Results 1 to 13 of 13
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30 April 2019, 04:13 #1
To crimp, or not to crimp? Reloading 223 ammo for AR15's.
To crimp, or not to crimp, that is the question.
I just started loading my own 223 tonight and it is intended for use with my semi-auto AR rifles. I have 100 rounds ready to go. I have not crimped any of them.
Is crimping my 223 really necessary?
I've been loading 224 Valkyrie and 308 for a few months now and have sent hundreds of these rounds down range successfully without any crimping. If it works for the 224 Valkyrie and 308 in semi-auto rifles, why wouldn't I achieve the same results with my non crimped 223?
What philosophy do you subscribe to and why?
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30 April 2019, 04:59 #2
I read into everything when I first started also, bullet setback, pressures etc..btw you should check some of your loads after clambering a few times. Just to know what your loads are doing.
If it has a cannelure , I’m putting a Crimp on it. How much. You will have to test for your rifles.
To me after testing I would put a small crimp on all my 55/62 gr range fodder/556 loads.
My more precision like rds I did not usually. Although I did with some Nosler 77’s that had no cannelure.
Of course I’m talking ARs, no way would I on a bolt gun.
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30 April 2019, 05:45 #3
I use a "light to medium" crimp using a Lee Factory Crimp Die on pretty much everything for a semi-auto. Haven't done any real accuracy testing with and without to see how much difference it makes, though.
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30 April 2019, 08:21 #4
I am a very light to light crimper.
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30 April 2019, 13:24 #5
I don’t crimp anything rifle.
Neck tension does enough for me
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30 April 2019, 17:08 #6
X2 in the Lee factory crimp.
Load some with no crimp, a light crimp and a heavier one..
Rack some in and out the chamber.. You obviously want no bullet setback.
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30 April 2019, 17:10 #7
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1 May 2019, 07:50 #8
I’ve been loading for my ARs for about 8 years now. Can’t say it’ll never be an issue but so far...no.
With the 224 Valkyrie brass I have been using, I really wanted to test the limits of it. At about six firings, I started getting some split necks. Now at 9 firings, this Federal brass that has survived is running into the primer pockets wearing out. I’ll probablg fire it once more and cull them all afterwards.
I DO want to anneal my 224 brass, simply to keep all of the case necks in good shape so the weak point will be the primer pockets.
223 I haven’t had an issue with, but after 3-5 firings of the LC brass I use (depends on overall condition), it gets relegated to “blasting ammo” status. I guess the factory annealing keeps it going strong long enough for me to get what I want out of it, but even after many more loadings with 55gr FMJ....no crimp, no problem
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1 May 2019, 19:31 #9
Bullet type will matter, too. I loaded some Nosler 64gr bonded a while back which have an exposed lead flat nose and even with a light crimp I had a few that were the last round in the mag get pushed back into the case and jam on me when they hit the feed ramp. Not sure if it is a mag issue but need to increase my crimp for those bullets nonetheless.
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2 May 2019, 15:36 #10
Yep, different profiles will need a crimp at times.
Just takes some screwing around to figure it out
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22 March 2020, 09:23 #11
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Last edited by Molon; 22 March 2020 at 10:09.
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22 March 2020, 11:12 #12
Good info. Thanks, Molon.
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22 March 2020, 18:12 #13
I hope Molon is significantly younger than me so I can die before his posts cease.
“ When I comes to modern politics, I think the inverse of Hanlon's Razor applies...In other words, "Never attribute to stupidity that which is adequately explained by malice." - Kerplode