should I crimp?

[diderr]

I'm going to start hand loading a 44 rem mag soon, and I was wondering if I should crimp it. What are the benefits of crimping?

[goodgrouper]

For handguns, you must crimp one way or another. A 44 magnum is supposed to be roll crimped, but taper crimping can be just as good and sometimes even better.

The reasons you must crimp handgun ammo are numerous but one of the biggest reasons is because of the tendency of the bullet trying to unseat itself under recoil of the gun and/or the tendency of the bullet to want to get jammed into the case farther under chambering in semi-autos.

I have a Scandium Smith and Wesson Airlite mountian gun revolver in 357 magnum and when I shoot 357's, I have to crimp them pretty heavily and use bullets of 125 grains or more or else the bullets in the cylinder literally fly out of the cylinder forward onto the ground! Luckily, it still shoots pretty accurate with the brass giving the bullet a vulcan death grip!

[MagnumManiac]

diderr,
Do you have a copy of the Winchester reloading guide?
It gives you all the reasons you NEED to crimp the 44 mag.
I have a Rossi Puma in 44 mag,and I use Win 296 exclusively.The guide tells you that you MUST apply a heavy crimp when using this powder.
It would take too long for me to explain here,but if you don't apply a heavy crimp,a roll crimp by the way,you may get 'squib' loads,which is DANGEROUS.
Quite a few reloading manuals have explanations on this.
[b]MagnumManiac[b]

[diderr]

Originally Posted by MagnumManiac

diderr,
Do you have a copy of the Winchester reloading guide?
It gives you all the reasons you NEED to crimp the 44 mag.
I have a Rossi Puma in 44 mag,and I use Win 296 exclusively.The guide tells you that you MUST apply a heavy crimp when using this powder.
It would take too long for me to explain here,but if you don't apply a heavy crimp,a roll crimp by the way,you may get 'squib' loads,which is DANGEROUS.
Quite a few reloading manuals have explanations on this.
[b]MagnumManiac[b]

I'm sorry, I never loaded pistol before. just a lot of rifle. There is no need to get fussy, I just want a little more background information before I start so I don't make it "DANGEROUS". I have a speer reloading manual.

[johnnyk]

Diderr,
In a word, yes. With revolvers it is recommended that you crimp. A revolver's recoil causes the bullets to move out, sort of an inertial bullet puller. A more important reason for a firm crimp is to supply enough resistance to get the powder well ignited before it (bullet)starts to move. A uniform start pressure is even more important with handgun ammo. Benefits? safety first, accurate, dependable ammo next.
I've been loading revolver/pistol ammo all week. Monday night was .45 Colt night, Tuesday was .45 ACP. Today I started prepping my .44 Mag brass. Will start loading them tomorrow night (Wednesday night is church night). I'll be packing 24.0gn of W296 with 240gn Hornady HP/XTP's. Holler if ya need anything else. JohnnyK.

[diderr]

Originally Posted by johnnyk

Diderr,
In a word, yes. With revolvers it is recommended that you crimp. A revolver's recoil causes the bullets to move out, sort of an inertial bullet puller. A more important reason for a firm crimp is to supply enough resistance to get the powder well ignited before it (bullet)starts to move. A uniform start pressure is even more important with handgun ammo. Benefits? safety first, accurate, dependable ammo next.
I've been loading revolver/pistol ammo all week. Monday night was .45 Colt night, Tuesday was .45 ACP. Today I started prepping my .44 Mag brass. Will start loading them tomorrow night (Wednesday night is church night). I'll be packing 24.0gn of W296 with 240gn Hornady HP/XTP's. Holler if ya need anything else. JohnnyK.

That makes sense, thanks for your help.