Quoted: Most crimp dies for 223 are taper crimp and are very dependent on case length, a case that is a little longer will be tighter crimped than a shorter one, the Lee factory crimp die uses a collet and isn't defendant on case length. A lot of people think 223 has to be crimped since we normally reload for a semi auto, but experience has shown it isn't really necessary.
There is some controversy about crimping affecting accuracy, some tests have shown a slight advantage in accuracy when crimping, but for most people crimping means that every single case is the exact same length, but like I said, that doesn't apply since the Lee factory crimp die works differently from most others.
So the easy answer is...it depends on your exact situation, crimping can be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on your exact circumstances! I know it might not make sense, but that's the way it works. |
Wingman26 you are right on the money about everything in your reply. I use the LFCD on all my .223 that will be run in my ARs. I have found that accuracy was slightly increased in my reloads and as you stated if the case lengths are not all the same then you should use the LFCD.
I would like to point out something about the part in red that I have highlighted. The
main reason for me to crimp my reloads that are to be used in my ARs was to
insure that I would be less likely have a chance to experience firing a round that had suffered "bullet setback".
My son and I shoot in local 3-Gun matches. At the last match of the year in 2007 we did have an incident that would have very likely caused "bullet-setback" if I had not crimped when reloading. My son was shooting a house clearing stage and suffered a bad jam due to a magazine failure. One of the jammed rounds had severe cuts on the bullet and the case had started to fold from where the round had slammed into the chamber in a vertical position. The bullet did not "setback" even under these extreme conditions. It does not take too much bullet setback to increase pressures and have a possible ka-BOOM if you are loading your ammo hot or not IMHO.
Another experience I have had with bullet-setback was shooting some old Remington SP factory ammo. It was obvious that the ammo had never been crimped and we had a few malfunctions that led to setback. Luckily we caught each one and after the third occurence, we stopped using the old ammo. I have since then run them through the LFCD and had zero issues.
So I can state that from my experience, you should crimp all your ammo that will be used in an auto loading type rifle like the AR. I really look at it like an insurance policy. Just because you've never had a car accident does'nt mean that you should drive without it now does it? Well just because you've never fired a round that suffered from bullet-setback does'nt mean that you should never crimp, but if you ever do I'm sure you'll be wishing that you should have spent that little extra time to insure your safety as well as others around you.