reloading - don't crimp

[Artsi]

There are actually very few handguns where bullet crimping is a necessity. Our belowed P08 isn't one of them.
Job that crimp will do is to hold bullet still while gun recoils. That will discourage bullets from sneaking outwards, thus increasing ammo overall lenght. That in return will cause malfunctions whether be it revolver or autoloader.

In short, adjust your crimp die such manner that it only, I repeat, it only straightens out bellbouth on brass. Friction is our friend which will secure bullet in it's place.

Why is 'properly done' crimp job bad?
There's nothing wrong with properly done crimping. Trouble is (according to what I've seen) to easily overshoot crimp die settings, and thus get overly crimped ammo. That in return will deform bullet (extent of damage varies from reloader to another). Deformed bullet will not fly as intended - bad accuracy results.

If we're nitpicking, let's dive a touch deeper.
During bellmouthing there is a kinda 'shaft' that runs deeper into brass. That will enlarge brass inside diameter suitable for bullet seating.
Dedicated reloader will have two different shafts. One for jacketed bullets, and another for lead bullets. Since lead bullet is a touch larger in diameter than it's jacketed counterpart, it needs just as much thicker 'shaft'.
Lead bullet will deform when it's forced into brass case if it's been bellmouthed with a jacketed bullet 'shaft'.

I've observed different brand dies to vary greatly in measurements. For example Dillon handgun dies seem to really overshoot in the resizing department. Even when one has their settings correct - the ammo will resemble by gone era Coca-Cola bottle.
I myself am keen to use RCBS carbide die sets for handgun calibers. Their way of engineering resizing die is like I want to have my die to be. Dillon overshoots the resizing and it does not resize brass all the way down. In an autoloader (when reloading used brass) that very easily will lead into feeding jam. What happens is that ammo gets rammed into chamber as ferociously as slide can manage, and the darn ammo will jam just fraction of an inch before being fully chambered. Jam is due to oversize brass near extractor groove area. This literally is a PITA to clear at shooting range - always have a cleaning rod in your shooting bag.


Given examples may not materialize as clearly in real world. My views present pretty extremes - either it's perfect or sub-standard.
In real world there are more gray areas, it's not really that black 'n' white. I just simplified matters. I hope no-one is offended by that.


-Artsi