Weatherby Rounds!

Lahunter76

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i know a lot if not most on here don't think you need a crimp on your handloads.....BUT, in the nosler manual and from another buddy of mine, both seem to think the Weatherby rounds do better with a factory crimp on them, the nosler manual doesn't say this for other rounds, so I was wondering if anyone has any experience/advice with the Weatherby reloading and if crimping is something I want to do with them, I shoot a 300 and a 257 Weatherby so it's not like it would be a lot to pick up two lee factory crimp dies. Any info is appreciated
 
If you have good neck tension when seating the bullets, I don't see how a crimp will improve things. But since the Nosler folks have no idea if a person will notice or not notice something like that, they probably hedge their bets by telling folks to crimp so a bullet can't get pushed deeper into the case under recoil and chambering, which would increase pressures.

You could experiment. Load without a crimp. Fill your magazine, then fire all the rounds except the last one and measure it again. Is it any shorter than when you started? Then you should probably crimp as the bashing back and forth in the magazine is pushing the bullet further into the case. If it remains the exact same length after all the rounds above it are fired, then you are probably safe to skip the crimping process.

I do believe rifle ammo going through a semi-auto should be crimped, but that isn't applicable in this instance since you are using a bolt gun.

And - I guess I feel compelled to say it - revolver rounds need a nice, deep, roll crimp. If a bullet creeps forward, the gun quits working pretty quickly and that's never good.
 
But since the Nosler folks have no idea if a person will notice or not notice something like that, they probably hedge their bets by telling folks to crimp so a bullet can't get pushed deeper into the case under recoil and chambering, which would increase pressures.

On the other hand...

The 'Nosler folks' may have received complaints from customers who reload who have had bullets move in their cases. The simple solution is to recommend a crimp. The Lee company makes a very specific die labeled 'factory crimp' die. There might be a reason when other experts suggest using a crimp die when reloading.

If I were to hazard a guess, it would be that there are a large number of reloaders who know nothing about resizing necks and neck tension.
 
I guess my next question is....
Since I am just now starting to reload, would me picking up one of the Lee Factory crimp die and using it have any negative to it? I think I can figure the neck tension out BUT IF it doesn't hurt....it would be like training wheels lol
 
It will 'work' the brass at the mouth more than not crimping. If you anneal, that's probably not a big deal. If you don't anneal, it means you won't get as many 'firings' from a particular piece of brass, but...so what? It's not like you are benchrest competitor trying to use the same brass over and over and over again. Say you only get three or four firings from a piece of brass then have to buy more. That isn't the end of the world, especially if crimping gives you peace of mind. Besides, some people find a light crimp improved accuracy, so it's not 'wrong' to do it.
http://www.accuratereloading.com/crimping.html
 
if you are looking for accuracy, trim cases to the .001, if you are going to crimp. Crimp adds another mystery factor into the equation.

It is generally accepted that crimp destroys accuracy in a super accurate rifle.

I have had weatherby's, never knew they needed crimping, and I would have sold the gun if they needed crimping.

I do crimp 30/30, 35 Rem, and 444 Marlin, 357 mags selectively for Marlins only.
 
My experience with Weatheby's is with the 22, 6, 270, 7mm, and 30 calibers.

Larger calibers with heavy bullets may need crimping, as I have no experience with them!
 
Weatherbys' generally shoot tighter when start pressure is reduced by the long jump built into the chamber.
Increasing start pressure, by introducing a crimp or tighter neck tension needs to be tested and worked up.
In my 375 Bee, I noticed bullet movement in the case under recoil with 260gr Accubonds at 3000fps.
I started crimping and had excess pressure, stopped crimping and increased neck tension by .001" and bullets stopped moving.

I don't crimp anything in rifles, except DG bullets that require crimping due to heavy recoil.

Cheers.
 
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