Dillon 650XL crimping question

[holmes168]

This may or may not be the right place to post this but after getting my Dillon set up and starting to fine tuned- I'm worn out.  I'm reloading 9mm- I've got the case flared out enough to get the bullet set at an 1.159 OAL on station 4.  My worry is that the bullet isn't crimped correctly.  I think I've got everything right except this portion.  How do I ensure my round is crimped?  I've seen bullets spin in the brass after crimping and I've been able to push the bullets back into the casing.  Obviously those are not the right answer.  I'm currently finishing station 5 and there is no spinning or retreating into the case.  Just want a sanity check!

[Sarge]

You only want a two ny bit of flare. Just enough to keep the bullet from tipping over, or to not scrape any coating off.

To crimp 9mm you just remove the flare. Should OD be around .376ish.

Bulles spinning in a cas sounds like the case never got sized.

Do your rounds drop in a chamber or gauge?

[glassblower]

Assuming the case is properly sized, try this. Crimp to where you think it is correct, then extract the bullet with a bullet puller. If there is an indentation in the bullet, carefully back off the crimp till the indentation is gone. Or, add crimp until you see a slight indentation in the bullet. Carefully back off the crimp till the indentation is gone.

You can also go the route of measuring your bullet diameter, case thickness, and adding it all up to derive what your overall diameter should be. 

With mixed brass you'll have to find a happy medium for the brass in the mix.  Not all brass is the same thickness and will result in  different indentations.

[IDescribe]

18 hours ago, holmes168 said:

I've got the case flared out enough to get the bullet set at an 1.159 OAL on station 4.  

How do I ensure my round is crimped?  I've seen bullets spin in the brass after crimping and I've been able to push the bullets back into the casing.  

I'm currently finishing station 5 and there is no spinning or retreating into the case.  Just want a sanity check!

 

Holmes, I'm going to be honest here.  Assuming you are in fact describing something you have actually done and experienced, which I am not sure of, your description and questions suggest that you don't understand the fundamentals well enough to even ask meaningful questions, so my first two questions are:  What reloading handbook did you buy?  Why haven't you read it?

To address your three statements above, and the problems in those statements that make them less than useful:

• First, there is ZERO connection between flare and your OAL.  You do not flare the case enough to set the bullet at 1.159.   Whether or not you are seating at 1.050 or 1.165, your flare should be the same.
• Second, crimping does NOT prevent bullets from spinning in the brass.  Case tension prevents prevents bullets from spinning in the brass.   If the bullets are spinning in the brass, crimp is not the problem.  The problem is EITHER at the sizing die OR you have brass that is simply worn out, and you don't find the latter often enough that someone just starting to reload has already seen several of them.  If what you're describing is accurate, you do NOT have everything else right.
• Third, you are currently finishing station 5 and there is no spinning?!?!?   What does this mean?  You just told us there was spinning.  Now you tell us there is no spinning.  This makes no sense.  What are you talking about? 

Brother, you are making small, controlled bombs.   This is not an activity to stumble your way through and ask questions where you think maybe you're unsure of something.  From the questions you have asked, and the tiny description you have given of your process, you don't know enough to know what you know and don't know.  You should distrust everything you believe to be correct at this point in time.  And you need to read a reloading manual -- because the thing that is clear here is that you don't understand what you're doing well enough to know what questions to ask or how to ask them.  My sincere recommendation out of concern for your well-being is that you put this activity down until you can find the time to read a reloading manual and educate yourself about this process.  THEN ask questions about what you'er unclear on.

Again, what reloading manual do you own?

Edited October 18, 2016 by IDescribe

[Steve RA]

Or, if you know an experienced reloader, ask for them to come over and go through the loading setup with you.  

[mikeinctown]

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 3:37 AM, IDescribe said:

 

Holmes, I'm going to be honest here.  Assuming you are in fact describing something you have actually done and experienced, which I am not sure of, your description and questions suggest that you don't understand the fundamentals well enough to even ask meaningful questions, so my first two questions are:  What reloading handbook did you buy?  Why haven't you read it?

To address your three statements above, and the problems in those statements that make them less than useful:

• First, there is ZERO connection between flare and your OAL.  You do not flare the case enough to set the bullet at 1.159.   Whether or not you are seating at 1.050 or 1.165, your flare should be the same.
• Second, crimping does NOT prevent bullets from spinning in the brass.  Case tension prevents prevents bullets from spinning in the brass.   If the bullets are spinning in the brass, crimp is not the problem.  The problem is EITHER at the sizing die OR you have brass that is simply worn out, and you don't find the latter often enough that someone just starting to reload has already seen several of them.  If what you're describing is accurate, you do NOT have everything else right.
• Third, you are currently finishing station 5 and there is no spinning?!?!?   What does this mean?  You just told us there was spinning.  Now you tell us there is no spinning.  This makes no sense.  What are you talking about? 

Brother, you are making small, controlled bombs.   This is not an activity to stumble your way through and ask questions where you think maybe you're unsure of something.  From the questions you have asked, and the tiny description you have given of your process, you don't know enough to know what you know and don't know.  You should distrust everything you believe to be correct at this point in time.  And you need to read a reloading manual -- because the thing that is clear here is that you don't understand what you're doing well enough to know what questions to ask or how to ask them.  My sincere recommendation out of concern for your well-being is that you put this activity down until you can find the time to read a reloading manual and educate yourself about this process.  THEN ask questions about what you'er unclear on.

Again, what reloading manual do you own?

+1,000

 

The way I'm reading it, he hasn't even read the Dillon manual which explains how to properly bell the case. One could watch YouTube videos for an evening and figure this stuff out. I hate to be so critical, but not only is your life at risk but the safety of the people around you, so when you reload, you need to have a decent understanding of how things work.

[MemphisMechanic]

Treat the crimp station as if it's a "flare removal" station.

The first response had it right - crimp juuuuuuust until the rim of the case is no longer flared. The wall is totally straight. Then pull the bullet and make sure you can barely see where the mouth of the case rested. There should not be a crimp in the side of the bullet.

The only problem you typically find from under-crimping is that the case is still slightly belled and may not feed. All kinds of subtle feeding and accuracy issues can be caused by crimping too much.

Edited October 19, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[hceuterpe]

His post makes my head hurt[emoji43]
You need to buy/read your reloading manual...

[BBQRibs]

Dillon has a good set up/start up video guide.  Might save you heartache, suffering, and $$.

http://www.dillonhelp.com/Dillon Manual PDFs/Dillon-XL650-Manual-May-2007.pdf

https://www.dillonprecision.com/dillon-s-instructional-dvds-for-reloading-machines_8_1_25562.html