A question for the Levergun forum members...

Is a crimp REALLY needed for rounds to be used in lever guns? I've always read about the need to crimp to prevent bullets setting back from recoil forces while in the mag. tube. However, I just got a new (old) Lyman mould that I'd like to use in my .44 mag. M-92 carbine. Thing is - the bullet design doesn't have a crimp groove.

I sized a piece of brass, belled the mouth, and seated a bullet. Did not crimp - just adjusted the crimp die to remove the flare at the mouth. Neck tension seems to be pretty firm - enough that I couldn't push the bullet further into the case by resting it on the bench and pushing without a LOT of pressure. I'm sure I could just roll the crimp on into the bullet if needed or use one of the LEE factory crimp dies but would prefer not to damage the bullet if not necessary.

Anyone ever do any experiments to see if the crimp is really needed?

Thanks-

Sky C.
Longmont, CO

Sky, you don't want a bullet to get pushed deeper into the case. A definite no-no.

With lead bullets, if you have the cases all trimmed to the same length, you can just bump them in the crimp die a little. This will fold the mouth in on the bullet. Should do what you need. Don't get carried away.

Lee FCD is a nice to have but you can get away without it, with some care in your reloading.

I've even used a sizing die to bump the case mouth back in, in a form of taper crimp.

Try that and skunk around at the gun shows for Lee FCDs. You might even find a taper crimp die somewhere

Sky,

You might try the current load by loading several rounds, ten or so, and measuring the overall length of each, and recording each length. Then load the magazine. Then fire several rounds that have been singlely loaded without disturbing the rounds in the magazine. After firing the rounds, again measure the overall length of the rounds in the magazine. That will tell you if the rounds have suffered from set back and need more crimp.

dclark

Sky,
You can try this.
Size the neck of the case,without using the exander plug.
Then,expand the neck with a Lyman expander die;only to the depth that the bullet will seat to.
The unexpanded portion of the neck should have enough tension to prevent the bullet from sinking ny further.
Good luck,
Frank

Sky,

To follow up on my original suggestion, I will tell you that last night I put a 'crimp' on some cast bullets in a .35 Rem, without there being a crimp groove in the bullet. Even though it's a fairly hard bullet, a little bump against the crimp shoulder of the die pushed the case mouth into the bullet. Consider it a custom-fit crimp job!

No problems encountered, be sure to back the seating screw all the way out or remove it, and don't get carried away with force on the handle.

This will definitely keep the bullets from pushing further into the case, as the mouth of the case will dig in more as the bullet is pushed back.

Hope this helps.

Sky C:

Sometimes it's not the action but the load that dictates a crimp. Heavy bullets in the 44 mag are best pushed by powders like H110/ W296. These relatively slow powders need to have the bullets stay in place while they work up pressure. Otherwise you get incomplete burns or eratic pressures.

Darrel