a little bit of the case flare upon seating.

The second station is also a taper crimp die (it's just the die body - there's no seater in it); and it does just that: Puts a medium taper crimp on the round. So all 38 Special ammo that I load get this treatment.

The third station is a Lee Factory Crimp Die (roll crimp). I may or may not engage the roll crimp - depending on the ammo being loaded.

With lead, I usually put a light roll crimp. But sometimes I don't and just leave them as taper crimped ammo. With plated, I completely disengage the roll crimp, so the only function of the FCD is the collar at the base that'll iron out any brass distortions over the bullet (rare). With jacketed (which will always be +P rounds), I usually put in a medium roll crimp with the FCD.
 
I have been using my Lee dies on my 38/357 and I always use a row crimp the 357 gets a little more than the 38 my dies was bought back in mid 70
 
The below were 38 Special loaded on an old RCBS Rockchucker. The bullet seating and roll crimp was done using a 3 Die Carbide RCBS #18212 set. I get the same results using an old Pacific (Hornady) 3 Die Set which I have. It is just a matter of setting up the crimp and then the seating depth. Been doing them this way for a good number of years. Just a matter of following the RCBS instructions.

38%20Wadcutter.png


The bullets in this case were Missouri Bullet Company 148 Grain DEWC-BB which actually shot pretty good in a S&W Model 27 and an old Colt Trooper MK III. Anyway I have always seated and applied a roll crimp as seen in the image.

Ron
 
Or you're using a powder that likes pressure to burn well...........

As usual more bad incorrect info on the good old internet,
and this is what will happen without crimping,
Click to expand...

I'm a bit confused as to why this is "incorrect". I crimp everything but bottlenecked rifle cases. Maybe some folks don't like to crimp revolver rounds, but I do. Anyway, if you have a powder that likes pressure to burn well, and you don't crimp, you get unburned powder, among other likely problems.............. Hence the statement above being a reason, among others. to crimp............
 
The only thing "wrong" with seating and crimping in the same operation is less experienced reloaders have trouble coordinating the bullet movement with the crimping. If the timing is right on, which can be a troublesome task for a new reloader, the crimping takes place as the bullet reaches the end of it's travel (no crushed cases). The OP mentioned he has at least 16 years experience and I believe that is the "key" to "easy"...;)

BTW, a long time ago I discovered Redding's Profile crimp die, which works so well that I willingly separate the seat and crimp steps. All 6 of my revolvers get a profile crimp as the last step, from gallery loads to T-Rex Killer loads...
 
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I use range brass so naturally the neck tensions are all over the place since the brass is from different manufactures. I only soak clean pistol brass and make sure the primer pockets are free of crud. The inside looks about the same as the outside and therefore has contaminates where the neck tension occurs. I really don't want to rely on neck tension on a revolver using brass that could conceivably end up w/ a poor neck tension in a revovler. Then there is the use of different bullets like quality Hornady w/ there hardness vs some cheaper plated softer bullets and things like spring back, etc so neck tension is different. My range brass gets used over-n-over-n-over so the lengths are not all the same lengths and that shrinking brass thing? So less neck tension. It just isn't worth the percentages that Murphy will never strike for me personally so I roll crimp revolver brass. I normally taper crimp on semi pistol brass. Others do differently and thats their preference and it works for them and is right for them. They have been doing it that way for years w/o a hitch.
 
1980's Vintage Lyman Carbide dies for 38/357/44, and Hornady 45/454 and I have always seated and crimped in one step, cast or jacketed. Probably easier for a new loader to do in two steps the first few times.

Even if you "don't crimp" you still have to "crimp", even if only to take out the case mouth expansion, so it's not a step that can be eliminated.
 
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