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Roll crimp vs factory crimp dies...

3K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  tri70 
#1 · (Edited)
I have been shooting my mini 14 and notice that I have seen great groups from Hornady sp using a Hornady roll crimp die but some of the other premium bullets don't do as well with roll crimping like my loads with Barnes Tripple Shok bullets. I have not used my Lee factory crimp die that much because the accuracy seemed worse with loads that did good without factory crimping. I know I need to experiment more with my Barnes loads but I am satified with my Hornady bullet seating die for now.

I know the mini is not the most accuracte weapon, my bolt and T/C contender do well with most everything I load. My bolt did not do as well with my Barnes loads as I would like. I can stack 5 shot on top eachother with 60 vmax in my Savage 200 223, the Barnes spread out 1''-1 1/4.

Do you guys factory crimp all your loads or just semi auto?
 
#4 ·
Wow, that's kind of strange. I found better accuracy across the board with my semi rifles when I started crimping. Maybe it has a lot to do with the type of projectile and location of the cannelure. In .223, I only load Hornady's 55 grain fmjbt. It seems to have very consistent weight, but though I never measured it, I noticed a marked increase in accuracy after I began crimping. Perhaps there is another variable. I am getting 1" at 50 yards out of my 1 in 10 mini but I think I am measuring it wrong (from outside of widest holes vs from impact centers).

I believe most minis have a long throat that makes the jump to the rifling more of an issue. The concept behind the crimp with accuracy is that the crimp holds the bullet as pressure builds, and drags slightly as it leaves the cartridge. This keeps it lined up so it hits the rifling more squarely. 'Course if it don't work for you, don't do it! :)

For what it's worth, I am loading 26.2 (worked up of course) of win 748 #41 and hornady 55fmjbt in random, mostly military cases. If I weren't using military primers, I would use magnum primers with THIS powder.
 
#5 ·
You may be onto something with the powder, I like the Reloader 7 & 10 which burns a little faster. If I used slower powder it may do better for crimping but as for now the Hornady dies are doing fine.;)
 
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