>223 crimp and other assorted comments

[fstdraw]

Good evening fellas, hope all is well. Several weeks ago I posted here about my .223 OACL being very inconsistant. Several of you made suggestions and "fixes", I tried them all, all helped to one degree or another. I was faced with a 15 thousandths spread in my finished product, hommie don't like that. I've solved my problem by buying better bullets. My new Hornady's (55 gr.)have only a 3 thousandths variation comparied to the Winchesters at 10 or 15 thousandths. My thanks to all who suggested it's the bullets, not the operator.

Do I need to lighty taper crimp this plunking .223 ammo? It fits tight and looks great. It's for an AR-15. Thanks for the help.

 

[OU812]

I don't crimp for my AR and I do not think the Hornady bullets have a groove. Glad you firearm is shooting good for you.

Have fun and be safe

 

[NFrameFred]

Lee factory crimp die - it's a collet type die that squeezes in from 4 sides at the top of the loading ram stroke. I use it on the fourth stage of the Dillon 550 and have always gotten decent results. The way it's adjusted I don't get case or bullet deformation but the slugs are definitely held well in the cases. A kinetic bullet puller has a tough time getting them out.

 

[tbury]

+1 on lee factory crimp die. Depending on the powder you use to reload, you may need a firm crimp to get a complete burn.

 

[JD 500]

I also crimp .223 with a Lee FCD. I found that if I load a cartridge into mag, insert into rifle, and hit bolt release to chamber the round, the bullet will pull forward out of case.

Frankly, I think I had a couple overpressure events by not crimping enough. Popped a couple primers, blew primer pocket out enough, it would no longer hold primers. Load was under published max, but I think the bullet pulled out enough to rest on lands, causing over pressure.

 

[fstdraw]

Thanks for the answers on the crimping. I always figured the bullet would slip into the case further, not out of the case. Hmm, I think I'll start to crimp. I've got a thousand or so not crimped, I guess I can run them through a crimp if I need to.

 

[JD 500]

Originally posted by fstdraw:
Thanks for the answers on the crimping. I always figured the bullet would slip into the case further, not out of the case. Hmm, I think I'll start to crimp. I've got a thousand or so not crimped, I guess I can run them through a crimp if I need to.

Measure one round.
chamber from mag with bolt release.
Measure after chambering.

Yours may or may not move. I believe it's a function of the exact size of the expander plug in your sizing die.

Although, I have heard some say that any round , pistol or rifle, intended for use in a semiauto, should be crimped.