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Posted: 5/10/2008 11:39:27 AM EDT
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I am still very new to reloading and I know no one local to ask so here I am, my question is on crimping my new rounds, I have setup my 550B and have it all setup except station 4 the manual says to run the die down on the seated round which in my case is at 1.155" OAL on a 124g bullet and then adjust accordingly ? , I have seen bullets that have a crimp ring around them but the one's I purchased from Dillon do not have any ring so do I crimp or not I had heard that I only want to remove the bell on the case that station 2 put on it before seating The rounds I have made up are 9mm 124g remmington bulk the OAL is set at 1.155" speer manual says between 1.135"-1.169" so I just set it at the 1.155" with 4.1g of Hogdon TG here are the Bullets These are my first rounds so forgive me for being stupid |
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So what's your question exactly? How much crimp? For 9mm, only remove the belling you did at station 2, no more. With all the stations full, put a round that's been sized, belled, seated but not crimped yet into station 4 with the die screwed far out. Raise the ram, then screw down the crimping die until it hits the case and stops. Lower the ram, screw the die in a little (maybe 1/16), raise and lower the ram, then check if any belling is left. If there is belling left, screw the crimp die in a little and try again. Once the belling is gone, stop, do not screw in the die any more. Raise the ram with the crimped round to prevent the die from moving, then tighten the lock nut. |
| The 9mm case headspaces on the mouth of the cartridge so you don't want a crimp on the case so much as you just use the crimp die to remove the belling you put on it, that allowed you to seat the bullet. You should still see the edge of the mouth of the case when done removing the belling. |
I'd add to this that the case mouth should measure no less than .377" and no more than .380" General rule of thumb is bullet diamter + 2x case mouth thickness = crimp setting. |
hmmm.....I have always liked a firm crimp on my 9's. I only use FMJ bullets too. When I was using my single stage press w/ RCBS dies, I put a firm crimp on them which left a slight ring. When I got the 550B, at first I just took the bell out but later setup the crimping die to give me the same amout as I had on the SS press. Like I stated before, I only use FMJ bullets and no lead. When pulling apart my 9's there is only a small amount of compression evidence left on the bullets. I too, check every round using a Dillon CG. Oh yeah, my crimps measure between .374-.375. 
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I looked at some S&B 9mm FMJ that I have and the case mouth measures 0.377-0.378" the middle of the case measures 0.380" so what what I can gather the difference of the two 0.002-0.003' is enough of a crimp, I know I am most likely making to much out of this but I want to get it right so this is what I have gathered: The rounds i will make (20) will be; 124g FMJ RN 4.1g of Hogdon TG OAL 1.155" the Speer book says 1.135-1.169" Crimp about .002" less than cartridge diam The 1.135" was the OAL Tested with a Speer bullet I just split the difference the S&B I have measures 1.158-1.160" and cycles fine |
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Well I just made my first 20rnds and all went well except for a few primers failing to feed, when all was said and done I ended up with the following: 9mm 124g FMJ RN 4.1g TG (I cycled 10 just to see the variance it was just about 2/10 of a grain over 41 for the 10 OAL was set to 1.155 and varied from 1.154-1.158 (I hope this is acceptable, nothing loose the range is 1.135-1.169) the crimp averaged .002 (I just tightened it down on the belled case and ended up going about 1/2 turn more to get the bell out I will be going to the range in the a.m I hope they cycle and the bullets don't fall out, I want to thank all for my stupid questions in this process but I want to do it right and I haven't even started on rifle yet I also have a question about how much to charge the cartridge with the range is 4.0-4.4 so what dictates going up or down like I said I started at 4.1g |
| I've loaded some of RP's 124fmj rn bullets and they shoot well. My overall length is 1.155-1.160" and they feed reliably in two guns, a pistol and carbine. I haven't used TG but Unique works well for me with 124 grain bullets in 9mm. I tested oal from 1.150-1.169 and settled on the above lengths. For crimping I turn the very slight bell I get back to the same diameter of the brass midpoint of the bullet or at the most .001 thousandths measured at the mouth of the loaded round. |
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I called Dillon today (What Customer Service!!) they told me to crank down the crimp die after seating and go 1/2 turn more to start and see how it gages, the guy said to go by feel more than measurement and I ended up with a 1.155-1.157 OAL I took them to the range and they are shooting low ? How can I correct ? the charge is at 4.1g TG |
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