Reloading pistol

[divingin]

Guess I was concerned about the "gentle" taper crimp necessary for copper plated lead bullets. Or so I read.

Taper crimping is much less sensitive to length variation than roll crimping. An extra thou or 2 in a taper crimp will barely be noticeable. In a roll crimp, that deviation may be enough to bulge the brass below the crimp, reducing bullet pull, or making to too large to chamber.

 

[RegionRat]

If you have the capability, the thing to do is to try a run of both.

You will see if this affects you at the loading bench, and then see if you can benefit at the target.

For the majority of pistol discussions, the assumption is practice ammo that is not used for extreme accuracy or critical applications.

For the most part, if you are experimenting with topics like competitive bullseye or pistol silhouette, you would need to mention it to get better advice.

My guess, is that if you are just loading bulk practice ammo on a progressive press, your only burden is to manage the brass well enough that a taper crimp doesn't go too high or too low, and that isn't picky.

When or if you are loading what I will call full house magnums, those are typically more critical and you either manage the brass well or trim if needed for logistical reasons.

I have done it both ways, but prefer not to need to trim, so I am careful with what brass I use for each purpose. YMMV

 

[Zero333]

I reload for two 9mm pistolas,
Sig 226 & Walther Q5 Match.
(I use Dillon XL-650 but my first thousand or so was on a singe stage press)

Never had a problem with a regular taper crimp even when the brass is different length. Just inspect your brass every reload (not for length) but because you never know what the hell you end up picking up from the ground.
I've found plenty split 9mm Luger Cases.
Then again,... When I reload 9mm, I reload 1,000+ at a time. Inspecting the brass is just cheap insurance.

I aim for about 0.002" taper crimp. When I started reloading for the 9mm I had no issues with headspace with as much as 0.006" taper.

0.002" is about perfect in my opinion.
Only reason we taper crimp is to get rid of the bell mouth of the case for smooth feeding... so if you get 0.0000000" taper crimp, you're still good to go.

 

[Doug Casner]

Trim pistol brass. Whats that? Doug

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I reload for two 9mm pistolas,
Sig 226 & Walther Q5 Match.
(I use Dillon XL-650 but my first thousand or so was on a singe stage press)

Never had a problem with a regular taper crimp even when the brass is different length. Just inspect your brass every reload (not for length) but because you never know what the hell you end up picking up from the ground.
I've found plenty split 9mm Luger Cases.
Then again,... When I reload 9mm, I reload 1,000+ at a time. Inspecting the brass is just cheap insurance.

I aim for about 0.002" taper crimp. When I started reloading for the 9mm I had no issues with headspace with as much as 0.006" taper.

0.002" is about perfect in my opinion.
Only reason we taper crimp is to get rid of the bell mouth of the case for smooth feeding... so if you get 0.0000000" taper crimp, you're still good to go.

I began using a taper crimp die just recently for my 9mm and 38sp. I was wondering how much, I will set for 0.002 and try it, thanks.

 

[CJ6]

0.002" is about perfect in my opinion.
Only reason we taper crimp is to get rid of the bell mouth of the case for smooth feeding... so if you get 0.0000000" taper crimp, you're still good to go.

SAY WHAT ???? No crimp is going to lead to loose bullets.Not something I'd want.

 

[itchyTF]

I reload for two 9mm pistolas,
Sig 226 & Walther Q5 Match.
(I use Dillon XL-650 but my first thousand or so was on a singe stage press)

Never had a problem with a regular taper crimp even when the brass is different length. Just inspect your brass every reload (not for length) but because you never know what the hell you end up picking up from the ground.
I've found plenty split 9mm Luger Cases.
Then again,... When I reload 9mm, I reload 1,000+ at a time. Inspecting the brass is just cheap insurance.

I aim for about 0.002" taper crimp. When I started reloading for the 9mm I had no issues with headspace with as much as 0.006" taper.

0.002" is about perfect in my opinion.
Only reason we taper crimp is to get rid of the bell mouth of the case for smooth feeding... so if you get 0.0000000" taper crimp, you're still good to go.

I’m currently loading .45 on a single stage. I have a 550B which I haven’t used in 30 years or so. How well does it do with real small charges?

 

[RegionRat]

I’m currently loading .45 on a single stage. I have a 550B which I haven’t used in 30 years or so. How well does it do with real small charges?

You will need to use the correct charge bar, and then it does fine.

 

[Zero333]

I’m currently loading .45 on a single stage. I have a 550B which I haven’t used in 30 years or so. How well does it do with real small charges?

If it uses the same powder dispenser as the XL-650, it will be perfect. I've used N-320 through it and it metered just as good as TiteGroup... N-320 is a stick powder about the same size kernels as H-4831sc, while Titegroup is a flake powder. Same amount of time to dial them in. You can always expect the first 10+ rounds to be a bit off. But as long as you weigh the first dozen and adjust accordingly, I've had no issues with any significant drift in charge weight.
Keeping the hopper filled up to the same level should help as well.

But for a 30 year old Powder thrower ??? You'd have to test before making any claims.
It does take mine some to dial in. But once it's there it doesn't drift at all.

My 9mm charges vary from 3.4 gr to 4.4 gr depending on bullet weight.

 

[divingin]

I had an old Dillon 550 (I think it was before the "B" model.) They used to sell a small charge bar for it - about half as tall as the normal charge bar; came with a spacer that took up the height difference. It worked for 32SWL charges - less than 2 grains of Bullseye or 452AA. No idea what the max charge was, as I never worked the upper end.

CJ6: Brass should be sized so there's a slight interference fit between brass and bullet. Crimp is to avoid feed and recoil forces from shifting seating depth (and many guns don't have either.) So in theory, no crimp would work fine in a lot of instances.

 

[CJ6]

I had an old Dillon 550 (I think it was before the "B" model.) They used to sell a small charge bar for it - about half as tall as the normal charge bar; came with a spacer that took up the height difference. It worked for 32SWL charges - less than 2 grains of Bullseye or 452AA. No idea what the max charge was, as I never worked the upper end.

CJ6: Brass should be sized so there's a slight interference fit between brass and bullet. Crimp is to avoid feed and recoil forces from shifting seating depth (and many guns don't have either.) So in theory, no crimp would work fine in a lot of instances.

Thanks, But I'll stick with what's worked for me .

 

[Rsadams]

Guess I was concerned about the "gentle" taper crimp necessary for copper plated lead bullets. Or so I read.

I have done some of experimenting with Berry's bullets and a lee factory crimp die... Although you will deform the bullets if you go to far , breaking the coating would take A LOT of crimp and I am talking roll crimp not taper... I found out when loading some .38spl.... Those bullets have a copper coating that's way thicker than you would think....

 

[OLeveraction]

No head spacing issues concerning different crimps in some calibers?

 

[divingin]

Thanks, But I'll stick with what's worked for me .

Wasn't trying to change your mind.